Joey Chestnut’s Wildest Eating Records Beyond Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest

Chestnut is the greatest eater of all time.

Chestnut is returning to the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest in 2025. / Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

Joey Chestnut is the undisputed king of the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest. He's won the contest a record 16 times, lifting the Mustard Belt all but two times since 2007, and holds the record for the most hot dogs and buns consumed at Coney Island, with 76 in 2021. But Chestnut's eating dominance goes far beyond just hot dogs.

At the time of this article's publishing, Chestnut holds 55 world records across 55 disciplines. Here are some of his most impressive records, broken down by types of meals.

Joey Chestnut's Craziest Eating Records

Breakfast foods

Chestnut hasn't done as much damage with the first meal of the day, but his records with breakfast foods are no less impressive.

Food	Number/Weight Consumed	Time
Hard-Boiled Eggs	141	8 minutes
Eggo-Style Waffles	81	8 minutes

81 waffles in eight minutes! You'll never look at breakfast the same.

Appetizers/Snacks

As the average hungry person at a restaurant will tell you, appetizers are dangerous. Snacks even more so. One can very easily consume more of them than they'd like before it's time to dig into the main course. So naturally, one would expect Chestnut to be able to do a significant amount of damage in the appetizer/snack category. One would be correct.

Food	Number/Weight Consumed	Time
Jalapeno Poppers	118	10 minutes
Shrimp Cocktail (St. Elmo's)	21 pounds	8 minutes
Croquetas	185	8 minutes
Poutine	28 pounds	10 minutes
Chicken Wings	182	30 minutes

It should be noted that in the category of Buffalo wings specifically, Chestnut in September of 2023 was defeated by Australian James Webb, who consumed an incomprehensible 276 wings in 12 minutes at the National Buffalo Wing Festival, edging Chestnut's 240. So he is human after all.

Now, onto the entrees!

Entrees

Make sure you're sitting down when you read these.

Food	Number/Weight Consumed	Time
Pulled Pork Sandwiches	45	10 minutes
Philly Cheesesteaks	23 6" sandwiches	10 minutes
Krystals Hamburgers	103	8 minutes
Tacos (3" tortilla)	126	8 minutes
2-Foot Pizza Slices (Fat Boy's Pizza)	6.5	10 minutes

But the big kahuna, Chestnut's magnum opus of the entree dishes? That would be the 9.35-pound whole turkey he consumed in just 10 minutes at the Foxwoods Turkey Eating Championship on November 22, 2014. If you're planning Thanksgiving dinner and Chestnut is invited, buy multiple turkeys!

Desserts

Food	Number/Weight Consumed	Time
Three-Pound Apple Pies	4.375	8 minutes
Funnel Cake (King's Dominion)	5.9 pounds	10 minutes
Ice-Cream Sandwiches (Baked Bear)	25.5	6 minutes
Hostess Donettes	257	6 minutes
Cherry Pie	17.5 pounds	8 minutes

A full account of all of Chestnut's eating records can be found on his profile on the Major League Eating website.

As you can see, Chestnut is far from a hot-dog eating merchant or a one-dimensional eater. He is truly a force to be reckoned with, no matter the food group.

---

More on Sports Illustrated

feed