Joey Chestnut And Takeru Kobayashi Are Having A One-On-One Hot Dog Eating Contest On Netflix
Competitive eating champion Joey Chestnut has been banned from the 2024 Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest due to an exclusivity issue regarding brand partnerships. But fans will be thrilled to learn that they can still watch the world champion compete in an alternative sausage-based showdown thanks to a live-streamed Netflix special that will see him face his ultimate opponent: Takeru Kobayashi.
California's Chestnut holds the world record for most hot dogs eaten, a title earned when he got through a whopping 76 dogs (and their buns) in 10 minutes in 2021. That's just one of his 55 world records for competitive eating. Kobayashi, meanwhile, holds 10 world records for the sport.
The one-off Netflix special titled "Chestnut vs. Kobayashi: Unfinished Beef" will be streamed on Labor Day, September 2, 2024, and will take place at an as-yet undisclosed location. The aim is to settle a foodie feud between the pair that has gone on for years; indeed, Chestnut went as far as to describe Kobayashi as his "fiercest rival" in a Netflix press release.
Chestnut and Kobayashi will compete face-to-face for the first time in 15 years
Takeru Kobayashi was declared the winner of the longstanding Nathan's hot dog eating contest every year between 2001 and 2006 — until Joey Chestnut took the title in 2007. Since then, Chestnut has won for 16 of the 17 subsequent years he's competed in. But the pair haven't actually gone head-to-head since 2009 when Chestnut took the lead.
In May 2024, Kobayashi announced his retirement from competitive eating in the Netflix documentary "Hack Your Health: The Secrets of Your Gut," citing concerns about his health — perhaps unsurprising for someone who has eaten around 10,000 hot dogs in the name of work. But it appears he can't resist one last battle. "Retiring for me will only happen after I take [Chestnut] down one last time," Kobayashi told Netflix, adding that the live show means "fans all over the world can watch me knock him out."
Chestnut, meanwhile, admits that he sees the Japanese competitive eater Kobayashi as something of an inspiration as well as a rival: "Competing against him pushed me to be so much better," he told the streaming platform.
Now, 15 years after their last clash, the pair will settle their unfinished beef as they chow down on as many all-beef dogs as possible on Labor Day — the official end of hot dog season.