Competitive eating has a new top dog

The top dog is now the underdog, as King Kobayashi was toppled from his throne. At an eating competition in an Arizona mall over the weekend, Joey Chestnut of San Jose, California, ate 59 1/2 hot dogs in 12 minutes, besting the previous world record of 53 3/4 wieners set in 2004 by longtime champ Takeru Kobayashi of Japan.

Chestnut has been an up-and-comer on the competitive eating circuit for a few years now. Last year, FP talked to George Shea, head of the International Federation of Competitive Eating, who predicted that Chestnut would eventually become champion. But the young Californian’s real test will come next month, when we find out if he can steal the coveted Mustard Yellow Belt from his Japanese rival at Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog-Eating Contest on Coney Island in New York. Our mouths salivate with anticipation.