The top dog of competitive hot-dog eating is back.

Joey Chestnut, the 16-time champion of Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest, will return to its Coney Island competition stage this summer, a year after being sidelined by a sponsorship conflict.

“This event means the world to me. It’s a cherished tradition, a celebration of American culture, and a huge part of my life,” Chestnut said in his social media announcement on Monday. “I’m excited to be back on the Coney Island stage, doing what I live to do, and celebrating the Fourth of July with hot dogs in my hands!”

Chestnut has been synonymous with the July 4th event since 2007, when he began his yearslong winning streak.

The 41-year-old boasts the 10 highest totals in the event and even earned a Guinness World Record for eating 76 hot dogs in 10 minutes at the 2021 competition. It’s one of 55 world records he holds in competitive eating, having conquered a wide range of delicacies from gumbo to boysenberry pie to a whole turkey.

“Joey Chestnut is the greatest eater in history. That is not empty editorializing or bloviating. That is empirical fact,” says Major League Eating (MLE), the organization that oversees professional competitive eating events (frankly, hot dogs are just the tip of the iceberg).

But in a shocking twist last year, with the storied Coney Island contest less than a month away, MLE banned Chestnut from the stage.

What was the beef? 

Chestnut regularly competes in “unbranded” events, such as concessions-eating contests at ballparks in the summer. But in June 2024, MLE accused Chestnut of violating their “basic hot dog exclusivity provisions” by partnering with a “rival brand.”

Chestnut had signed an endorsement deal with Impossible Foods, a company that makes plant-based meat substitutes and had recently launched a marketing campaign targeting carnivorous consumers.

He said at the time that he did not have a contract with Nathan’s or MLE, accusing the organizers of “looking to change the rules from past years as it relates to other partners I can work with” and depriving “the great fans of the holiday’s usual joy and entertainment.”

MLE maintained it would welcome Chestnut back when he was not representing a rival company, and apparently rolled back its ban shortly before the contest. But Chestnut said he wouldn’t return without an apology, and went on to stage his own competition at the Fort Bliss Army base in El Paso, Texas.

July 4th was ultimately a sausage split screen: Chicagoan Patrick Bertoletti put away 58 hot dogs in 10 minutes to win his first Nathan’s contest, while Chestnut downed 57 hot dogs in half the time — beating a team of four soldiers, who collectively consumed 49.

Chestnut stayed busy. In September, he faced off against his longtime archrival Takeru Kobayashi — “the Godfather of Competitive Eating” — in a highly anticipated Labor Day rematch streamed on Netflix. He guzzled 83 glizzies (and buns) in 10 minutes, beating Kobayashi as well as his own record.

How did Chestnut’s homecoming happen? 

Chestnut acknowledged on social media that there had been “differences in interpretation,” but said he and organizers were able to “find common ground.”

“While I have and continue to partner with a variety of companies, including some in the plant-based space, those relationships were never a conflict with my love for hot dogs,” he wrote. “To be clear: Nathan’s is the only hot dog company I’ve ever worked with.”

MLE confirmed in a statement that Chestnut will once again grace its hallowed stage. Its cofounder and emcee George Shea told NPR that “we were able to come together and I think everybody was interested in that,” though declined to comment on details of the agreement.

“Major League Eating is extremely excited that Joey will be returning to the 4th of July event this year, and it literally will be the greatest sporting event in the history of sports,” Shea said. “We are excited, the fans are excited and it was sort of all systems go for the 4th.”

Chestnut told the Associated Press that while he never appeared in any commercials for Impossible Foods’ vegan hot dogs, he “should have made that more clear with Nathan’s.”

With the beef behind him, Chestnut now has his eyes on the prize. He told the AP he’s already started prepping for the competition.

In a 2021 Nathan’s video, Chestnut he usually starts training around the end of April, a process that involves multiple practice contests under increasingly real conditions.

“A lot of it’s psychological and mental,” he said. “Your body tells you you’re full, and being able to ignore that feeling of full, that makes it easier to train.”

