Joey “Jaws” Chestnut, the competitive eating legend known for dominating the Nathan’s Annual Hot Dog Contest on July 4, just hit a home run on a new challenge: chowing down on Impossible Chicken Nuggets.
He announced the challenge around two weeks ago on his Instagram account. Chestnut explained that he would try to eat 99 of the plant-based nuggets during nine innings of the San Francisco Giants-Los Angeles Dodgers game on Friday, and that he would be taking a guest along for the ride.
“Think you got what it takes to eat against the GOAT?” he asked, after saying that a lucky winner would be selected to go “bite for bite, nugget for nugget.”
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Chestnut not only met the challenge but knocked it out of the park (although the nuggets ended up in his stomach rather than sailing over San Francisco’s Oracle Park). Instead of just 99 nuggets, he put away 275.
Before he sat down with challenger Jayson Toweh, Chestnut admitted that he was actually nervous, said the Chronicle. Although the 41-year-old has at least 55 competitive eating championships under his belt – including 17 Nathan’s contests – he revealed that he had never attempted a nugget-based challenge.
“I don’t have a nugget record. I really think I can do 99 after two innings of eating,” he said ahead of the game.
Impossible Foods, maker of the nuggets, brought a total of 2,000 for the challenge. His partnership with the brand did get him banned from the Nathan’s contest last year, but he was able to return this year and won the competition yet again.
As the Bay Area native cruised through 150 nuggets by the third inning this Friday, then another 100 by the seventh, the Giants were also successful. They beat the Dodgers 5-1.
This new win helps Chestnut live up to his reputation as “the greatest eater in history,” per Major League Eating. His eating challenge oeuvre also includes eggs, grilled cheese sandwiches, tacos, Twinkies and more.