Patrick Bertoletti certainly lived up to his “Deep Dish” nickname last year, but he’ll have his work cut out for him in 2025 with the return of “Jaws.”
The Chicago native put down 58 hot dogs in 10 minutes at the 2024 Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest to win the event for the first time. However, Joey Chestnut was not eating in the competition he’s dominated for the last decade due to a sponsorship conflict.
Chestnut will be back this year, and Bertoletti is the best chance at stopping him. He’ll have to expand his game (and his stomach) to dethrone the king of competitive eating.
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Who is Patrick Bertoletti? The Sporting News has you covered ahead of the 2025 Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest.
Who is Patrick Bertoletti?
Bertoletti, 40, won the 2024 Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest last year, wolfing down a personal best 58 glizzies in 10 minutes. He became just the second person not named Joey Chestnut since 2007 to win the competition.
“Deep Dish” followed up his victory at Coney Island last year by winning the Inaugural Wendy’s Chicken Nugget Eating Championship (which was held on Long Island), smacking down 220 nuggets in just eight minutes.
Bertoletti is currently the No. 2 competitive eater in the world. He grew up in the suburbs south of Chicago and ran Taco in a Bag, a walk-in taco restaurant in Lincoln Square, from 2015-2020. He joined Major League Eating in 2006.
What happened at last year’s Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest?
Chestnut did not compete in last year’s Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest because he was banned from the event by Major League Eating.
Chestnut had recently signed an endorsement deal with Impossible Foods, which develops plant-based food products. The company launched a marketing campaign in 2024 specifically targeting meat-eaters. MLE said in a statement that Chestnut had “chosen to represent a rival brand” rather than Nathan’s in the Coney Island contest.
“Jaws” took his eating talents to a different event at the Fort Bliss Army base in El Paso, Texas, where he ate 57 hot dogs to his opponents’ 49.
Patrick Bertoletti stats
Bertoletti has been a professional eater for 19 years. Here are some of his other records on the Major League Eating circuit:
- 10.63 lbs Corned Beef & Cabbage / 10 Minutes
- 47 Slices Big Apple Pizza/ 10 Minutes
- 10.8 pounds Key Lime Pie / 8 minutes
- 47 Glazed and Cream-filled Donuts/ 5 minutes
- 42 Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches / 10 minutes
- 5.24 lbs Baby Back Ribs/ 8 minutes
- 6.625 pounds Deep-Fried Calamari / 10 Minutes
