THE LAST SANDWICH
SANDWICH NEWS
Joey Chestnut, the reigning champ of Nathan's Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest, broke his own world record by swallowing 76 hotdogs and buns in 10 minutes. In an incredible display of eating skill, Chestnut won 2021's Eating Contest with exceptional ease, as the 2nd place contestant finished with 50 hotdogs, followed by the 3rd place finisher with 44. It was one of the most lopsided victories in the history of any sport.
In the other Main Event, Michelle Lesco, currently ranked ninth overall, was named the Women's Champion after eating 30 and 3/4 hotdogs and buns.
A Hotdog Eating Dynasty
Chestnut, who won his first Nathan's Hot Dog competition in 2007, has been crowned champion 14 of the past 15 years. It's an unfathomable feat in the world of competitive eating, where preperation and health are the keys to victory. Including this current record-breaking performance, Joey Chestnut has broken his own Hot Dog Eating World Record 8 times.
Legend Becomes Commentator
Miki Sudo, the winner of Nathan's last seven Women's competitions, did not compete this year as she's expecting her first child later this month. Sudo, who set the women's record in 2020 when she ate 48.5 hot dogs and buns, will still attend the festivities by doing commentary for ESPN sports.
Held every July 4th in Coney Island (Brooklyn, New York City), this year's men and women's events were televised on ESPN and ESPN3, respectively.
As always, it must be noted that only entrants currently under contract by MLE (Major League Eating) can compete in the contest.
Today, we are going to explore the fascinating world of Sandwich Sports. Every year, we see Nathan's World Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest on the News, with stories of Takeru Kobayashi and Joey Chestnut, gulfing down over 70 Hot Dogs in one sitting.
However, what do we know about about other competitive eating events? Are there peanut butter sandwich eating competitions? Now that would be difficult. Imagine trying to eat 70 peanut butter sandwiches at once, with the top of your mouth glued shut.
Event Organisers
The most popular league that organises professional eating events is Major League Eating (MLE), while the Federation of Competitive Eating (IFOCE) is the sanctioning body that overseas those events. There has been controversy over the years concerning the IFOCE and some professional eaters, similar to the stories you hear about in boxing. Another professional league is All Pro Eating, which claims to be the only home of picnic style rules, and it has its own set of eating celebrities. It really is an intriguing sport.
Should It Be An Olympic Sport?
And with the 2020 Olympics coming up this summer (2021, due to the global pandemic), it makes us wonder why eating sandwiches isn't an Olympic Sport. When you hear about the preperation these professional eaters go through before an event, including diet and exercise, training their muscles, it sounds even more grueling than what some Olympic athletes go through. You can't tell me that an Olympic Skeet Shooter trains harder than a Professional Eater.
Current Sandwich Eating Events
Since sandwich eating isn't an Olympic sport yet, we will focus more on the professional events. Here is our preliminary list of the World's Top Sandwich Eating Events.
The World's Top Sandwich Eating Events (2021)
| # | Event | Sandwich | Date | Location | Resource |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Case's Pork Roll Eating Championship | Pork Roll | 9/25/2021 | Trenton, New Jersey | Webpage |
| 2 | Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest | Hot Dogs | 7/4/2021 | Brooklyn, New York City | Wikipedia |
| 3 | Pepperoni Roll Eating World Championship | Pepperoni Roll | 5/29/2021 | Fairmont, West Virginia | Webpage |
| 4 | World Slopper Eating Championship | Slopper | 9/5/2020 | Pueblo, Colorado | Webpage |
| 5 | H-E-B True Texas BBQ Challenge | Beef Brisket BBQ Sandwiches | 11/1/2019 | Austin, Texas | Webpage |
| 6 | Bratwurst Eating Championship | Bratwurst | 8/23/2019 | Snowbird, Utah | Webpage |
| 7 | Canteen Sandwich Eating Contest | Canteen Sandwich | 5/31/2019 | Ottumwa, Iowa | Webpage |
(We will continue to update this list as new events emerge. Last updated 7/8/2021.)
Welcome to the World of Competitive Sandwich Eating!!
Note: Resources are listed in the table above.
With eating legends such as Geoffery Esper, Badlands Booker, and Joey Chestnut competing for the 2021 Pepperoni Roll Eating Championship, it was guaranteed to be a riveting event. Esper and Chestnut have been a thorn in each other's side for years, so this was another chapter in their rivalry, as they fought each other to the bitter end.
Coming Down To The Wire
As the final seconds ticked away, reigning Champion Joey Chestnut was able to protect his crown by eating 33 pepperoni rolls in 10 minutes, while the 2017 Champion, Geoffery Esper, finished a close second with 30.5 rolls.
It was the 10th Annual Pepperoni Roll Eating World Championship held in Fairmont, West Virginia, and we wanted to explore the history behind the event. As usual, we couldn't find an easy-to-read list of previous Pepperoni Roll Eating Champions, and so once again... we created our own.
