(Photo credit: Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK)
Joey Chestnut will be taking his talents to El Paso, Texas, on Thursday.
Instead of devouring hot dogs at Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest on Coney Island in New York this Fourth of July, Chestnut will be headed to the Lone Star State to participate in “Pop Goes the Fort” at Fort Bliss.
Chestnut, 40, had participated in Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest since 2005, but he will now be going up against soldiers in a five-minute showdown.
The switch comes because of a partnership that Chestnut has with Impossible Foods, a rival of Nathan’s that creates plant-based meat products.
“Hey @ImpossibleFoods, I’m heading to Fort Bliss in El Paso on the 4th to do what I do best, military style,” Chestnut posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, on Saturday. “While I’m crushing hot dogs do y’all wanna come with and help feed the hungry crowd? You in?”
Impossible Foods responded to Chestnut, telling him that it would “be our honor” to help feed the spectators.
Chestnut himself was surprised that his partnership prevented him from participating in Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest.
“I do not have a contract with (Major League Eating) or Nathan’s and they are looking to change the rules from past years as it relates to other partners I can work with,” Chestnut wrote in part earlier this month.
Chestnut ate a record 76 hot dogs in 2021. He first won Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest in 2007.
–Field Level Media