Agent Red has posted a casting call for a competitive eater to travel the USA for events from August to October.
Joey Chestnut brand condiments are now available for sale on Amazon.com. (via BigJon TV).
Joey Chestnut posted a picture of mustard bottles branded with his name. The probable manufacturer of the condiments in Silver Springs Foods in Eau Claire, Wi, who said they would host the 10 times Nathan's champion. update Joey Chestnut appeared on WEAU in Eau Claire today to launch the product line, which will compete with Nathan's Famous' branded condiments. update Feb 13 Leader Telegram has an article about the product launch.
Brandon "Da Garbage Disposal" Clark has started selling T-shirts.
"Deep Fried Diva" Meredith Boxberger appeared in an ad for qīī , a tea that claims it improves oral health. She also did a testimonial video about the product.
The Cube has an interview with Amazon Web Services CEO Andy Jassy about the wing eating contest his company held in Las Vegas that received recognition from Guinness as the largest wing contest. 3829 wings were eaten during the competition, with the winner consuming 59.
48 ounce steak eating contests are listed as part of "a toxic culture of sexual harassment" in an article by statnews about biotech hedge fund OrbiMed Advisors and its managing partner Sam Isaly. The company claims that the eating competition, which awarded $200 to the winners, were voluntary and were discontinued in 2013.
CNBC has a post about a wing eating contest held in Las Vegas Wednesday by Amazon Web Services. The 214 participants resulted in the competition receiving billing by Guinness World Records as the largest wing eating contest. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos mentioned the event yesterday, probably making him the richest person to be associated with an eating contest.
"Furious" Pete Czerwinski appeared on Dragons' Den (the Canadian equivalent of ABC's Shark Tank) with a team seeking investment for New Age Performance's line of performance enhancing mouthpieces. Brian Shaw "The World's Strongest Man" was another member of the team. (video)
CBS has an article about the economics of competitive eating with quotes from Ed "Cookie" Jarvis and Gideon Oji.
The Onion has an article about Nike's new line of competitive eating apparel described as “specially designed to boost performance by absorbing barbecue sauce, blue cheese, ranch, and all manner of drippings to completely eliminate condiment-related discomfort during competitive eating eventsâ€
Inapub.co.uk has list of tips for restaurants about holding eating challenges.
Eater.com produced a video examining the issue of liability for competitive eating injuries and fatalities. The video has a clip of Brian Dudzinski training with water, but does not mention his 2014 hospitalization from that activity.
Times.co.uk has an article about the rivalry between Nathan's Famous and Feltman's hot dogs newly opened Coney Island Location.
In Dos Equis' new commercial for Cinco de Mayo, the "World's Most Interesting Man" competes in a spicy pepper eating contest. (Watch embedded video in adweek.com article to bypass login for age restriction).
Nathan's Famous has been named the official hot dog of Major League Baseball, the first ever frankfurter brand to receive that title.
A chicken dinner will take place tonight in Elk Horn, IA to raise money for the aebleskiver eating contest in May. Several events are planned to obtain funding for the Major League Eating event.
Loot Ink has an interview with Kate Ovens titled "Is it Actually Possible to Turn Your Hobby into a Career?"
Flashback 2008: IFOCE produces Obama / Chestnut shirt
Flashback: In the summer of 2008, IFOCE produced a T-shirt with a Obama/Chestnut 2008 logo. Joey Chestnut wore the shirt briefly in 2008 on the Today Show after defending his Nathan’s title, but was forced to cover it up during his interview.

Howard Lorber, Nathan's Famous chairman and economic policy adviser for Donald Trump, appeared on CNBC's Squawk Box Monday morning and predicted that the president-elect would be "more thoughtful" than his campaign rhetoric after inauguration. Black Lives Matter activist Shaun King has called for a boycott of corporations with owners or executives that publicly backed the Republican candidate; Nathan's Famous does not appear on his list of 12 companies.
Donald Trump & competitive eating chronology
A timeline listing the intersection of the worlds of competitive eating and the 2016 Republican presidential candidate follows:
- 1966 Fred Trump, father of Donald, has the Steeplechase demolished. The Coney Island amusement park had earlier rejected a purchase offer from the Handwerker family, founders of Nathan’s Famous.
- 2005 Sports Illustrated has a blurb
about filmmaker Michael Tollin’s plans for a fictional movie based on
Bill “El Wingador” Simmon that did not come to fruition. Tollin would
later make a documentary about the USFL spring football league in which Donald Trump was cast as the villain. - 2005-2007 The Trump Marina in Atlantic City holds a wing eating contest for females only during Super Bowl weekend.
2005 Feb 3 Wing Fling 1 Trump Marina Atlantic City, NJ 2006 Feb 4 Wing Fling 2 Trump Marina Atlantic City, NJ 2007 Feb 3 Wing Fling 3 Trump Marina Atlantic City, NJ 2007 contest video
- 2009-2012 The Trump Plaza Beach Bar in Atlantic City, NJ hosts a Nathan’s qualifier. The winners of those contests:
2009 May 23 1st 30.5 10 min “The Lovely” Juliet Lee Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest qualifier Atlantic City, NJ 2010 May 29 1st 40 10 min Bob “The Notorious B.O.B.” Shoudt Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest qualifier Atlantic City, NJ 2011 May 28 1st 27 10 min Pat “from Moonachie” Philbin Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest qualifier – men Atlantic City, NJ 2011 May 28 1st 34 10 min Sonya “The Black Widow” Thomas Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest qualifier – women Atlantic City, NJ 2012 May 19 1st 45 10 min Tim “Eater X” Janus Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest Qualifier – men Atlantic City, NJ 2012 May 19 1st 18.5 10 min Larell Marie “The Real Deal” Mele Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest Qualifier – women Atlantic City, NJ - 2013 The Trump Plaza was sold to Meruelo Group for $20 million. No Nathan’s qualifiers would take place at that site after the sale.
- Dec 2015 Everybody Loves Raymond’s in San Antonio starts a “Shut Your Mouth Trump” spicy burger challenge in response to negative feelings about the candidate by the restaurant’s clientele.
- Feb 2016 Donald Trump visits Chez Vachon in Machester, NH for a campaign stop. A picture of him in front of the “Wall of Fame” for the restaurant’s poutine challenge would receive a lot of publicity. Hillary and Bill Clinton would also visit the location.
- May 2016 Burger Urge in Queensland, Australia holds a “Trump Burger” contest awarding a trip to Trump Tower in New York City won by Col “The Conqueror” MacLaurin.
- Aug 2016 Howard Lorber, chairman of Nathan’s Famous, is announced as a member of Donald Trump’s economic policy team. Lorber received a $25 million payment in 2015 after a special dividend was issued to Nathan’s stockholders.
Capewood's Collections has a post about the Joey Chestnut, Matt Stonie and Sonya Thomas trading cards produced by Allen and Ginter.
The Guardian reports that Howard Lorber, chairman of Nathan's Famous, has been announced as a member of Donald Trump's economic policy team.