Patrick Bertoletti on Joey Chestnut, Fame & Motivation for 2025 Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest

We caught up with Patrick Bertoletti, the reigning champion of the Nathan's Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest, ahead of his July 4 title defense at Coney Island for an exclusive Q&A about fame, motivation, and living in Joey Chestnut's shadow. This conversation was edited for length and clarity.

Patrick Bertoletti doesn't crave your attention. After two decades of devouring everything from cupcakes to catfish, his thirst for favor has all but subsided. That feels like the healthiest approach of all, as the spoils can be underwhelming for even the most accomplished competitive eaters of all time.

The world's No. 2 ranked gurgitator by Major League Eating, Pat "Deep Dish" Bertoletti - a nod to his Chicago roots - owns 35 world records, including three in the last year alone. None satisfy him more than when he downed 275 pickled jalapenos in eight minutes to effectively put himself on the map in 2011.

"To be honest, I don't even really like spicy food," Bertoletti told Sportsbook Review in an exclusive interview last Friday. "I guess it's just a willingness to eat whatever the competition needs."

As he recounts the past, he's looking ahead to the one food he's never lost an appetite for: Nathan's Famous hot dogs. Last year, Bertoletti vanquished 58 hot dogs and buns - a feat matched by just two competitors before him - to win the Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest, a crown jewel in competitive eating that Bertoletti calls the "victory lap" for his already decorated career.

In a few hours, he'll hit the road for hot dog practice (yes, really) with longtime friend and indomitable rival Joey Chestnut, the 16-time Nathan's champion who missed last year's contest due to a conflicting sponsorship deal with plant-based meat company Impossible Foods.

Until a few weeks ago, Bertoletti expected Chestnut to watch this year's contest from the sidelines, too, before MLE welcomed back the sport's biggest star with a fortnight left until the Fourth of July event. The news propelled Chestnut to prohibitive favorite status by the Nathan's hot dog eating contest odds and relegated Bertoletti, the reigning champion, to a relative footnote.

"I don't think most people are even going to remember that I won last year, to be honest," Bertoletti says. "I haven't earned that respect to make me a well-known household name like Joey."

By all accounts, Bertoletti is one of the greatest competitive eaters to ever live. But he is no Joey Chestnut. Those aren't my words - those are straight from the sport's governing body, which decrees Chestnut as the "greatest eater in history" by matter of "empirical fact."

Can it even be argued? He owns 55 records of his own, including the holy grail of hot dogs eaten in 10 minutes (83), and he's taken home every hot dog contest he's entered since 2016. Alas, the shadow of Joey Chestnut swallows all in the world of competitive eating, and time is running out on Bertoletti's victory lap - and he knows it.

"The goal is to keep the same motivation and do the most I can, but I'm also a realist," Bertoletti says. "I would not bet on me to beat Joey, let's just say that."

In an exclusive interview with Sportsbook Review, Bertoletti opened up about his friendship and rivalry with Chestnut, his relative anonymity since winning the Mustard Belt, his unhealthy obsession with Nathan's franks, handicapping this year's hot dog eating contest, and what his future holds after July 4.

It's been nearly a year since you won the Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest. After last year's win, you told me you expected your life would "definitely change forever." How has your life changed since we last talked?

It was on my bucket list to do, and they can never take away the Mustard Belt from me. It's a great achievement. But I'm kind of just back to normal, if that makes sense. I'm not really a household name. And to be honest, I feel like back in the day, like 10 years ago, I was a lot more well known. But I'm actually fine with that. When it happened (last year), it was a big deal for a couple weeks, and now I'm just back to normal. But I'm totally fine with that.

Have you had any sort of unique sponsorship deals or anything like that?

I went to Tokyo for like a week and a half to eat boiling hot ramen for an hour, which is very difficult. But the trip was incredible and that's all that matters so hopefully they invite me back next year. And then I got invited onto Kevin Hart's Olympics show where I ate a bunch of escargot. I don't really care for it. I don't know how much I had, but I ate a lot of escargot in like a minute.

How does escargot compare to hot dogs and buns?

Yeah, it was not easy. It was more difficult, a little bit chewy. The fun thing is you can do stuff like that and it's not really as much pressure because they're bringing you there to see you do it and for the recognition. So that was fun. I am realizing that some foods I'm just not the best at. I carried the mindset that I had for Nathan's throughout the year, and it's really difficult to be that "on" for other events all the time. I get it now - it's hard.

Do you think you'll ever be sick of hot dogs?

I don't think it's possible at this point. I do a hot dog video every week on my YouTube channel. I'm still not sick of them, I don't know. There's really something wrong. I know there's something wrong with me, but there's really something wrong with me.

Last year you started training for the Nathan's contest in November. How long have you been training for this year's event, and how has your process changed since winning it last year?

I started in April with practices, but I think that was a mistake. I wanted to put in the work but I didn't know how. I think I should have just conserved it and waited. I find that after like three hot dog practices is when my overall stomach capacity is good. I'm getting close to where I need to be. I'm realizing more this year the mental part, too, is difficult. It's really taxing. You have to be laser-focused with the motivation and the mental preparation - it's the whole package, you know?

To that point, I wanted to ask you about motivation. Last year, you talked about winning the Mustard Belt as the crowning achievement of your competitive eating career. How do you maintain that same hunger after you've won it before?

Well, this year my goal the whole time was to do better than last year, and that's always been the case. If Joey's not there, then I have a very good shot of winning if I do that. And now that Joey is going, it's the same thing. The motivation is not to regress and give all the internet trolls even more fuel to talk (trash) about me. But also, I just want to improve personally, as well. It's difficult. I'm realizing it's really the last 5-10 hot dogs are the hardest thing to gain.

When did you find out that Joey would be in this year's contest?

