The Eating Record Matt Stonie Thinks Is 'Untouchable'
If you're unfamiliar with the competitive eating world, all of the records set might seem impossible to fathom. How Stuff Works lays out the history and science behind competitive eating, and how it got to be as oversized as it is today. They claim informal eating contests have existed, in one form or another, since humans had enough food to do so. Competitive eating contests became a regular fixture at state and county fairs in the United States during the early 20th century, and usually focused more on messy foods, like eating pie with no hands, rather than speed.
In 1997, the International Federation of Competitive Eating was formed to unify and regulate safety standards, eating methods, and qualifications across regional competitions. Today, this group keeps track of records and ranks the world's top eaters.
The most well-known contest might be Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest, which takes place on July fourth of each year in New York City's Coney Island and is broadcast on ESPN (via Nathan's Famous). The current world record for most hot dogs eaten was established in 2018, when competitor Joey Chestnut ate 74 hot dogs in just 10 minutes. Major League Eating considers Joey Chestnut the greatest eater in history, and claims he holds 46 competitive eating world records. Hot on Chestnut's trail is competitive eater Matt Stonie, who is currently ranked third. According to Stonie's personal website, the champion has broken 24 eating records from 2013 to 2017.
Each of these champions has one ridiculous, seemingly unbeatable record
There are two competitive eating records that Matt Stonie believes are so outrageous they will never be broken. In an interview with ESPN, Stonie says the two records he believes can never be beaten are his 2014 record of eating 84 slices of pumpkin pie (that's 20 and 13 ounces worth!) in eight minutes, and Joey Chestnut's record of 384 dumplings, which Backyard Bite notes he finished in just 10 minutes in 2014.
The Los Angeles Times states that the Day-Lee Foods World Gyoza Eating Championship, where the dumping eating record was broken, is part of the Nisei Week festival, which takes place in the Little Tokyo neighborhood of Los Angeles. The pumpkin pie record-breaking contest took place at the Elk Grove World Pumpkin Pie Eating Championships and is part of the Elk Grove Giant Pumpkin Festival, as reported by the Sacramento Bee. When speaking to ESPN, Stonie attributed the massive amounts of food put away by the two pros to the good-natured, competitive spirit between them.