At 12 p.m. on Thursday, May 1, approximately 1,300 UC San Diego students gathered at the Epstein Family Amphitheater to watch third-year Jacob Hoang, Costco Club president, eat a Costco rotisserie chicken.
The annual tradition began with Costco Club co-founder and former President Johnny Gong, who ate an entire rotisserie chicken in front of Geisel Library in 2023 and on Sun God Lawn in 2024.
The goal of Gong’s original event was to eat the entire chicken himself while the audience watched. Hoang, however, told The UCSD Guardian before the event that he wanted to revamp Gong’s premise — Hoang did not just eat the chicken on his own, he also chose to share it with the crowd.
The event commenced at 12:20 p.m. with a speech from Hoang.
“Today is not the day about what’s next,” he said. “Today is about what is: community, gathering around something ridiculous, proving once again, at UCSD, you can find your people, your passion, and your poultry.”
Jokingly, Hoang addressed students’ reactions to the event’s announcement.
“I’ve seen the Reddit threads,” Hoang said. “I’ve read the comments, good and bad… Maybe we are beating a dead horse, but we’re doing it with seasoning, with some sides. Repetition does not mean stagnation. Tradition doesn’t mean lack of innovation.”
Hoang took his first bite of chicken at 12:27 p.m. and then stepped off the stage, joining the audience in the stands. While continuing to eat the rotisserie chicken, Hoang made his way through the open-air theater. He offered large pieces of his chicken to the students, signed flyers with chicken grease, and posed for photos. Meanwhile, an EFA staff raffled off Costco merchandise and gift cards to students.
At 12:40 p.m., Hoang ate the last bite of the rotisserie chicken. In total, Hoang took 13 minutes and 37 seconds to eat the whole chicken. In 2024, Gong ate the entire chicken in less than 8 minutes.
For an encore, Hoang then announced he would be eating a second chicken. He took the first bite at 12:43 p.m and made his way through the theater again, handing out pieces of chicken as before. Students chanted, “Eat it!”
After sharing the rest of the second chicken with students in the crowd, the event concluded at 12:55 p.m. Hoang returned to the front of the stage to say his goodbyes and take pictures with students.
