One day after his stunning July 4 victory over six-time world hot dog-eating champion Takeru Kobayashi, Joey Chestnut put to rest persistent rumors that he will now target what many believe is competitive eating’s true Holy Grail: Kobayashi’s cow-brain-eating record.
Many longtime observers of the sport — among them, this reporter — were convinced that winning the Mustard-Yellow International Belt would not satisfy Chestnut’s savory tooth and that he would need to chew further into Kobayashi’s territory by eating more than 17.7 pounds of pan-seared cow brains in 15 minutes, a record that most people think can never be broken.
Chestnut is not even going to try.
“That’s not for me,” he told The Brooklyn Paper exclusively. “There are a lot of foods in this sport that I don’t want to eat because it would take the fun out of it for me. I once did a jalapeno contest and I really regretted it. So, no. No cow brains for me.”
Kobayashi had no comment on the apparent invulnerability of his transcendent record, but reflected on Chestnut’s status as an eating legend after the American challenger ate a world record 66 hot dog and buns at the Nathan’s contest on the Fourth of July in Coney Island.
“Joey is a great champion,” said Kobayashi, who, despite a severe case of jawthritis, ate 63 HDBs to finish second. “But I will return next year and I will beat him.”
