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Joey Chestnut Wins Top Prize for Pizza Gluttony
By
John Del Signore
Published Oct 13, 2008
Modified Oct 13, 2008
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By
John Del Signore
Published Oct 13, 2008
Modified Oct 13, 2008
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Ten of the world's most competitive eaters faced off in Times Square yesterday for the Famous Famiglia pizza-eating contest, and Joey Chestnut, the reigning hot dog-eating champion, emerged victorious by consuming a record-shattering 45 slices in 10 minutes. Chicago's Patrick Bertoletti, who held the previous record at 22 slices in 10 minutes, placed second yesterday with 43 slices. To win the $5,000 prize, Chestnut ate nothing but protein supplements for two days and drank a gallon of water to stretch his stomach muscles before the contest, during which he took in an estimated 11,700 calories and 450 grams of fat. The Daily News was on the scene and reports that "he never appeared to chew." Contestant Adam Gertler hailed Chestnut as "truly a god among eaters. He could probably put an entire work boot in his mouth."
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competitive
contest
eating
famiglia
joey chestnut
pizza
Time square
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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