Joey Chestnut set to face off against long-time rival Takeru Kobayashi live on Netflix – as streaming giants announce ‘ultimate hot dog eating contest’ a day after Nathan’s controversy
One day after Joey Chestnut was eliminated from the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest on July 4, the 16-time champion announced his return – live on Netflix!
In a shocking revelation, the American competitive eating icon announced he is rekindling his wiener rivalry against Takeru Kobayashi during a live event on Netflix in September.
Professional food’s most lucrative rivalry hasn’t had a head-to-head in more than a dozen years, as Kobayashi did not sign with Major League Eating prior to the 2010 Hot Dog Eating Contest.
The event takes place on September 2, Labor Day, and the event is billed as ‘Chestnut vs. Kobayashi: Unfinished Beef’.
Kobayashi had retired from competitive eating earlier this year, but now appears to be making a shocking return to the table.
Chestnut’s failure to retain its hot dog championship is due to its brand agreement with Impossible Foods. Nathan’s sponsors the annual Independence Day eating contest and is a rival brand.
One source told the New York Post that Chestnut was paid $200,000 to appear at last year’s Nathan’s competition, and was even offered a four-year, $1.2 million contract starting this year.
Ultimately, Chestnut felt compelled to honor its unspecified agreement with Impossible Foods, which also released its own statement on Wednesday.
“We love Joey and will support him in whatever competition he chooses,” said a statement from a brand spokesperson. ‘It’s okay to experiment with a new dog. Meat eaters shouldn’t be exclusive to just one sausage.’
Chestnut, known as “Jaws,” devoured 62 hot dogs to win the 2023 Nathan’s title, which was a slight decrease from the record 76 he ate in 2021.
Earlier this month, Chestnut was spotted downing pints of ice cream during a game at a minor league baseball game. And the 40-year-old showed his eating skills aren’t limited to hot dogs as he managed to down four pints of ice cream in a minute.
According to MLB.comAt Chestnut also fried 36 nuggets of walleye in one minute during the pregame “Eat and Greet” session with fans.
He also reportedly visited a minor league stadium in Lansing, Michigan, last August and ate a world record 13 olive burgers in five minutes.
Chestnut is no stranger to competitive ice cream eating, as he also ate a record 23.5 ice cream sandwiches in six minutes in 2018, according to Major League food.
In 2022, he said USA TODAY Sports he earned over $500,000 and his net worth is over $4 million.
He has promotional offers for DUDE Wipes, Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers, Wonderful Pistachios and Pepsi.
Chestnut has been in the competitive eating world since 2005, when he broke through with an appearance in the Fried Asparagus Eating Championship.
Since then, the Westfield, Indiana native has set numerous records, most famously involving hot dogs, where his score of 76 in the 2021 Nathan’s contest stands alone.