Joey 'Jaws' Chestnut to return to Coney Island hotdog eating contest after contract dispute

The champ is coming backmost to chomp.

Competitive eater Joey “Jaws” Chestnut announced Monday helium volition instrumentality to vie successful this year's Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July blistery canine eating contention aft skipping past year's gastronomic battle for the coveted Mustard Belt.

“This lawsuit means the satellite to me,” Chestnut, 41, said successful a connection posted connected X. “It’s a cherished tradition, a solemnisation of American culture, and a immense portion of my life.”

It volition people the 20th quality for the Indiana eater astatine the Coney Island contest.

Last year, Major League Eating lawsuit organizer George Shea said Chestnut, who has won the 10-minute eat-a-thon 16 times, would not beryllium participating owed to a declaration dispute. Chestnut had struck a woody with a competing brand, the plant-based nutrient institution Impossible Foods.

In a telephone interrogation Monday, the competitory eater made it wide helium ne'er appeared successful immoderate commercials for the company's vegan blistery dogs and that Nathan's is the lone blistery canine institution helium has worked with. But Chestnut acknowledged helium “should person made that much wide with Nathan’s."

“There was a small spot of connection that we could person improved connected past year,” helium said. “And I, yeah, I deliberation we figured it out. It took a small spot of finessing.”

Chestnut is inactive moving with Impossible Foods and said “clarifications” person been made to his respective contracts.

Richard Shea, president of Major League Eating, said helium did not privation to rehash what happened past twelvemonth due to the fact that helium recovered it “dispiriting,” but said he’s blessed “everything is resolved” now.

“I deliberation it’s the instrumentality of the top competitory eater of each clip to the biggest competitory eating lawsuit of each time. So I don’t deliberation it gets overmuch bigger successful immoderate sport,” Shea said. “I mean, this feline is the top performer we’ve ever seen successful Coney Island and successful competitory eating.”

Chestnut said helium heard from fans implicit the past twelvemonth who wanted him to instrumentality to the Coney Island event, which is broadcast unrecorded connected ESPN and adjacent shown overseas.

Last year, helium opted to vie against soldiers successful Fort Bliss, successful El Paso, Texas, successful a 5-minute blistery canine eating contest. Back successful New York, Patrick Bertoletti gobbled up 58 blistery dogs to triumph his archetypal men’s rubric portion defending champion Miki Sudo won her 10th rubric successful the women's division, downing a grounds 51 links.

Chestnut holds the satellite grounds of eating 76 blistery dogs.

“Over the past year, I ran into a batch of radical who said that it wasn’t the aforesaid without me. And I told galore radical that I was going to enactment truly hard to marque definite I got backmost there,” Chestnut said. “And I’m truly blessed that Nathan’s and Major League Eating, we were capable each to fig it out.”

Chestnut said helium been prepping for the large lawsuit and has a mates signifier sessions near earlier the July Fourth holiday.

“My body's successful tune close now,” helium said, explaining however helium has to physique tolerance for consuming truthful galore blistery dogs and “get each those muscles utilized to moving together.” He likened the process to boxer getting successful signifier rounds earlier a large fight.

Chestnut made it wide his concern narration with Impossible Foods does not mean helium has go a vegan, an presumption helium said immoderate fans made past year. Chestnut said helium was amazed by the “weird blowback” helium received astir it, explaining helium eats a plant-based fare during his betterment from competitory eating events.

“I emotion meat. I’m going to proceed to devour meat. But erstwhile I retrieve from a contest, I person to devour ace cleanable successful bid to get my assemblage to effort to get backmost to normal,” helium said. “I can’t devour pounds of nutrient each day.”