The current Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest champion is forty-year-old Joey “Jaws” Chestnut, who has won all but one of the contests since 2007.
One of his 55 competitive eating world records was the 76 hot dogs and buns he consumed in only 10 minutes during the 2021 competition.
Even while he didn’t meet his personal record last year, he nevertheless produced an amazing 63 sausages. He attributed his performance to the erratic weather.
However, Chestnut will not be participating in the yearly New York Fashion Week due to his endorsement agreement with the plant-based meat startup Impossible Foods.
Major League Eating (MLE), the organization that oversees the competition, stated that the reason for this is that Nathan’s Famous forbids diners from advertising rival hot dog brands.
In a statement, it said, “We are saddened to hear that Joey Chestnut, instead of taking part in the 2024 Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest, has decided to promote a rival brand that offers plant-based hot dogs.
In order to satisfy Joey and his management team, MLE and Nathan’s went above and beyond in recent months. They agreed to pay the appearance fee and let Joey participate in an unbranded hot dog eating competition on Labor Day.