Pepperoni Roll Eating Championship Winner's List
| Year | Champion (Unisex) | Pepperoni Rolls | Minutes | Date | Purse (USD) | Location | Event |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Geoffrey Esper | 31.5 | 10 | 5/28/2022 | 5,000 | Fairmont, West Virginia | Pepperoni Roll Eating World Championship |
| 2021 | Joey Chestnut | 33 | 10 | 5/29/2021 | 5,000 | Fairmont, West Virginia | Pepperoni Roll Eating World Championship |
| 2020 | (cancelled) | - | 10 | 6/13/2020 | - | Fairmont, West Virginia | Pepperoni Roll Eating World Championship |
| 2019 | Joey Chestnut | 43 | 10 | 5/25/2019 | 2,000 | Fairmont, West Virginia | Pepperoni Roll Eating World Championship |
| 2018 | Kenny Freeland | 8.5 | 10 | 5/26/2018 | 500 | Fairmont, West Virginia | Pepperoni Roll Eating World Championship |
| 2017 | Geoffrey Esper | 36 | 10 | 5/27/2017 | 2,000 | Fairmont, West Virginia | Pepperoni Roll Eating World Championship |
| 2016 | Geoffrey Esper | 23 | 10 | 5/28/2016 | 1,500 | Fairmont, West Virginia | Pepperoni Roll Eating World Championship |
| 2015 | Matt "Megatoad" Stonie | 34 | 10 | 5/23/2015 | 3,500 | Fairmont, West Virginia | Pepperoni Roll Eating World Championship |
| 2014 | Matt "Megatoad" Stonie | 31 | 10 | 5/24/2014 | 2,500 | Fairmont, West Virginia | Pepperoni Roll Eating World Championship |
| 2013 | Joey Chestnut | 28 | 10 | 5/25/2013 | 2,500 | Fairmont, West Virginia | Pepperoni Roll Eating World Championship |
| 2012 | Pat "Deep Dish" Bertoletti | 33 | 10 | 5/26/2012 | 2,500 | Fairmont, West Virginia | Pepperoni Roll Eating World Championship |
| 2011 | Pat "Deep Dish" Bertoletti | 30.5 | 10 | 5/28/2011 | 2,000 | Fairmont, West Virginia | Pepperoni Roll Eating World Championship |
Note: Any cell with the dash symbol (-) denotes an empty value.
Note: In 2018, MLE was excluded from the event, so only local contenstants attended the competition.1
The Pepperoni Roll Eating World Championship Belt
We've tried to determine through grainy photographs what the West Virginia Three Rivers Festival "Pepperoni Roll Eating World Championship Belt" looks like, and we were able to find two recent photographs.
(Updated 7/8/2022)
Since 2011, The West Virginia Three Rivers Festival Pepperoni Roll Eating World Championship has been held in Fairmont, West Virginia at Palatine Park, and has attracted the World's best eaters.
We were hoping to find a list of previous Pepperoni Roll Eating Champions, however, after searching the different search engines, we couldn't find one. So, since there didn't appear to be a list available, we decided to create our own.
The West Virginia Three Rivers Festival Pepperoni Roll Eating World Championship Winner's List
| Year | Champion (Unisex) | Pepperoni Rolls | Minutes | Date | Purse (USD) | Location | Event |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Geoffrey Esper | 31.5 | 10 | 5/28/2022 | 5,000 | Fairmont, West Virginia | Pepperoni Roll Eating World Championship |
| 2021 | Joey Chestnut | 33 | 10 | 5/29/2021 | 5,000 | Fairmont, West Virginia | Pepperoni Roll Eating World Championship |
| 2020 | (cancelled) | - | 10 | 6/13/2020 | - | Fairmont, West Virginia | Pepperoni Roll Eating World Championship |
| 2019 | Joey Chestnut | 43 | 10 | 5/25/2019 | 2,000 | Fairmont, West Virginia | Pepperoni Roll Eating World Championship |
| 2018 | Kenny Freeland | 8.5 | 10 | 5/26/2018 | 500 | Fairmont, West Virginia | Pepperoni Roll Eating World Championship |
| 2017 | Geoffrey Esper | 36 | 10 | 5/27/2017 | 2,000 | Fairmont, West Virginia | Pepperoni Roll Eating World Championship |
| 2016 | Geoffrey Esper | 23 | 10 | 5/28/2016 | 1,500 | Fairmont, West Virginia | Pepperoni Roll Eating World Championship |
| 2015 | Matt "Megatoad" Stonie | 34 | 10 | 5/23/2015 | 3,500 | Fairmont, West Virginia | Pepperoni Roll Eating World Championship |
| 2014 | Matt "Megatoad" Stonie | 31 | 10 | 5/24/2014 | 2,500 | Fairmont, West Virginia | Pepperoni Roll Eating World Championship |
| 2013 | Joey Chestnut | 28 | 10 | 5/25/2013 | 2,500 | Fairmont, West Virginia | Pepperoni Roll Eating World Championship |
| 2012 | Pat "Deep Dish" Bertoletti | 33 | 10 | 5/26/2012 | 2,500 | Fairmont, West Virginia | Pepperoni Roll Eating World Championship |
| 2011 | Pat "Deep Dish" Bertoletti | 30.5 | 10 | 5/28/2011 | 2,000 | Fairmont, West Virginia | Pepperoni Roll Eating World Championship |
Note: Any cell with the dash symbol (-) denotes an empty value.
Note: In 2018, MLE was excluded from the event, so only local contenstants attended the competition.3
The Pepperoni Roll Eating World Championship Belt
Did you ever wonder what the "Pepperoni Roll Eating World Championship Belt" looked like? After scouring the internet to find an answer, we were able to find two recent photographs.
(Last update 7/8/2022)