Joey Chestnut did an interview on yesterday's Hochman & Crowder show to promote today's Wings for Wishes contest in Miami. The most interesting part starts at 4:00 where Joey discusses his MLE contract status. He says he is not currently signed for the 2024 Nathan's finals. He is willing to do a one year extension, but is balking at a four year term that MLE is apparently demanding. At the 6:10 mark Joey praises James Webb but also appears to cast doubt on his victory in last month's pistachio eating contest: "He is notorious for swallowing things whole, like he will swallow nuts whole."
Joey Chestnut did an interview for the US Sun about his business ventures. He says he made $500,000 in 2022, with more earnings from his endorsement deals than eating contest winnings. In February, he plans to set the five minute record for hot dogs in Canada.
The Spun has an interview with Takeru Kobayashi about his competitive eating career and his new partnership with Heinz on the "Hot Dogs are not a Contest" campaign. He closes the interview declaring himself the greatest competitive eater of all time.
USA Today has an article about the finances of Joey Chestnut, who says he earned $500,000 from competitive eating last year. He quit his construction job in 2010 to become a full time competitive eater after receiving an offer to do four appearances for Pepto Bismol.
In an advertisement for Heinz ketchup and mustard, Takeru Kobayashi announces that he has retired from hot dog eating contests.
TGI Fridays announced a partnership with Matt Stonie's restaurant Stonie Bowls to deliver teriyaki and poke bowls out of its virtual kitchens.
Joey Chestnut announces discontinuation of MLE contract
In the latest episode of Barstool Sports Pardon my Take podcast, Joey Chestnut announces that his MLE contract will expire at the end of this year and he is open to the possibility of a matchup with Takeru Kobayashi in 2023. (video clip)
The end of this year is going to be a weird year for me because my contract with Major League Eating and Nathan’s is going to be over. So it’ll be my first year in a long, long time that I can actually eat against Kobayashi. So me and him could find a way to compete because he’ll never compete with Major League Eating again because they have just a childish contract dispute, but there’s a chance that I might be able to eat against him.
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It is interesting that even after declining a MLE contract extension, Joey Chestnut still calls Takeru Kobayshi’s schism with the organization a “childish contract dispute”.
The website for Matt Stonie's new restaurant Stonie Bowls has been launched at https://www.stoniebowls.com/. There are about 30 locations in the Los Angeles area and northeast United States, which all appear to be delivery only.
Matt Stonie has started a restaurant in Los Angeles called Stonie Bowls focusing on poke bowls.
Samsung Singapore had Singaporean food challenger Zermatt Neo create a NFT that will be awarded to a purchaser of the GalaxyZFlip3 phone.
Insureon has a post about liability issues faced by businesses holding eating contests or food challenges.
In the latest episode of the Breaking Bread podcast, Adam "Beard Meats Food" Moran discusses the Major League Eating Contract. He says that he has been approached with proposals for two American television projects that were tabled when the producers learned that MLE approval would be required.
Joey Chestnut appeared on Fox 59 this morning to discuss his Thanksgiving leftover recipes and promote his line of condiments.
Nation's Restaurant News reports that Creating Culinary Communities will partner with Matt Stonie on a virtual restaurant which will not have any physical locations and only offer delivery/takeout. The brand is expected to launch before the end of 2021.
Randy Santel attended the Collective Convention in Jacksonville, FL to promote his comic book, "Atlas Rising", starring himself and Mitch Dombrowski.
SoraNews24.com reports that Japanese competitive eater Max Suzuki has partnered with the Daisho Group to start a restaurant chain called Max Suzuki's Seabura Hanten. The locations will mainly deliver via Uber Eats but some sites will also offer carry-out orders. Large meals will be focus for the brand, with one menu item, the Triple Mega Serving, coming in at a weight of 1.8kg (3.97 pounds).
Chris Gdula posted a picture of a 500 piece jigsaw puzzle which uses a picture of a competitor (who I don't recognize) in the Chicago Ribfest eating contest. A MLE MC is in the background. The title of the puzzle is "Lewd Little Pig".
In 2009, the Seattle Business Journal wrote a report on the "Tatonka Bowl", a wing eating contest held for employees of Amazon.com. Andy Jassy, who was recently named as the replacement for CEO Jeff Bezos, served as MC for the event. Jonathan Squibb, Wing Bowl winner from 2009 to 2011, won the contest. (via Eater Seattle)
The brother of Mike E Sizzle of the Fink Beats the Stomach podcast produced a custom Nathan's Famous hot dog eating contest themed Funko POP. update Steve Castro has posted how he made the POP, which was created from three store-bought POPs: Ted Mosby ("How I Met Your Mother"), the 1989 Joker (Jack Nicholson) and Ein from Cowboy Bebob.
The British Eating League has produced a Meat Eating World Championship belt.
A press release announces that Nathan's Famous is crossing over to offer chicken wings and Harlem-style chicken and waffles under a new brand, Wings of New York.
A press release announces an alliance between Nathan's Famous and Damhus, "a German manufacturer of quality meat-products since 1936", to manufacture and distribute hot dogs throughout Europe. It is interesting that a Jewish-founded company would partner with a firm started in Nazi Germany. The document makes no mention of a possible European qualifier for Nathan's hot dog eating contest.
1069 Restaurant Group, the largest franchise operator for the Golden Corral buffet restaurant chain, has filed for bankruptcy. Only 6 of its 33 locations are currently open.
The Jerusalem Post reports that Nathan's Famous will start producing halal hot dogs in partnership with a United Arab Emirates subsidiary of Mezzan Holding KSC for sale in the Persian Gulf region.
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