Joey Chestnut to face off with Takeru Kobayashi in Netflix Live event
Netflix posted the announcement following the kerfuffle of Chestnut’s removal from 2024 Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest.
Fox – Seattle
While Joey Chestnut was banned from competing at Nathan’s Hotdog Eating Contest on Coney Island July 4, he still ate a lot of hot dogs.
This year Chestnut participated in an exhibition in El Paso, Texas, at the Fort Bliss Army base attempting to eat the same number of hotdogs as the winner of Nathan’s contest, only in five minutes instead of 10.
Chestnut, the famed Westfield resident best known for his record-breaking titles in the competitive eating world, was barred from competing in the Nathan’s contest this year after he signed an endorsement with Impossible Foods, who just recently launched a plant-based hotdog.
Nathan’s has a longstanding rule that competitors should not endorse a rival brand if they wish to compete in their annual hot dog eating contest.
Previously: Joey Chestnut tells fans to ‘stay hungry’ after brand spat bars him from Nathan’s hot dog contest
Chestnut ate 57 hot dogs in five minutes this year at the exhibition at Fort Bliss. Which is only one less than Pat Bertoletti ate at the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest in 10 minutes.
Bertoletti was the winner of Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest this year and received the mustard belt for eating 58 hot dogs.
“Those guys did great!” Chestnut told USA TODAY Sports by text message. “A lot better than last year. I’m really happy for Pat.”
Chestnut’s record was set in 2021 when he ate 76 hotdogs and buns in 10 minutes at Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest.
In 2023, Chestnut won his 16th title at the competition by eating 62 hotdogs. He was one of only four competitors that ate 50 or more hotdogs.
Hot dog eating contests: After beef over Nathan’s hot dog contest, Joey Chestnut will compete in live Netflix special
USA TODAY reporter Josh Peter contributed to this report.
Katie Wiseman is a trending news intern at IndyStar. Contact her at klwiseman@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @itskatiewiseman.