Shea told NPR that he’s especially excited to see Chestnut face off against Bertoletti, the reigning hot dog (among other foods) champion — and underdog. He ate 58 hot dogs last year, while Chestnut usually averages over 70.

“But word on the street is that Pat has been working, upping his numbers, and that he’s gonna give Joey a run for it,” Shea said. “He does not want to relinquish his title.”

Patrick Bertoletti celebrates winning the men’s title with a score of 58 during the 2024 Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July hot dog eating competition.

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A quick ketchup on the hot dog-eating contest

Nathan’s Famous claims the hot dog eating contest was born when four immigrants gathered at its original Coney Island stand on July 4, 1916, in a stomach-churning display of patriotism. That myth has been debunked — a publicity agent confessed in 2010 that the company made it up.

Eating contests were a regular feature at July 4th celebrations for decades after the American Revolution, Jason Fagone, the author of Horsemen Of The Esophagus, told NPR in 2023. But Nathan’s changed the game when it held its first recorded contest in 1972, which for many years was seen as a joke even by its largely local contestants.

In the 1990s, brothers Richard and George Shea took over the company’s publicity efforts and grew the contest into a bona fide bonanza, referring to the competitors as athletes and giving them elaborate, hyperbolic introductions.

The real turning point for the contest came in 2001, when Kobayashi — who rose to fame eating 16 bowls of ramen in an hour on a TV show in his native Japan — first brought his talents to Coney Island.

Using the novel technique of snapping hot dogs in half and dunking buns in water cups, Kobayashi set a new world record of 50 hot dogs in 12 minutes — and putting the sport on the world stage.

“And then after that, everything changed because there started to be real money,” Fagone said.

ESPN started broadcasting the contest live, which it still does today. It attracts competitors from around the globe, started a women’s-only contest in 2011 and awards champions $10,000 each (as well as a yellow and pink mustard belt, respectively).

An estimated 40,000 people attend the event in person, while hundreds of thousands tune in to watch. Shea likens the atmosphere to “a cross between an illegal dog fight and the Super Bowl.”

According to ESPN, the contest drew about one million viewers in 2022 and 2023, but felt Chestnut’s absence last year with just 831,000 viewers, its lowest number in more than a decade.

Food Network Star Anne Burrell
Smiles In Final Photo Before Death

Published June 17, 2025 5:55 PM PDT

Earlier this year, my partner, two kids and I got stuck in Los Angeles for three days. We were on a layover, trying to get to Hawaii for a family reunion. But the airline kept canceling our next flights. It was a nightmare — we had no idea when we’d ever get to leave L.A.

After we finally got to Hawaii and back, and spent weeks fighting credit card charges for all those canceled flights, I wondered: What’s the best way to handle a sudden flight delay or cancellation? How do I avoid this situation in the future?

Air travel is getting notably worse. Data from the Department of Transportation shows an increase in canceled flights throughout 2024, when compared with the previous two years.

Travel experts explain how to make rebooking flights less painful — and what you can do to ensure your next trip goes smoothly.

Multitask! While standing in line, rebook your flight online 

While standing in line, open up the airline app and rebook yourself, says travel reporter Chris Dong.

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Most people react to a cancellation by heading straight to the nearest customer service desk and queuing up to rebook their flight. The problem with that approach? Everyone else on your flight is doing that too.

“You have 300 people getting off the plane. There’s maybe one, two people trying to help everyone. That clearly is the least efficient way,” says travel reporter Chris Dong.

While standing in line, open up the airline app and rebook yourself, he says. There’s often a seamless way to get it done, no customer service conversation necessary. And online booking will likely solve your problem much quicker than waiting to get help from an agent.

Try calling the customer service hotline in another language.  

If you can’t rebook online and need to speak to an agent, think outside the box. Do you speak another language? If so, try calling the number for the airline in that language, Dong says. It can save you time because it’s likely less flooded than the English-language line.

See if an agent can help you at the airport lounge. 

