POULSBO — It wouldn’t be hard to feel the agony of defeat, or at least the stomach, in this contest.

Victor “The Devastator” Dew, arguably one of the top competitive eaters in Washington state, ate four and a half Viking donuts to advance to the final round of the Donut-Eating Contest at Viking Fest, May 18. Jeremy Dowlearn, who last competed in an eating contest 10 years ago, ate four donuts to advance.

The Devastator prepped for the competition the night before by eating a 14-pound watermelon to stretch his stomach. “I’m amped up. I’ve got this,” Dew said.

Dowlearn, who regularly works out (doing crossfit), got mentally prepared remembering what his workout coach tells him: You can do anything for three minutes … You can do anything for three minutes.

In round two, Dowlearn beat Dew by a mouthful to win what Sluys Bakery promises will be the first of many donut-eating contests to grace the Viking Fest stage.

In the first round, contestants tried to finish off as many Viking donuts — traditional glazed sinkers — as they could in three minutes. The two top finishers had three minutes to consume a two-pound donut; whoever ate the most donut won.

The prize: A $200 Sluys gift certificate, $50 for second place.

“I don’t think I could eat another donut right now. But my kids will love this,” Dowlearn said of his prize.

Ah, but then, the thrill of victory. Three hours later, Dew was back at the table for the annual Lutefisk-Eating Contest. He consumed 7.5 pounds of lutefisk, beating his own record by a half-pound to win the title for the third consecutive year.

That’s about 10 pounds of donuts and lutefisk. In one afternoon.

Dew not only won $100 for his fisk-eating feat, he won his first sponsorship: New Day Fisheries.

It’s another big step for The Devastator on his path to becoming a professional competitive eater. He’s won lutefisk-eating contests in Ballard and Poulsbo, hot-dog and salmon-dog eating contests in Quilcene and Ballard, and the pizza-eating “chomp-etition” in Tacoma. On May 5, he ate a 6-pound Jefe de Jefe burrito in record time to win first place and $300 from the Masa Restaurant in Tacoma.

He hopes to start a YouTube channel soon and he has a protege.

Winners of the donut-eating contest, by division.
11 and younger age group
First: Kharisma Crider, 11
Second: Alex Kehm, 8

12-17 age group
First: D.J. Nelson, 17
Second: Victoria Sceffee, 13

Adults
First: Jeremy Dowlearn, 39
Second: Victor “The Devastator” Dew, 24