Our News is Written in Stone™

by Kevin Olsen
staff reporter

One year ago, 49 hot dogs were consumed by Palos Heights native Patrick Bertoletti at Nathan’s International July Fourth Hot Dog Eating Contest.

But it was not nearly enough as he finished in third place, 17 hot dogs behind the champion Joey Chestnut. This year 49 just may be enough, as the contest has shifted from a 12-minute competition to only 10 minutes as Bertoletti tries to cross off the most sacred accomplishment in competitive eating.

Bertoletti, 23, is in his fourth year on the competitive eating circuit and currently ranks second in the International Federation of Competitive Eating (IFOCE). With two minutes being taken off the clock in this year’s storied hot dog eating contest, Bertoletti is shooting for 50 hot dogs for a chance to win the Super Bowl of competitive eating.

“Last year I thought I had the best method for eating hot dogs, but afterwards I went back to the drawing board and refined my technique and have been working on my speed in the first three minutes,” Bertoletti said.

The Morgan Park Academy graduate, nicknamed “Deep Dish” for his love of pizza, has risen from the bottom of the heap to eating’s elite, putting in his time, effort, and most of all, love of eating. Bertoletti said he knew after his first pizza eating competition four years ago that this was something he was going to stick with.

“After the first competition, I knew it was something I could do better. I am never satisfied and feel there is always room for improvement. Perfection is tough to attain.”

In the past four years, if he has not reached perfection, he has come very close as the top Chicago area-based eater. His list of records is constantly growing and includes record totals in pickled jalapenos (177 in 15 minutes), strawberry shortcake (15.25 pounds in 8 minutes), ice cream (1.75 gallons in 8 minutes) and short form oysters (34 dozen in 8 minutes) among others.

He would have had a tamale championship to go in his collection as well, if he had not gotten a little greedy at the end of the competition. He had the victory in the bag, but after shoving too many into his mouth at the end he vomited, thus disqualifying himself from the competition. Reflecting, he said it is a pretty funny story, but not worth the $2,500 he lost out on in the process.

The 49 hot dogs he consumed last year made him just the third person ever to eat that many in the competition at Coney Island, N.Y., that is aired live on ESPN on July 4. But while he said hot dogs are one of the hardest foods to eat in competition, he vows not to leave the competitive eating circuit until he is awarded the famous Mustard Belt that goes to the hot dog eating champion.

“I still have a few more years where I want to compete and a few more things I want to accomplish,” Bertoletti said. “I am not going to retire until I win the hot dog eating contest.”

He will face stiff competition from world record holder and No. 1 ranked Chestnut, 66 hot dogs and buns last year, and Takeru Kobayashi, the six time winner from 2001 to 2006 who consumed 63 hot dogs and buns a year ago. He has bested both of them in other competitions, but has not been able to master them in hot dogs. But these are not bitter rivalries that are seen in other major sports, rather quite the opposite.

“The camaraderie is one of the main reasons I stuck with eating so long. I’m pretty close with everyone in the Top 10 (IFOCE rankings) and friends with others in the Top 20.”

It also does not hurt that Bertoletti was able to gain about four pounds of stomach capacity each year since he started professionally competing. He trains a couple times a week, eating about 20 hot dogs at a time at a comparable pace, but does not like to do a practice run of the entire competition because it takes some of the fun out of the real thing. Two days before a major competition, Bertoletti eats a big meal and then drinks excessive amounts of water leading up to the big day.

“It took time to learn myself, my body and my strengths and weaknesses. I learned how to use my strengths and overcome my weaknesses.”

“I know how to push my body and coax out every ounce of strength.”

Bertoletti may have a massive stomach capacity, but you would not be able to tell just by looking at him. He knows the importance of containing himself when he eats outside of competitions and how to separate them from a normal diet. He said learning self control around food has been one of the hardest parts of being involved with the IFOCE. And that is coming from someone who works for a catering company and is anxious to retire to get back into work in restaurants to accomplish a whole other set of goals.

For now, he will take his semi-celebrity status around the country in his bid to reach the number one ranking in the world. He is not shy about any attention he receives and cites his time on one of his longtime heroes’ Steve Dahl’s radio show as one of the highlights of his career. Bertoletti has also been a guest on “The Early Show.”

“If people are going to pay you for something you love, it’s ridiculous. I love to talk about it and I could do it all day long. I don’t have a problem answering the same five questions every day.”

Bertoletti competes in anywhere from 30 to 45 competitions a year in “every corner and cranny of states” around the country.

“I look at every competition like a vacation. Most people take one vacation a year; I take 30, 40 or 50.”

He has received quite a fan base in the Chicago area from word of mouth and support from his family, which resides in Palos Heights, and friends.

“I’m not a small Japanese man (Kobayashi) but the Mohawk is serving a purpose,” Bertoletti said about his signature look.

Friday, Bertoletti will aim to cement his name and face into the record books forever in the 93rd annual Nathan’s International July Fourth Hot Dog Eating Contest. He said the adrenaline of a victory trumps all feelings of fullness while with a loss, the feeling hits you right away. We will see what kind of emotion Bertoletti can pull out when the 10 minutes of furious eating comes to an end.