Joey Chestnut to return for ‘World-famous St. Elmo Cocktail Eating Championship’

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The 9th “World-famous St. Elmo Shrimp Cocktail Eating Championship” is back, and Major League Eating athlete, Joey Chestnut, will be returning for the competition!

It’s happening at 3 p.m. Saturday on Georgia Street. This is part of the 2022 Big Ten Football Championship Game weekend festivities. Chestnut and the other competitors will be competing for the title of the Shrimp Cocktail Eating Champion of the World and a $3,000 prize. Everyone will have eight minutes to eat as much shrimp cocktail as possible, which may be difficult with St. Elmo’s cocktail sauce being the world’s spiciest food.

“I’m going to do what I love doing. I’m going to go out there and eat. Whatever my body’s telling me, I’m going to ignore it. I’m going to keep eating,” Chestnut told News 8.

According to a release, Chestnut ate 186 shrimp (18 pounds) in eight minutes in 2018 which is equivalent to 46.5 orders from the restaurant. He set a world record and earned the sixth consecutive shrimp cocktail eating championship title. Fast forward to 2021, he ate 17 pounds of the shrimp cocktail in eight minutes.

Chestnut has also competed in the “World Record Popcorn-Eating Challenge” where he had eight minutes to eat more than 28.5, 24-ounce servings of popcorn.

More information about the championship can be found here.