Meet George Chiger, NEPA's own hometown hot dog eating hero

George Chiger loves to eat. So much, he made a career out of it.

The Pocono Pines resident, who already holds a world record for consuming two 8 oz. cans of Easy Cheese in under a minute in 2021, set his sights on the top dog of eating competitions, Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest on July 4.

The local champion choked down 28 hot dogs Thursday, which, while impressive, didn’t quite cut the mustard for placement this year. But he says he’s in it for the long haul, working with small businesses and other competitors to build a brand, ChigerEats.

Chiger, 45, also lost 120 pounds since he started eating competitively. He explained that his line of work has been “life changing” for his health.

“I’ve lost 120 pounds since I got into competitive eating,” he said, adding that his cholesterol, blood pressure and kidney function numbers “are all great.”

He starts training in April by cutting out all alcohol and “bad foods” so he can achieve peak performance — in the yearly Nathan’s contest at Coney Island.

Chiger moved to Pennsylvania with his parents in the 1990s from Fresno, California, and found the lifestyle to be a big change.

“It was completely different going from the Valley to the mountains.”

In 2011, he began training with mentors, such as Larellmarie Mele of Long Pond, a longtime competitor in the Nathan’s contest with 14 seasons under her belt.

It wasn’t until 2018 when the 6’6” Chiger went professional, qualifying for the Coney Island-based food competition by winning a Virginia-based contest, eating 30 hot dogs in 10 minutes.

In addition to his Easy Cheese record, Chiger is also ranked the No. 21 eater in the world by Major League Eating, a body overseeing professional eating contests.

When not training and building his brand, Chiger competes in other eat-offs. Earlier this year, he traveled to Florida to competitively eat corn, and to Ohio to devour 5.5 pounds of fudge.

During training season, Chiger partners with local eateries to fund his training. The Jubilee Restaurant in Pocono Pines and Sherry’s Place food truck served as earlier sponsors. Most recently, Fabian Praino, 45, the owner of Brookside Inn bar and restaurant in Tobyhanna, stepped into the role.

Praino said that once a week starting around March, #TheSmorgasbord, as Chiger goes by on social media, showed up around 6 p.m. to take down as many dogs as possible in preparation for the real deal.

There, Chiger, his mentor Mele, and, on occasion, U.K. based pro eater Max vs. Food, gathered to practice, devouring between 80 and 100 hot dogs in front of a group of supportive viewers.

“It was actually pretty disgusting,” Praino said, laughing. “But it was something nice to do for the community.”

Lynn Musto, a bartender who has worked at Brookside Inn for five years, knows Chiger from working with him at another bar, where he was a bouncer. “I’ve seen him in action. It’s impressive. That’s all I can say.”

“Fabian has been a huge supporter,” Chiger said of his hot dog sponsor. “He sponsored every week’s practice and if I had other eaters coming in, he took care of everybody to support everybody in their journey to Coney.”

Chiger and Praino are cooking up a Smorgasbord Pizza Competition together, to be held at Brookside Inn.

“He does this for a living, so I’ll continue to sponsor him.” Praino said, quipping, “If he starts eating scallops or lobster tail, I’m not sure if I’m going to sponsor that, we’ll see.”