American Royal Judging.... Who's going? and a question for invitational judging veterans

Jeff_in_KC said:

Dave Compton for BOD!

Click to expand...

I second that!:thumb:

As to the original question, I will be judging the invitational, open, and sides this weekend. Coolers have been permitted every time I have judged the royal before, and I have heard nothing to indicate that this year will be any different.

As to the issue of these supposed nibbling judges, I have to be honest, I have never seen a judge just nibble on their food so that they could take more home. I'm not saying that it has never happened, but if it was commonplace, I would have noticed. Personally, I took food home when I first started to judge, but found that it was really not worth the hassle, and that I rarely ate the leftovers anyway. If is worth taking home, I eat it right there at the table. This is especially true at large events like the Royal, where where I will be hanging out with teams for hours after judging. I would not feel comfortable letting the food sit in the car for that long, even in a cooler.

Having said that, I see nothing wrong with allowing people to take their leftovers home. I know several judges who make another full meal or two out of what they take home. Not to mention the fact that throwing it away is just plain wasteful. Just my two cents.

daedalus said:

Not to mention the fact that throwing it away is just plain wasteful. Just my two cents.

Click to expand...

OP- do not worry, these guys are obviously grinding an axe.

The fact that they responded in this way to someone who is conscientious enough to ask their questions before hand ..... says a lot about them.

--- If you think you are loosing because people are not taking big enough bites .... well that is just funny. If they nibbled yours than they are nibbling everyone else's. (same as in highschool)

" I would of won, but I got a nibbler." LOL

Fred

The individual that made the comment is also a KCBS judge and also currently one of the top teams in the nation so he doesn't really have an axe to grind. I think he's just asking for the judge to make sure they remember they are their to focus on judging. In fact, he's offering judges plenty more if they come by his booth after judging as a thank you and for the judges safety.

How would you feel if your guests came to your house with a take home cooler but only ate a few nibbles during the meal you worked so hard to serve?

linhardt - Take your cooler. It's fine.

I also take my judging very seriously because I am also a cook. I almost never see other judges 'nibbling' instead of taking a serious bite. However, I do see some judges who are in a hurry. I try to model for the other judges at my table by totally experiencing each sample. I stop to look at it before I smell it, then after I bite it I chew it for a while to experience the wide range of flavors that the cook worked so hard to impart. Then, I take some time to ponder scores in my mind . . . before I finally record the score. Sometimes I'll take another bite to confirm something I thought I tasted or to remember the tenderness before I record the score.

We only get one chance to both sample and cook - and I am there to give the cooks the best, most accurate score that I possibly can.

I take poor samples home because I also was raised not to be wasteful - and my dogs can't seem to tell the difference between a 9 and a 2 . . . they love it all!

QansasjayhawQ said:

I take poor samples home because I also was raised not to be wasteful - and my dogs can't seem to tell the difference between a 9 and a 2 . . . they love it all!

Click to expand...

I learned in judging class that a 4 is something that you wouldn't feed your dog. :heh:

I am judging the invitational and the open. Coming up Friday to see the chaos.
I agree that I have not seen many judges take small bites and the few times that I have the rep has usually given instructions to them to take a bigger bite.
I take left overs home. I don't like to be wasteful and my daughter is becoming a bbq smoking fool and she likes to size up the competition for when she makes the leap. Hope to meet some of you this weekend and good luck to you. keith ,a damn eater

daedalus said:

I second that!:thumb:
Personally, I took food home when I first started to judge, but found that it was really not worth the hassle, and that I rarely ate the leftovers anyway.

Click to expand...

Yeah, that lasted about 3 contest, last time I took BBQ home from judging was Vegas in 2004 and it got thrown out that night.

Sorry you missed your samples, Linhardt. We had a ton of leftovers from two contests... You should have stopped by.