Despite not being in Coney Island, competitive eater Joey Chestnut was still demolishing hot dogs at a record pace this Fourth of July.
With Chestnut being sponsored by vegan hot dog manufacturer Impossible Foods, he was ruled out of the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest in Brooklyn this Independence Day.
So, instead, he traveled to Fort Bliss in Texas to do his own hot dog eating competition against a few hungry soldiers.
Chestnut showed zero signs of slowdown as he demolished 57 hot dogs and buns in five minutes – outdoing the combined total of 49 that four Army rivals managed.
Not only was his 57 dogs in five minutes a resounding feat, it was one off from what Nathan’s contest winner Pat Bertoletti managed in just ten minutes.
Joey Chestnut demolished 57 hot dogs at an event in Fort Bliss, Texas on the Fourth of July
That was just one off the 58 hot dogs that Nathan’s winner Pat Bertoletti ate in ten minutes
At that pace, Chestnut would have shattered his world record of 76 hot dogs eaten that he set back in 2021.
Major League Eating tried walking back a ‘ban’ that it put on Chestnut for his rival sponsorship to try and get him to stay in the competition.
MLE CEO Rich Shea had nothing but praise for Chestnut when ESPN spoke to him on the broadcast of the contest.
‘Just a great competitor, a great guy, a grown man, and a man who’s made a choice not to be here today,’ Shea said.
‘But fortunately for us, tens of thousands of people are crowding around Nathan’s Famous. It’s a pilgrimage every year. This is not a paid Hollywood crowd. This is excitement.’
Chestnut drew a few hundred fans in Texas, where he acknowledged the military service of his father, brother, and grandfather.
Impossible Foods sponsored the event at Fort Bliss, however their vegan products were not used in the competition.
The company’s CEO, Peter McGuinness gave a $106,000 check to Operation Homefront – a charity that supports military families.
