Some of the biggest stars on the competitive eating circuit, including Alexandria’s own Sonya “The Black Widow” Thomas, are coming to town this weekend for the World Chili Eating Championship at Taste of D.C. on Sunday, Oct. 9.

The chili-chowing contest begins at 12:30 p.m. on the event’s main stage with local institution Ben’s Chili Bowl providing the required foodstuffs. The bold soul who consumes the most of Ben’s meaty stew in six minutes will be declared the winner.

The 44-year-old 100-pound Thomas is coming off a startling upset of the world’s No. 1 ranked eater, Joey Chestnut, at the U.S. Buffalo Wing Eating Championship (pictured) over Labor Day Weekend.

It’s the first time in a long time that the folks at Major League Eating are holding a contest involving chili. The previous record-holder downed about a gallon and a half of the stuff in 10 minutes. But that was ages ago. Perhaps the most comparable recent record, according to available MLE stats, is “Notorious Bob” Shoudt‘s choking down 23.4 pounds of salmon chowder in 2009.

An amateur chili-chowing contest takes place prior to the pros at noon on Saturday with the winner earning a spot alongside Thomas, Chestnut and the others.

How much Ben’s Chili do you think that you could eat in six minutes?

Photo by Joe Cascio