Famous Food

The guy who won the 2024 Nathan's Hot Dog eating contest is well aware Joey Chestnut's still the real wiener king ... telling TMZ Sports his Fourth of July victory deserves an asterisk -- but someone had to win in Jaws' absence.

We caught up with competitive eater Patrick Bertoletti on the heels of Chestnut's record-breaking performance against Kobayashi in Netflix's "Unfinished Beef" event ... which resulted in Joey downing 83 dogs and buns -- 25 more than he did in Coney Island two months ago.

With that being said, we asked the mustard belt winner how he viewed his own win now ... and he's not pretending Jaws doesn't exist. In fact, they're actually good friends ... and Bertoletti was in Las Vegas to support him on Labor Day.

Lisa Vanderpump is ready to SUR-ve up some drama with a new cast of characters ... TMZ has learned cameras have picked up at her restaurant for a new project.

Sources familiar with the project tell TMZ … production crews have been filming a possible new show at LVP's West Hollywood hot spot, SUR, the last couple of weeks.

We're told the cast for the pilot is made up of entirely new faces, all of whom are employees at SUR -- much like how "Vanderpump Rules" first started with Tom Sandoval, Stassi Schroeder, Jax Taylor, Scheana Shay, among others, in 2013.

Rachael Ray just broke her silence after sending fans panicking because of her slurred speech, but they're gonna be quite disappointed -- especially if they weren't looking for a new recipe.

The chef and TV personality posted for the first time since dropping her video post about serving Tony Bennett Monday evening ... sharing a pic of a beautiful-looking paella with a recipe link, but she failed to bring up the elephant in the room -- her fans' concerns over her slurring her words.

In the caption, RR says fans need to whip out their cast-iron pan and whip up a shrimp and chorizo dish using the link in her bio ... giving them something new to chew on.

Rachael Ray is sparking concern for her health after seeming to slur her words in a new video shared on social media.

The TV chef shared a clip from her show, "Rachael Ray in Tuscany," on Instagram Monday, where she opened up about the time she nearly killed late singer Tony Bennett during one memorable dinner ... blaming her overzealous cleaning style for causing the crooner to slip and fall.

Despite the captivating tale, fans were preoccupied with her speaking style in the clip ... as Rachael appeared to struggle to get the story out, with many of her words slurring together.

The 83 hot dogs probably haven't even left Joey Chestnut's system yet, but Jaws already has his next gig approaching in a matter of days -- he's slated to compete in a bratwurst-eating contest at the Cincinnati Bengals' season opener!!

Chestnut put on a record-setting performance against Takeru Kobayashi in the 'Unfinished Beef' event on Monday ... defeating his nemesis by a whopping 17 tube steaks.

While many expected Chestnut to take some time to recover after the insane outing, the competitive-eating G.O.A.T. is proving he only needs a couple days before getting back to business ... agreeing to do a 5 vs. 1 Oktoberfest bratwurst challenge as part of the halftime entertainment when Cincy hosts the New England Patriots on Sunday.

Joey Chestnut and his longtime nemesis Takeru Kobayashi went head-to-head in a hot dog eating contest for the first time in 15 years ... with Joey winning in a landslide and setting a record in the process.

The rivals matched up Monday on 'Unfinished Beef,' a Netflix special live from Las Vegas, and stuffed their faces full of wieners and buns ... with a huge crowd cheering them on.

Joey cruised to victory ... leading all the way. When the 10-minute timer expired, Joey's total sat at 83 hot dogs ... compared to a final tally of 66 for Kobayahsi.

Jeff Bezos is breaking in a new toy ... a shiny, $80 million private jet ... and this thing's super fast.

The Amazon founder's newest addition to his fleet was spotted over Labor Day weekend at Van Nuys airport in Los Angeles.

Jeff and his fiancee Lauren Sanchez were in L.A. for a double date with Kris Jenner and her partner, Corey Gamble, so it appears Sanchezos jetted into town on this Gulfstream G700.

