For most, National Doughnut Day either goes entirely unnoticed or is celebrated with one, or maybe two, glazed morning or midday treats.
For Joey Chestnut, the day meant inhaling 257 powdered Hostess Donettes in six minutes, a world record that won him $4,000 at a Major League Eating competitive eating event at The Shops at Liberty Place.
"It was easier than I anticipated, and one of the way tastier events that I've done," says 34-year-old Chestnut, a full-time competitive eater with a baker's dozen worth of competition years under his belt.
Three-time Wing Bowl champ Chestnut, a native of San Jose, Calif., is currently ranked the No. 1 competitive eater in the world and partakes in events nearly every weekend. He's broken records with foods ranging from fish tacos to asparagus to Philly cheesesteaks and travels to destinations including Australia, China, and states all across the country to chow down for cash.
Sporting a perfectly shaped beard of powder on his face and a not so perfect showing of crumbs and water on his T-shirt, Chestnut recalls that the hardest part of the Donettes event came at the start.
"The first bite is always the most challenging for me," says Chestnut. "But once I get past the nerves, I can get into a rhythm. The powder actually wasn't as hard as I thought it would be."
Chestnut explains that he was able to spill water into his mouth in between fistfuls of compacted Donettes, helping to counteract the dryness that comes naturally with eating more than 40 powdered doughnuts per minute.
Among the other nine competitors, personalized competition tactics included adding milk and coffee into the mix, wearing plastic gloves, and utilizing huffing techniques to speed up the swallowing process. Donette dipping in water was not permitted.
More than just Chestnut went home with money on Friday, June 1, with a total of $8,000 distributed among the top seven doughnut-downers. The second-place contender, Carmen Cincotti, was just 13 Donettes short of tying with Chestnut, polishing off 244 to achieve $2,000.
"I feel really good, so I wish it was longer," says Cincotti, who hails from New Jersey. "I could've gone for a full 10 minutes. Doughnuts are good, much better than some of the stronger foods I've dealt with."
Rene Rovtar, a superintendent of schools in Montvale, N.J., took last place with 24 Donettes consumed. Weighing in at just over 100 pounds and the only female participant seated at Friday's table, Rovtar is not new to the competition circuit. Past events have featured pork rolls and hot dogs, among the array of challenges she takes on simply for fun.
As the audience counted down the final 10 seconds of Friday's event, watching Chestnut with eyes closed and face grimacing made it hard to imagine competitive eating as "fun." The 6-foot-tall, 215 pound man had to stomach nearly 16,000 calories in six minutes. Fun?
Yet, Chestnut is quick to voice that his new career is certainly better than his former day job as a construction manager.
"My job today is to celebrate National Doughnut Day _ that's a good deal," says Chestnut, noting that the doughnuts were settling surprisingly well. "I get to break records and make people happy, and food always brings people together."
Around 50 people packed the Rotunda of Liberty Place, with another couple dozen spectators leaning on the railing overhead on the second floor. Many quickly hurried over to both Chestnut and Cincotti post-competition to pose for photos with the top-placed eaters.
"It's ridiculous. I don't know how else you could describe this," says 27-year-old Bob Manning, who popped out of his office at Liberty Place to catch the action. "I watch Joey every fourth of July in the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest, so it was awesome to see him here."
Chestnut hopes to return to the city for the 2019 Wing Bowl, a competition he hasn't participated in for 10 years.
"I won three and then they told me I couldn't come back," says Chestnut, who explains that the organizers wanted to see a local competitor win. "We're now back in talks, though, and I hope to be out there next year. I love Philadelphia so it'd be great to get back."
If he does reap a chance to compete, odds aren't good for the others vying it out to win.
"He's like Tom Brady _ Chestnut is the greatest of all time when it comes to competitive eating," says Richard Shea, president of Major League Eating. "It's beautiful to watch him and the way that he works."
Again, "beautiful" is not often a word used to describe any part of competitive eating, but it's undeniable that Chestnut has skill. His next challenge comes less than 48 hours after stomaching his last Donette, when on Sunday he'll take on ice cream sandwiches in an event in San Diego. His goal: Eat more than 26 ice cream sandwiches in another six-minute round of chowing down.
