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Competitive eating

Activity in which participants compete to consume large quantities of food

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History

Precursors

An early competitive eater was Nicholas Wood, the Great Eater of Kent, whose skill was featured in Iohn Taylor's 1630 pamphlet The great eater, of Kent, or Part of the admirable teeth and stomacks exploits of Nicholas Wood. The pamphlet, which Taylor asserts is factually true, reports a series of Wood's stunts including eating a whole sheep raw in one sitting (excluding the wool, horns, and bones), 7 dozen rabbits in one meal, and nearly 400 pigeons in another meal. He was a local celebrity in Kent and performed at fairs, festivals, and accepting eating challenges from wealthy patrons. He lost a wager on two occasions: once for being unable to finish ale-soaked bread, and another time at the home of Sir William Sedley, when he overate and fell into an 8-hour food coma; after he awakened, Sedley's servants put Wood in the stocks to shame him for his failure.

19th century

The first recorded pie eating contest took place in Toronto in 1878. It was organized as a charity fundraising event and won by Albert Piddington. It is not known how many pies were consumed. The prize was a "Handsomely Bound Book". Following this, eating contests – particularly those involving pie – became popular across Canada and the United States, traditionally at county fairs.

There are some notable examples of early eating contestants, such as Joe McCarthy, who consumed 31 pies in a competition held at Charles Tanby's Saloon in 1897. Frank Dotzler is also noteworthy after consuming "275 oysters, 8 & 1/8th pounds of steak, 12 rolls, and 3 large pies, all washed down with 11 cups of coffee" at an event organised by the Manhattan Fat Men's Club in 1909.

Modern times

The recent surge in the popularity of competitive eating is due in large part to the development of the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest, an annual holiday tradition that has been held on July 4 every year since 1916 at Coney Island. While the origins are debated, it is believed to have begun as a result of four immigrants who tried to eat as many hot dogs as possible to show off their patriotism. In 2010, however, promoter Mortimer Matz admitted to having fabricated the legend of the 1916 start date with a man named Max Rosey in the early 1970s as part of a publicity stunt. The legend grew over the years, to the point where The New York Times and other publications were known to have repeatedly listed 1916 as the inaugural year, although no evidence of the contest exists. As Coney Island is often linked with recreational activities of the summer season, several early contests were held on other holidays associated with summer besides Independence Day; Memorial Day contests were scheduled for 1972, 1975, and 1978, and a second 1972 event was held on Labor Day.

The organisation of Major League Eating (MLE) in 1997 was also a key development in the increasing popularity. The organisation is responsible for between 70 and 80 eating contests per year across North America, most notably Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest, which has aired on ESPN since 2003.

As of 2023, the most successful male competitor is Joey Chestnut, who has won Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest a total of sixteen times since 2007. Chestnut also holds the record for most hot dogs consumed in the contest, with 76 in 2021. The second most successful is Takeru Kobayashi, who won six consecutive titles from 2001 to 2006. Both men hold multiple world records relating to eating, with Kobayashi holding 5, and Chestnut 14. Bob Shoudt "Notorious B.O.B." won the largest prize ever in a professional eating contest in the 2017 Philadelphia Wing Bowl - $50,000 in prizes (Hyundai Santa Fe, $10,000, ring and medallion).

In 2011, Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest introduced a female-only tournament. The most successful competitor in this contest is Miki Sudo, with nine wins since 2014. She is the reigning female champion as of 2024 and also holds the record for most hot dogs eaten by a female contestant, with 51. She currently holds 3 world records.

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