Last week, I had an e-mail exchange with Joey Chestnut, the fastest competitive eater in the world. (On the 4th of July, Chestnut won his fourth Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest in a row even as the former champion, Takeru Kobayashi, was arrested for protesting his contract dispute with Major League Eating, the organization that manages the nation's top eaters.)

Chestnut will be appearing at Bite of Seattle tomorrow in a contest that pits competitive eaters (including Chestnut and hometown eating hero Erik "The Red" Denmark, who gave me some great eating tips a while ago) against Jimmy John's sandwich makers. The idea is that the eaters have to eat the sandwiches faster than the sandwich makers can make the sandwiches. I asked Chestnut what his strategy will be. He replied:

...the key will be getting into a rhythm beginning with unwrapping the sandwich. From there, it's important to squeeze the sandwich as I'm eating it while I wash it down with water. It may sound easy, but everything needs to happen so fast so no time is wasted.

The rest of the interview, which is so dry that it reads like it was pre-edited by a steam-powered robot named Press Release-O, is after the jump.

How have you prepared for this particular contest?


Since this is my first Jimmy John's Freaky Fast Contest, I've watched past competitions and also spoken with other Major League Eaters who've competed. Even though they lost, I still got some valuable insight. 



There's a bit of a triangular face-off at work here, between you, the other eaters, and the sandwich maker. Do you have any techniques for psyching out the sandwich maker?


It's really important for me and the other Major League Eaters to get off to a fast start. If we can get an early lead, we can knock the JJ's sandwich makers out of their rhythm and use it to our advantage.



Who do you consider to be your main opponent in this contest: the sandwich makers or the other eaters?


The Jimmy John's sandwich makers have never lost to the Major League Eaters so they are our main competition. I don't like losing so I plan on ending their streak at Bite of Seattle. History will be made.


Are you going to tackle these sandwiches any differently from hot dogs? I expect the bread will prove to be the biggest challenge, is that right?


With hot dogs, we separate the bun and hot dog when eating. For JJ's sandwiches, the key will be getting into a rhythm beginning with unwrapping the sandwich. From there, it's important to squeeze the sandwich as I'm eating it while I wash it down with water. It may sound easy, but everything needs to happen so fast so no time is wasted. 



Congratulations on your win at the Nathan's competition. Do you have any opinion on Kobayashi's arrest? Do you expect to be squaring off against him anytime soon?

Thank you, it was great to win my fourth straight title. The whole situation got pretty wild. I didn't see a lot of it since I was celebrating the victory. I'm not sure when we'll square off again, but I look forward to beating him, whenever that may be.