The Malibu Chili Cook-off brought out some of the biggest stars in Hollywood ... really spicing up the spectacular weekend.

The competition kicked off Friday, August 30 ... and, stars like Jamie Foxx -- spotted signing autographs for fans -- and Kim Kardashian and Kanye West's daughter North have already taken in the festivities.

Amber Rose brought the heat in her outfit ... baring lots of skin in her barely-there top and mesh pants. She posted some fun vids from the fairground -- clearly enjoying the time with some pals.

Styles P says there's a war going on outside no New Yorker is safe from -- falling prey to bad eating habits that could ultimately kill them!!

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with The LOX rapper on Friday, the eve of his first-ever Plant-Based BBQ, going down in his hometown at the Nepperhan Community Center in Yonkers, New York tomorrow.

The event is free and open to the public and loaded with healthy food and juice options -- the clear focus of his Farma Cares mission is to educate the uninformed about the danger they could do to their health by eating the wrong things.

Famed food critic Keith Lee claims he spared several Washington, D.C. restaurants from being embarrassed on his massive platform by not calling them out on TikTok ... he chose to spit out some of that food in private!

Lee's D.C. excursion was particularly ruined when he learned a mac-and-cheese dish was not only fried in the same oil as their shellfish -- a food he's allergic to -- but stunk up his car and caused his family to gag 🤢.

Locals in the comments were quick to point out the infringing restaurant was the long-standing soul-food chain Oohh's and Aahh's, and created a community stir ... Baltimore natives even reiterated they were not to be considered part of the DMV!!!

YG sent his kids off to school in style -- with bellies full of fine dining, treating them to a top-notch dinner ahead of the new academic year!

The 4Hunnid Records boss was spotted out at Craig's in WeHo on Sunday with his two daughters, 9-year-old Harmony and 5-year-old Vibe, eatin' good before they start the 5th and 1st grades!

YG never misses a chance to brandish his hard-and-bell-bottom combos ... opting for a sleek, all-black look, offsetting things with white stunna shades and shoes.

Ben Affleck is leaning on friends during his divorce from Jennifer Lopez ... recently hitting the town with longtime bestie Matt Damon.

Damon and his wife, Luciana Barroso, hit up the Italian restaurant Toscana in Los Angeles with their kids Sunday night ... where BFF Ben tagged along for the family night out.

Ben's facial expression was notably neutral, but he did have a discernible pep in his step as he made his way into the hotspot.

J.D. Vance's appearance at a Georgia donut shop wasn't as sweet as the pastries he bought ... 'cause he sure had an awkward chat with an employee who appeared less than impressed.

The Republican nominee for vice president was in Valdosta, Georgia for a rally Thursday ... and, he stopped by Holt's Sweet Shop, where he ordered 2 dozen donuts with a gaggle of press following him around.

Vance put in his order ... and, check out the clip, 'cause the woman at the counter immediately asks not to be shown on camera. Vance makes a point of telling the press to cut her out of their vids.

Kanye West and wife Bianca Censori made a surprise KFC pit stop -- 'cause even celebs sometimes need some finger-lickin’ goodness every now and then!

The couple was recently spotted on CCTV ordering at an L.A. counter of the fast-food joint like any other regular customers -- but of course, Bianca wasn't about to go unnoticed ... keeping things spicy, flaunting serious cleavage in a barely-there bra.

Kanye was the polar opposite as usual -- wrapped up in a white hoodie, peering at the menu board, figuring out what to order.

The Burger King employee who went viral after management gave him a mediocre gift bag has his retirement plan ready ... and, it involves putting his culinary skills on wheels.

Kevin Ford -- who blew up in 2022 after his BK bosses gave him a pretty low-key cheap gift bag for his 27th anniversary even though he'd never missed a day of work -- tells TMZ he's bought a food truck for the next stage of his life.

Ford tells us he purchased the truck-trailer for about $20K, including shipping, from China -- a much cheaper price than you can find in the U.S. -- fully equipped with an oven, fryer and more ... basically, the works.