From the perspective of a KCBS Judge:

I would have to agree with most of the comments on this thread. I have only been judging one year and out of 6 events, I have only run into the occasional idiot at the table judging BBQ with me.

The first real idiot I encountered at a Sams Club Event in Austin. He ran a blog about bbq and offered some rinky dink "BBQ" discount card... he essentially did not want to follow the KCBS rules about no drinking and was politely asked to leave after judging the 2nd meat. His argument was he knew good bbq because he was a blogger and these KCBS rules were a formality for the rest of us who were not at his skill level. A sample of this individual's professionalism was this stellar individual put "it tastes like $hi7" on his comment card about one entry he gave a 2 to.

The only other idiots out there are "BBQ Cooks" who have tons of war stories how they did great at some event, won 2 categories, and still made tons of money as a vendor selling their BBQ to tourists. I always know there is going to be trouble from these judges when they tell me "I am a BBQ Cook, I make great ribs, I have won contests because of my ribs, and I am going to be tough on RIBS... if they don't beat mine, they don't get a 8 or 9" (Actual Quote). As a new judge I looked at this moron and felt sorry for his ego. If he is the Johnny Trigg of Kansas , why was this guy not competing?

IMO, KCBS BBQ is not about how that sample compares to your "winning" ribs, but how the sample compares to genre what the cook was going for. For example, I do not care for spicy bbq much, but if I get a spicy sample of BBQ that is literally the best spicy bbq I have had, they get a 9. I don't down score the sample because it does not meet some unreal expectation that is not apart of the KCBS rules or oath. It s just like not comparing one sample to another on the same score-sheet. There have been times where I have given 9-9-9 scores on multiple samples on the same score-sheet. Give every cook their opportunity to put their best foot forward.

95% of the judges I meat (pun intended) are outstanding and take great care in their responsibility of judges. It is just the 5% out there who refuse to play by the rules established by KCBS.

Just my 2 cents.
Paul

Paul, it looks like you're going to be one of the good ones - glad to have you!!!

It's all about "As presented by the cook".

Perception
 

Unfortunately, perception is frequently substituted for reality. Just ask any politician.

I think your advice on judging is spot on. What better way to prepere for competing.

You know people will alway see what they want to see, make Assuptions where they are true or not. Double blind is what it means... there is no way any one would know who cooked what. The way I look at it is this. Come on I know some adults can be and act a bit childish, but to think a double blind smoke off judge could tell who was whos.. well I do pitty them and they need to put more effort in their smokin and less into other peoples business.

JMHO

I do have to agree with Tim here as I said people will always see what and how they want. I would hope those here would never think any judge is out to get them or favor them.. Its the flavor (taste if you prefer), texure and tenderness that counts....

judging bbq comp.
 

Your right about the other side of cooking. Everyone needs to experience judging. It lets you know exectly what to look for in cooking:clap:

Spot on
 

As a CBJ with 15 comps and 1 as head cook a completely agree with you all...

Judging in Mobile ,Al
 

Well my first judging gig is at the BBQ Championship and Hog Wild Festival in Mobile March 9-10. Needless to say i'm excited it's finally here. I've been reading up on here about others experiences and what to expect. If any one is there this weekend look for me. I will give a report next week of how it goes.http://http://bbqmobile.net/index.html

Just a suggestion from experience:
1. Let your table captain know you are new to judging - he will (or at least SHOULD) pay a bit more attention to you and what you are doing.
2. Talk with the other judges at your table before judging and get to know them.
3. Talk with the other judges between categories and LISTEN to what they say about each entry. You might not agree, but if their concensus is good and you think it was bad, then you might need to re-evaluate your criteria. Just saying...
4. MOST IMPORTANT - do your best to be fair and honest! The teams deserve nothing less!
5. HAVE FUN!!!

Folks I'm going to be taking the KCBS judging class in KS April 19 and I'm all excited to get started. Upon finishing the class do they give you your KCBS CBJ #? From what I do know so far it looks like I scan the list of KCBs events, decided the ones I can attend, apply to judge that event at the event website and then I may be randomly drawn to be a judge. Does this sound about right?

Have fun at the class! Your CBJ number should be the same as your KCBS membership number, unless they've changed. You're certified and ready to go the minute you pass the class. You can sign up for anything then, using the number. Just explain you graduated from class X on date X and you should be good to go. As far as random choosing of judges, that's up to the organizer. If they have enough judge applicants they may do it randomly or they may go with experienced judges only, but my wife and I didn't have any problem getting a gig right away. New judges are not treated poorly as far as I've seen in my young experience as a CBJ.

Thank you for the info, I can't wait for the class. I'm going to hit up some of the local spots in Kansas City where I'm attending and bring some home to the wife.

As a fellow judge, I recommend that you keep an eye on the "recent events added" tab on the website. The day new contests are added you want to apply if you're interested in that contest. Some contest organizers select judges on a first come/first serve basis, some try to mix the field with master judges and less experienced judges and some use their previous judge pool and fill in the open slots. You just want to get your application in as soon as possible. If you apply early and then learn that you can't judge a contest make sure you let the organizer know as early as possible as well. You don't want to get a reputation of cancelling at the last minute.

Julie

at a comp this past weekend, the table captain was voicing his opinion on how a cbj should judge a box with 2 different items. i told him it wasn't his job to hold a cbj class at a competition. created a little tension.

the table had 2 judges with over 30 comps, myself (22), 2 others in the teens and one with 5 comps.

he said judge both samples and only score the best entry.

i have been instructed to judge both and average the scores.

nothing in the cbj handbook on how to handle it.

In KCBS I've always heard to try them both and average the scores. MBN tells you to try them both and score the one you like best.

I have raised that question before and the response from the reps were to judge the meat as it's presented, meaning judging the entry as a whole.