Joey Chestnut has won the 2026 Smoke’s Poutinerie World Poutine Eating Championship in Toronto, putting away 21 and a quarter pounds in 10 minutes.
Second place Max Stanford finished nearly three pounds behind on 18 and a half, with Darrien Thomas and Nick Wehry tied for third on 15.
Oji, Sudo and Hendrickson rounded out the top six on 13⅞ lbs, 13¾ lbs and 13⅜ lbs respectively.
Chestnut fell short of his own target
Chestnut had gone in aiming higher. “It’d be nice to get in the mid-20s,” he told the Toronto Sun before the contest. “I ate 26 pounds last year. I slowed down a little bit, but it’d be nice to get closer to 28 pounds.”
He also set himself a floor, saying: “I know that if I hit more than 23, I don’t think anybody would be close to me.”
Chestnut has pointed to conditions as the swing factor in the past, and temperatures sat around 20C (68 Fahrenheit) in Toronto on Saturday.
“If it’s colder, the gravy sits out, and when the gravy sits out, it’s not warm,” he said. “Cold french fries won’t swallow quickly. And then the numbers will go down.”
Even though Chestnut fell short of his personal target, he still smashed his opposition in the battle of cheese, gravy and starch.
He ate 26.5 pounds to win the same event in 2025, and his poutine world record of 28 pounds, set in 2019, still stands.
The win in Toronto came with a $9,500 payday, adding to a haul that includes 18 Nathan’s Famous titles and 55 world records across the competitive eating circuit.
