A Forest River woman who tweaked a family recipe to create the lefse she sells at a farmers market won over the judges in the finals of the Norsk Hstfest lefse-making contest Saturday.

Yvonne Widdel took first place in the competition, but just barely. Less than a point difference decided the top three contestants. Widdel, who won a preliminary round at a Home of Economy event in Grand Forks, finished narrowly ahead of Carol Vachal in second place. Vachal advanced from the Home of Economy round in Williston and placed second behind Widdel Friday in the store’s preliminary to the championship Saturday.

Barb Solberg, who advanced by taking first in a competition sponsored by MarketPlace Foods, finished third in the championship field of five. Barb Scherbenske of Kenmare competed as second-place finisher in the MarketPlace contest. Mette Cephers, a Hstfest exhibitor from Montana, earned a spot in the championship round with a win Wednesday in a celebrity contest.

Widdel claimed her secret to great-tasting lefse is Pontiac potatoes.

“They are a little sweeter,” she said. “But you can’t buy them on the market. Normally, you have to have somebody grow them for you.”

A farmer friend grows them for Widdel.

However, she didn’t bring enough prepared dough for two days of competition and was forced to buy another kind of potatoes for the championship competition. She obviously has a lot more secrets up her sleeve than the variety of potato because the switch didn’t make a difference in the competition.

Solberg, of Minot, said her mother-in-law, now 99 years old, taught her to make lefse many years ago.

“I am kind of doing this for her,” she said of the competition.

While they worked, contestants visited with and offered tips to spectators, who were able to get a close-up view and ask questions. Advice included avoiding use of too much flour and applying only light pressure during the rolling process.

Contestants enjoyed demonstrating, and a common theme among them was concern that the lefse-making skill is becoming more scarce.

“The tradition is kind of dying just because it doesn’t get handed down to the next generation, and we have lost so many who are up in age where they just don’t do it anymore,” said Vachal, who learned to make lefse as a girl from her mother.

She has hope for today’s younger generation, though, as she sees an inkling of interest recurring in some of these lost arts.

Barb Scherbenske of Kenmare competed using the recipe handed down from her grandmother, who had clipped it out of a newspaper. She and her husband, Al, who was assisting her Saturday, raise their own potatoes, which they use to make lefse but also sell along with the lefse at a farmers market.

Scherbenske competed with tools that included a special roller for thinning the lefse and a turning stick believed to have been made by her grandfather.

Cephers is a newcomer to lefse making, having learned from a older friend for whom she was dedicating her competition effort. She was at a bit of a disadvantage in having entered the contest at the last minute. She didn’t have a chance to prepare before she came so had been mixing her dough in a hotel room before the contest.

Judging the final competition were representatives of the Norwegian chefs at Hstfest, and vendors Ganrud’s Lefse, Jacobs Lefse and Thor’s Lefse.

Home of Economy, MarketPlace Foods and Norsk Hostfest sponsored the prizes that included $300 and a lefse starter kit for first place; $200 and a krumkake baking set for second; and $100 and a Norwegian waffle maker for third. All received decorative, commemorative rolling pins.

Eight contestants worked their way through the MarketPlace Foods preliminaries. About 20 people competed at events at six Home of Economy stores in North Dakota.

“It was a really big success,” said Amy Hall, marketing coordinator for Home of Economy. Plans are to conduct the contest again next year.