Maybe like three weeks ago? A little bit before it was made public.

How did you find out?

I talked to Joey about it, actually. I had a feeling ... For a long while, Geoffrey Esper and James Webb didn't think Joey was coming back, and neither did I. At some point we all thought it was over, and then there was the story that they were talking, and then (he told me) before they made it official.

Last year you said it felt "weird" without Joey involved, and you've been vocal about wanting him back for this year's contest. How is it different at the table when he's front and center, and how does that change the approach for you and others?

When he's there, everybody's just looking at him, and you're getting overlooked. It can be a little daunting and take you out of it because you're like, "Oh, he's going to win." You just have to be thinking about yourself and not worrying about it. But just knowing he's going to be there definitely can challenge your motivation.

What do you think is different about Joey that has enabled him to enjoy his level of success? Is it more of a physical or mental thing?

Physically, we're a pretty similar build. I don't know what's going on inside of him. Maybe some of it is genetics - maybe his throat is wider, maybe he has a different build in the consumption muscles like his jaws and stomach. Maybe he's just able to deal with the discomfort more. It probably comes down to both physical and mental. For some reason with hot dogs, that's the one you have to win every year, and that's the one he's really able to separate himself from everyone else.

Yeah, he does seem like a ... I'm trying to think of the most respectful way to say it ...

Psycho?

That's probably the right word. How do you get that "psycho" in you?

I don't know, man. I think my biggest problem is I slow down, but like ... everybody slows down. That's really the difference with Joey. The split times he has for every 10 hot dogs, he just keeps the pace going a lot longer. I don't know how he does it. I might just not be able to physically do that, I don't know. I'm still trying to figure that out. If I could, I'd eat 80 hot dogs.

Does Joey keep his routine and pace close to the vest, or are you aware of how he's tracking ahead of this year's contest?

He's pretty open about it. I mean, it's the ultimate confidence, right? I'm going to his house this weekend to practice. I have a lot more to gain; he's not going to gain anything from watching me eat hot dogs. But that's the ultimate confidence. I don't even think it's arrogance. You can have all the information, but that still doesn't mean you can beat him. He's always been that open about everything. He helped us with training last year. When he figures stuff out, he usually shares it.

What's the best piece of advice that he's ever given you?

I think it would just be the training and food practices. I don't think I was doing that before. I wasn't trying to replicate contest positioning. I wasn't buying the Nathan's hot dogs, I was buying the 10 for $10 packs, which are disgusting. I'm ordering the buns from the sponsor now. All the stuff Joey was telling me he was doing that I thought he was crazy for, I'm like, "You know what, the mindset has to be that I'm going to do whatever it takes to win." Slowly but surely I'm getting closer to that. I feel like I've done whatever I can to win, but this time around I'm already thinking about what I can do better next time.

Does Joey talk trash, or does he let his eating do the talking?

He talks a little trash, but the thing he does that is extra motivating is he doesn't really give out compliments. He's almost like my older brother - no matter what I do, the motivation really has been just to shut him up. I want to do better so that I can silence him. It's more what he doesn't say because he doesn't have to say anything because he's been the best all along. He doesn't really talk trash. I was talking trash after winning (last year), but it was all in good fun. I invited him to Thanksgiving and I told him I'd bring the belt so he could hold it and know how it feels. Dumb stuff like that.

Do you guys have any side bets going into this one?

Not this year. He says I bet him five grand that I was going to be within 20 hot dogs of him one year. I think I still owe him money.

Speaking of betting odds, you're an even bigger long shot now than you were before winning it last year. The betting market is giving you roughly a 10% chance to win. I know we both understand why, but I have to ask: are you the most disrespected defending champion of all time?

No way. Last year was more insulting, to be honest, because I still had the highest personal best of the field. This year it's exactly where it needs to be. I'd say wait until they post the Over/Unders and bet the Over. That's a smarter bet.

It looks like DraftKings has already posted O/U markets. You opened at 48.5.

Now that's insulting.

You recently celebrated your 40th birthday. Last year you talked about finding ways to adapt for a declining eating speed compared to a decade earlier. Obviously, you set a personal best as a result. How has your process changed as you've gotten older, and where do you feel it the most?

You have to eat in a wiser and smarter fashion. When you're a newer eater, you might come out super fast out of the gate to prove a point, but nobody cares if you were leading the race for five minutes. The only thing people remember is who won. It's just a reframing of the time and the energy. To be honest, the hardest part is the recovery time. I don't know how I found the energy to do what I did 10 years ago with trainings, but now I just don't have it. I'm smarter, I'm wiser about that and more realistic, as well. Do the work, get ready, do the most you can, and if you lose, then you have extra motivation for the next year.

How long do you think you'll keep doing this? What will your swan song look like whenever that does come?

I don't know. Not a ton longer. I'm probably not going to tell anyone. I'll eat in front of all those people, but secretly, I don't crave the attention. It makes me a little uncomfortable. That's why I'm not upset where I'm not known by anyone. People that know, know, and it's an accomplishment that nobody can take away from me. I'm totally fine with my position and where I am and I get it, you know? I totally get it.

Even if winning the Mustard Belt didn't exactly change your public profile, what does it mean to you now personally a year later - regardless of what the future holds?

I do think it's cool, but I'm kind of over it. I'm the type where I'm always onto the next thing. I want to go farther, I want to progress. I was very happy to win last year. I think I was selling myself short before. That's probably the hardest thing that I've ever accomplished - I set out with the goal, I did it, and to me that was the ultimate thing. That's like the first time I've been genuinely happy in a long time. So I can always channel that energy and that feeling of winning it.

You can follow Pat Bertoletti on Instagram @deepdisheats or on Twitter/X @PatBertoletti. You can also check out his weekly videos on his YouTube channel @PatBertoletti.