A month before Godzilla and King Kong clash in movie theaters, titans of their respective arenas will battle to see who cracks the most. This coming Monday will be the best of two worlds combining in a one-of-a-kind competitive eating challenge at Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier.
The second-annual Wonderful Pistachios Get Crackin’ Eating Championship will crack its first nut at 11 a.m., with hundreds of the food items to be ingested by a legendary group on World Pistachio Day. Taking the stage will be top-ranked eaters around the world, including defending pistachio eating champion Nick Wehry and perhaps the greatest eater in history, Joey Chestnut.
Chestnut is one half of the "Joey vs Joey" challenge, contesting with four-time National Football League Pro Bowler Joey Bosa. The Chargers’ defensive standout has been a Los Angeles mainstay since being picked third overall in the 2016 NFL Draft, racking up 67 sacks over his career, and will now be trading in his tackle form for nut cracking finesse.
"Not only does it merge some of our favorite things — pistachios and eating — but does so against the iconic backdrop of the Pier, to create photo-worthy moments and memories for attendees," said Wonderful Pistachios vice president of marketing Diana Salsa. "When we were considering just how to make our World Pistachio Day celebrations bigger and better than ever before, it was also important for us to do something that sets itself apart from its peers."
Credit: Courtesy Wonderful Pistachios
The two Joeys and the other entrants will have eight minutes to crack open and eat as many pistachios as possible, with competitors needing to crack open each pistachio before eating it and moving onto the next one. Results are calculated by weight in grams and converted to the number, with Wehry setting a record of 188 pistachios at Pacific Park last year.
This year’s victor will receive a championship title, and $10,000 in cash prizes will be given out in total. Along with Chestnut and Wehry, the first and fourth-ranked competitive eaters in Major League Eating, entrants include fifth-ranked James Webb, seventh-ranked Bartley Weaver and 12th-ranked Darrien Thomas.
"[Wehry] faces one of his most daunting battles of the 2024 Competitive Eating Circuit as he fights to defend his champion title and World Record from an international field of competitors," Major League Eating emcee Sam Barclay said.
One of the competitors is one of America’s true dominant athletes, Chestnut, who many know from his hot dog eating exploits each Independence Day on Coney Island. Chestnut won his 16th Nathan’s Hot Dog contest in 2023, and holds the record with 76 devoured dogs and buns in 10 minutes in 2021. According to Major League Eating record books, however, Chestnut is more than a one-food act, holding 55 records across different food disciplines.
Despite coming up short of the field in 2023, cracking and eating 121 pistachios, Chestnut says he’s more tuned up this year, stating that there are some similarities between cracking action and his hot dog dominance’s larger digestion process.
"There’s parts of it [that] are exactly the same," Chestnut noted. "I still videotape my practices and look at my technique, see what’s tripping me up. The best thing about it though, I can go again and again … I’m not full afterwards."
He added that recovery is more outward than inward, as his fingers become "raw" while learning how to open pistachios in a quick manner.
Credit: Jeff Lewis
Though born in Fulton County, Kentucky, Chestnut is well-versed in California culture, growing up in the Bay Area and attending college at San Jose State University. He said that last year’s competition was hampered by rainfall, but he looks forward to seeing "more of a crowd" in a place he adores.
"Santa Monica has pretty much all of the things I do miss [about California]," Chestnut said. "Usually it’s good weather and there’s [the] beach, there’s great Mexican food, great seafood. Going to Santa Monica makes me miss California. I’m so busy, [but] I get to travel a lot, and it’ll be fun to go out there and eat pistachios and hopefully [meet] a ton of great people."
The eating is just one piece of the entertainment pie, as Major League Eating events enter into the fanatical with exaggerated introductions and colorful stage setup. If anyone knows about the allure of the sport, it’s the face of the franchise.
"Everybody can kind of relate to it," Chestnut said. "It’s not like hitting a baseball, hitting a home run [or] making a three-point shot … anybody who’s watching [competitive eating] from the audience whether you’re a man, woman, child, can kind of relate to how we’re feeling or relate to the feeling of wanting to eat more … it kind of draws you in. It’s kind of this weird, primal, natural thing, it’s easy for people to relate to us when they actually see it."
And many have seen it, as millions tune in for the Nathan’s contest each year, along with the cavalcade of carnivores being a popular live attraction. As the premier name of his sport, Chestnut says sticking around nearly two decades into his illustrious career is partially due to representing more than himself, being the man who brings attention to other eaters and various sponsors. However, the main motivation is his love for competition and embracing an unlikely role as entertainer.
"I never thought of myself as an entertainer, growing up I wanted to be an engineer, and I never thought that I’d actually make people happy by doing something" Chestnut said. "It’s been a really pleasant surprise. When I go to these events, there’s people who have traveled quite a ways to come watch me and take the time out of their day to watch me. I take that seriously, and I’m going to do my best."
For more information on the contest and the pistachio brand, visit majorleagueeating.com and wonderfulpistachios.com.
