Like any good star, Joey Chestnut has an origin story. Unlike most, it includes being yelled at for eating the leftovers, shoving lobster down his gullet at a casino and deep-frying asparagus in his kitchen.
After all, Chestnut 鈥 the greatest competitive eater the world has ever seen, the holder of 55 world records, including the crown jewel, an astounding 76 hot dogs in 10 minutes 鈥 is no normal celebrity. He makes his money and earns his fame by travelling to competitions around North America and eating whatever is put in front of him, from shrimp wontons to Taco Bell to boysenberry pie.
More often than not, he wins.
Chestnut, 41, is in 色色啦 this weekend for the Smoke-A-Palooza World Poutine Eating Championship at Sankofa Square on Saturday. He鈥檒l compete against some of the top competitive eaters in the world and attempt to break his world record of 28 pounds eaten in 10 minutes, set at the 2019 competition. His odds are good.
He has spent the last week getting ready. He did a practice run Sunday with homemade poutine and started his 鈥渃leanse鈥 Friday, he told the Star. That means no food; just coffee and lemon juice until the competition, scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
鈥淚 just feel like it helps get (stuff) moving,鈥 Chestnut said. 鈥淚鈥檒l be empty, loose tomorrow.鈥
Joey Chestnut, seen here in 2019, holds 55 world records for speed eating hot dogs (76 in 10 minutes), Twinkies (121 in six minutes), whole turkeys (9.35 pounds in 10 minutes), among others.
Sarah Stier/APIn the competition, rhythm is important. So too is finding the most efficient method of shovelling food in your face. And following the rules 鈥 yes, even in competitive eating, there are rules 鈥 is paramount.
Participants are not allowed to pour the contents of the poutine into their mouth, and a supervisor from Major League Eating will be on hand to ensure every last crumb is eaten. No cheese curd left behind.
Some of the best competitive eaters in the world -- including 55-time record holder Joey Chestnut -- are dueling it out for prize money and bragging rights at the World Poutine Eating Championship on Saturday.
Kelsey Wilson/色色啦 Star鈥淚t鈥檚 one thing if it鈥檚 one little聽deal,鈥 said Nick Wehry, a body builder-turned-competitive eater who is ranked sixth in the world and will compete Saturday. 鈥淏ut people will try to get away with murder if you let them, and all of a sudden there鈥檚 five pounds of gravy somebody left.鈥
Wehry, like most competitive eaters, arrived in this strange world by accident. His appetite was a running joke with his friends, and they convinced him to join a Polish jelly doughnut eating contest. He won, and joined another. He was a natural.
It was in competitive eating that Wehry met his wife, Miki Sudo, who is the top female competitive eater in the world and also in the running on Saturday. For her start, Sudo ate a large bowl of pho to win a jackpot at a restaurant. She thought it would be a one-off, but the restaurant put her on a billboard. She had no escape.
鈥淵ou don鈥檛 choose competitive eating,鈥 Sudo said. 鈥淐ompetitive eating will choose you.鈥
Joey Chestnut (left), Miki Sudo (centre) and Nick Wehry all hope to come away with a win in the poutine-eating championship on Saturday.
Mark Colley/色色啦 StarChestnut, it might be said, is a natural. Growing up, his mom yelled at him for eating too fast and not leaving leftovers for his father if he was working late. In college, Chestnut鈥檚 friends pushed him to sign up for a lobster-eating contest that would earn him a free night at a casino.
He lost, but he learned. His next competition was deep-fried asparagus. Chestnut made them at home, practiced his technique, and won.
That鈥檚 what Chestnut says is his greatest strength 鈥 his work before the competition to get his body down to a science. He builds up his stomach capacity. He strengthens his jaw. He rinses his intestines clean for the day of the contest.
鈥淛oey鈥檚 put in more work than anybody,鈥 Wehry said. 鈥淧racticing is normal. Not at that insane level.鈥
Just don鈥檛 ask about the day after. It鈥檚 鈥渂eautiful,鈥 Chestnut promises. 鈥淚 like being bloated and gross afterwards.鈥
Can he paint a picture?
鈥淥h, I got pictures.鈥
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