Summer is competitive eating season, with the year’s challenges of chomping matzo balls, tamales and chicken wings culminating in the July Fourth Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog eating contest at Coney Island.
The two big names in that contest for years have been American Joey Chestnut, who has won for the last two years, and Takeru Kobayashi from Japan, who has won the event six times but was stymied in 2007 with a case of jawthritis and was bested in 2008 during a five-dog sudden death round after both competitors swallowed 59 dogs and buns in the 10 minute regulation time for the contest.
The P’zone challenge
Over the weekend the champions met in Culver City, Calif., at a contest sponsored by Pizza Hut to see who could eat the most P’zone calzones in six minutes. The doughy concoctions are among the most calorie-laden of any on the competitive eating circuit, being loaded with a pound of pepperoni, cheese and other toppings.
According to Pizza Hut’s nutritional information, a P’zone serving is half the calzone, which packs 630 calories, 23 grams of fat, 11 grams of saturated fat, 65 milligrams of cholesterol and 1,480 milligrams of sodium.
Both of the guys ate nearly six P’zones, putting their calorie intake for the six-minute challenge closer to 7,460.
When the Parmesan cleared, Kobayashi narrowly won the contest, having consumed five and three-quarters P’zones to Chestnut’s five and a half. Chestnut said he was disappointed by his loss, because he loves competing against and beating Kobayashi.
How to eat tons of pizza fast
The trouble with eating pizza quickly is that there is so much dough, and dunking wasn’t allowed in the contest as it is on Coney Island, where many competitors eat the hot dogs and dunk the buns in water to make the chewing faster.
Both Chestnut and Kobayashi used a lot of water to soften the dough, but Kobayashi was faster out of the gate than Chestnut, leading to his victory. This win broke a three-event losing streak for Kobayashi against Chestnut.
The final hot dog?
Kobayashi said he’ll be ready for the Nathan’s rematch in a little over a month, but he told the Associated Press this may be his last time going for the coveted mustard yellow belt. The 31-year-old is still suffering from jaw problems.
If you want to see the pizza eating contest in all its crusty glory, it will be shown on Spike on June 21 during the show “Guys’ Choice.” The Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog contest is shown on July 4 on ESPN.
(By Sarah E. White for CalorieLab Calorie Counter News)
