LAKE VERMILION – Dozens of food fans, curious tourists, even some scoffers, gathered under a tent at Fortune Bay Resort Casino here on Saturday to witness a hefty helping of history in the making. The air was heavy with the aroma of a favorite Minnesota comfort food— wild rice hot dish, which was the featured fare at the first-ever Wild Rice Hot Dish-Eating Contest.

A world record was on the line and the event attracted some of the world’s top competitive eaters, including second-ranked Geoffrey Esper from Oxford, Mass., and the world’s fifth-ranked competitive eater, Darron Breeden, from Orange, Va. In total, eleven competitors squared off to take home the top prize of $2,500 and what Major League Eating promoter Sam Barclay claimed was a $150,000 Tiffany leaded crystal loving cup (or hot dish bowl).

Ten of the big eaters gathered before the contest to acquaint themselves and talk strategy. One other contestant looked like she didn’t belong. Miki Sudo, a skinny blonde woman with her hair in a pony tail, hails from Tucson, Ariz., and looks to be the last person you’d expect to challenge some of the hefty male eaters in the competition. Surely someone had made a mistake. She smiled and waved to the crowd, with a wry expression that suggested she knew something no one else knew.

The Fortune Bay culinary department, led by chef Kirstie Kern, prepared 200 pounds of hot dish. “We have wild rice, hamburger, bacon, carrots, onions, celery, and some cream-based soups in here,” Kern said as she scooped one pound of goulash into bowls. “We should have enough.”

The contestants were directed to eat one bowl of hot dish at a time with a spoon and then go on to another one. They had access to water to wash it down. At the end of eight minutes, the empty bowls were counted. The eater with the largest number of empty bowls was declared the winner.

A payout purse of $5,000 was divided among the top six finishers, with the winner earning $2,500 and the prestigious crystal trophy.

Barclay said his Major League Eating organization, based in New York City, sponsors as many as 65 eating contests all over the world each year. “Everyone knows about the famous Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating contest we host at Coney Island on the Fourth of July,” he said. This was the third world championship-eating contest held at Fortune Bay Resort Casino, although it was the first involving wild rice hot dish. Barclay plans to return here in November for another Indian Taco eating contest.

With all the genuine enthusiasm of a carnival barker, Barclay hyped the impending contest and implored everyone with the sound of his greatly-amplified voice to gather and witness one of the world’s most stupendous sights. “Enter the sanctorum of salivation, the Mt. Sinai of mastication, the coliseum of competitive eating, to see this first-ever, inaugural event right here on the shore of Lake Vermilion,” he said. “We are going for a world record here today!”

Other eaters joining Esper, Breeden, and Sudo, were Darrien Thomas from Ontario, Canada, Benjamin Welch, Phoenix, Ariz., and Minnesota residents Ethan Teske, Stewartville, Travis Schultz, Zimmerman, John Renbol, Duluth, Billy Millbeck, Erhard, and Fortune Bay’s own Paul Shryer and Alex Cook. “They do this for money and glory,” Barclay barked.

Following greatly-hyped introductions of the competitors, St. Louis County Commissioner Paul McDonald sampled the wild rice concoction and declared it fit for consumption. “My mother taught me to enjoy my food, and on behalf of the St. Louis County Board of Commissioners, I hereby certify this wild rice hot dish as very, very good to eat,” McDonald said.

After some stretching and running-in-place preparation, the competitors were called to start shoveling.

Barclay provided play-by-play descriptions of the eaters practically inhaling the hot dish, spoon-by-spoon and bowl-by-bowl and worked the crowd into a frenzy as the seconds ticked down to zero. “The body is ready to give up, and the mind is ready to quit, but the human will is willing to fight on to the end!” Barclay screamed.

Following some quick judging and official calculations, Barclay presented the trophy to Sudo, that skinny blond gal from Tucson, who consumed 14 bowls, or approximately 14 pounds, of hot dish in the time allotted, just edging out Esper who finished 13 and a half bowls of hot dish.

Sudo is no amateur at competitive eating. She is a five-time women’s championship of the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog eating contest and is currently ranked at number seven in the world. According to Barclay, Sudo holds the world record for consumption of ice cream, at 16 pints in just six minutes, and for downing 119 hard-boiled eggs in just eight minutes.

“I thought those guys had me,” Sudo said. “I was so surprised that I edged them out as the winner. This is just a straight capacity contest. We’re all pretty much gearing up for the Fourth of July hot dog-eating contest.”

When she was offered the chance to take some of the extra wild rice hot dish home with her, Sudo simply responded, “No, I’m good.”