For some, the 4th of July means a chance to display their patriotism. For others, it’s the fireworks. But for one smallish, specialized group of dedicated foodies, it means the annual Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest. And this year was no exception to the old, established rule…
Joey Chestnut (left) and Miki Sudo, 2022 champs of the Nathan’s Famous Hot dog Eating contest.
Since 1916, devotees of the American Dog have gathered religiously at noon at the original Nathan’s stand on Coney Island. The first Hot Dog Eating Contest was an off-the-cuff affair between 4 immigrant friends out for a day at the beach. I’ve been unable to find any record of who won or how many dogs they ate. But from that humble beginning has grown a huge Indep0endence Day tradition involving thousands of spectators and more than a dozen competitors who’ve chomped their way to the top in local and regional contests for the right to meet in the final.
The state of the art
Okay. Hot Dog Eating may not qualify as an art. But it does involve a fair amount of science. The top tier pros do it for a living and have honed their training and prep routines to a fine edge.
Like pro athletes in other ‘sports’, the stars of the hot dog eating circuit are in training all year long. Training involves drinking a lot of water and eating a lot of food to stretch their stomachs. I can’t imagine my stomach ever stretching to accommodate several dozen dogs, but that’s the goal.
A few days before a contest, preparation intensifies with the objective of making enough tummy space to hold a few more dogs than you could last year.
The word that’s seldom spoken
Now… You may wonder why these pro eaters aren’t 600 lb. / 275 kg wonders who have to be carted around in pick-up trucks. The big secret which you usually only learn when you corner an eater in a private place where the fans won’t hear is: vacation.
We’re not talking about taking time off to recover from their gluttony festival. In their proprietary language, ‘vacating’ is simply a nice way of saying ‘regurgitation’. It would probably kill them if their bodies had to process al that starch and paprika!
What happened yesterday?
No surprise. Thirty-eight year old Joey ‘Jaws’ Chestnut of won the men’s division again this year downing 63 dogs with buns. His personal best of 76, set last year was not to be met, let alone bested. The champ played through a painful leg injury but couldn’t keep up the pace: “I was in the zone for a little bit. I was ignoring it,” the Westfield, Indiana resident told NPR. But the pain finally got to him.
On the women’s side, Miki Sudo of Tampa Florida, who skipped last year’s contest because she was pregnant, came roaring back with a 48.5 dog total to nail her 8th Nathan’s victory.
“I want to set an example,” she said, “to do things that you love and push yourself to your absolute limits and, when things get difficult, to still give it a try. And, you know, you might actually just come out victorious.”
On a more serious note..
Nathan’s has celebrated its 116th July 4 spectacle by donating 100,000 of their famous frankfurters to the NYC Food Bank. All’s well that ends well!
~ Maggie J.