If you have a travel credit card that gives you lounge access, head there to get one-on-one customer service. “Lounge agents are much more inclined to help you and are usually not as short-staffed,” Dong says. “That can get you help quickly.”

If you don’t already have lounge access, see if you can purchase a day pass on-site. It may be well worth it depending on your flight cost and timeline.

Know what you’re entitled to from the airline.  

Many major airlines have committed to giving passengers cost-free rebooking, meal vouchers, hotel accommodations, hotel transportation and more.

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Most airlines in the U.S. aren’t required to compensate you for delays or cancellations unless it’s the airline’s fault (think maintenance issues or staffing problems).

To find out what you’re entitled to, check the Department of Transportation’s Airline Cancellation and Delay Dashboard. Many major airlines have committed to giving passengers cost-free rebooking, meal vouchers, hotel accommodations, hotel transportation and more.

Once you know what your airline offers, say, a hotel, you can rest easy about what to do that night — and focus on rebooking for the next day.

Check what your travel insurance covers. 

Once you know what your airline will cover, check what your travel insurance will cover. Many credit cards include some travel insurance coverage, which can provide everything from trip cancellation to luggage insurance to any medical needs that might arise en route.

Pro-tip from Eulanda Osagiede, director of operations at Black Travel Alliance and chief operations officer at Black Travel Summit: The next time you buy your travel insurance, pick a plan through an independent company. She recommends Cover For You or Faye, rather than opting into the generic insurance offered by your airline. You’ll get better deals, she says.

Choose a flight earlier in the day. 

Early morning flights are your best bet to avoid delays or cancellations, Dong says.

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If you have flight time options when rebooking or flexibility in your travel schedule, choose the early-morning flight. They’re your best bet to avoid delays or cancellations, Dong says.

If you’re on the first flight out, there’s little chance you’ll have to wait for that aircraft coming in from another city because it’s likely been sitting at the airport overnight.

Don’t let yourself get stranded. Keep moving. 

If your airline can’t quickly rebook you, look for creative ways to get to your final destination. Buy a one-way ticket on another airline (ask for reimbursement later), skip the flight altogether and take a train or bus, or fly into a nearby city and drive the rest of the way.

“Don’t just be stuck,” Dong says. “As long as you get to a destination that’s closer to you, you’re better off. Figure it out when you get there.”

Book direct. 

Beware of using a third party to book your flights. I bought my family’s Hawaii tickets on a third-party site, and when my rebooked Hawaii flight was re-canceled, the third-party site wouldn’t help me. What’s more, the airline didn’t even know the third-party site had told me I was rebooked (because apparently I never was).

“Book direct, always,” Dong says, to set yourself up for success and assistance in case of delays or cancellations. “In terms of pricing, there usually shouldn’t be a difference.”

If you want refunds or flight credits, be nice to your customer service rep.

Your best bet to get a refund from the airline is to do some serious sweet talking, says Eulanda Osagiede,  director of operations at Black Travel Alliance and chief operations officer at Black Travel Summit.

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If you originally booked a refundable ticket directly with your airline, getting your money back should be  no problem. But if, like me, you didn’t (oops), your best bet to get that refund is some serious sweet-talking, Osagiede says.

Osagiede says she’s gotten flight credits on canceled, non-refundable, zero-flight-credit trips just by being “very nice, very friendly” with the customer service representative on the phone. So don’t start yelling at them. Treating reps like the human beings they are can make all the difference.

Avoid non-refundable tickets. 

And speaking of non-refundable tickets, avoid them if you can, Osagiede says. Yes, they are cheaper, but they are a risk. They do “not offer refunds or rescheduling, so you’re rolling the dice.”

As for me, I did eventually get my money back — but not without weeks of emails, phone calls and frustration. Next time, I’ll book directly with the airline, get travel insurance and have a backup plan in mind. If nothing else, getting stranded taught me that what’s worse than a canceled flight is not knowing what to do next.

This story was edited by Malaka Gharib. The visual editor is Beck Harlan. We’d love to hear from you. Leave us a voicemail at 202-216-9823, or email us at LifeKit@npr.org.

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