Judging "left-overs" - take home or NOT?

I dont have a problem with Judges taking leftovers home, I do however have a huge problem with judges who only show up to get free bbq and dont take the judging serious.

JayAre said:

I dont have a problem with Judges taking leftovers home, I do however have a huge problem with judges who only show up to get free bbq and dont take the judging serious.

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Same here.

Problem with judges taking home meat? What? Hell, in MBN judges are invited to come back to teams areas and take bags of pulled pork or ribs home... When judging I've always come home with a box of either doggie scraps or food for us. New organizer, perhaps?

Toss leftovers.
Just saw the classic case of one bite then load up the zip loc bag this weekend in Liberty, IN. As a judge I am truly embarrassed that this type of judge exists and is deciding the fate of hard working cooks that are putting their all into their turn in boxes.

I also want to add that this judge was a new judge with less than five contests judged, and for each category was the first one done filling out the scorecard.

my fear is that some judges rush to fill up there coolers and dont take an ample sample to fufill their judging obligations.. judge first ...cooler second..

The judges should be there to judge, not to receive free food.

I'm always surprised that someone would want to save a piece of barbecue with a bite taken out of it for later.

Smokin' Gnome BBQ said:

my fear is that some judges rush to fill up there coolers and dont take an ample sample to fufill their judging obligations.. judge first ...cooler second..

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Exactly! As a judge when I see others taking a single bite then transferring the rest to the cooler I really have to wonder if they are getting enough to give an accurate score. This is why I don't like the idea of allowing leftovers from the judging table at all. Taking some from the grazing table after judging is done however...sure, as long as the non-judging volunteers have already had their fill.

Two problems with taking turn-in's home. 1. Judges can take your product and show it to other teams. 2. Judges, if they are a team member, can show their team what you do and your flavor profile. 3. Judges can take small bites so they have more to eat when they get home. As a CBJ for many years and having judged many contests I have seen all of the above.

For the record.

The contest is Hog Fest in Edenton. Yes, the judges were not allowed to take any of the items that they recieved to judge. My instructions were that the meat was sent in for one reason only and that was to be judged. I also explained that the cooks would be providing goodie bags of there meat for the judges who wanted them. It was not just pulled pork, it was all four meats and was provided by the cook teams. I had two coolers full from the cooks that the judges did not take and it was divided up between some of the workers at the event. The extra meat in the boxes was eaten by the workers as well. The only waste here was the meat that was on the plates to be judged and I don't consider that a waste because it served its purpose.

I have seen judges who come to a contest and take a minimal bit from the entrie and then it goes in a cooler. I have listened to other judges talk about it as well. My goal is to make sure that all judges take this as serious as we do as cooks. I also have a obligation to the cooks who attend our contest to provide them with the best judging possible.

I also understand the sacrifice that judges make to come and judge and want to provide those who want to take some meat home that as well.

It is my hope that this will become a standard for all contest.

This is my opinion as a cook, judge, and orginizer.

Roy Murray
Tarheel Smokers
Hog Fest in Historic Edenton orginizer.

I've cooked and judged, and I don't see any sacrifice that judges make. They travel because they want to, not because their presence is that important. With good communications, most events I've seen would have no problem getting judges that are trained a bit in what to look for, etc.

I've seen several judges that are there primarly for the take homes, with no regard to the time and money put in by the cooks. I'd prefer all events not allow judges to take anything from the judging table. As a cook, I'm happy to give out samples after, but I'd rather know that the judges are actually judging, not hoarding leftovers.

Isn't this part of the table captains job, to make sure the judges are actually judging? We are instructed to take at least two tastes of every turn in, but not gorge ourselves as that can affect your palate. With the size of some of the slices and chunks of brisket and pork and all the chicken thighs, there will be leftovers no matter who's judging. Why toss good meat, it makes a great pot of beans.

They travel because they want to, not because their presence is that important

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Yesterday I drove 130 miles to judge a comp. Many judges came from farther. If you want local yokels and "celebrity judges" resposible for your payoff, good luck. When I compete I feel very comfortable that we in the PNWBA get experienced judges at all of our comps and get judged fairly and evenly. I do think it's important. If they want to keep the leftovers, fine by me.

I can see the points that have been presented but I really hate to see good edible food just tossed in the trash.

I have never judged a comp where the judges were not allowed to take home the meats if they so wanted to. Again it always seems competitors like to pick at the judges. You have 6 judges at a table plus a table captain. Every competitor has an equal chance of winning at a comp. As for showing the meats to competitors after the judging, this I have never seen. How the hell is anyone going to know what meat belonged to what competitor. I have only judged KCBS comps. I see nothing in the rules regarding leftovers. If some of you feel that a leftover rule should be added to the judging rules let the KCBS know. Most judges are very serious about judging. I feel the new judges may require some seasoning. Everything being equal I find judging to be very fair.

We have a problem out here with judges approaching teams and trying to "profile" or identify products.

Once upon a time, I would have had no problem with judges taking food home. With egregious behavior displayed like profiling or nibbling, apparently measures have to be put into effect to ensure proper judging behavior. Restricting leftovers will certainly curb those problems.

I just judged a contest Saturday. I drove 240 miles round trip at 20 miles per gallon thats 12 gallons of gas at 4 dollars per gallon thats $48.00, plus my whole Saturday(left at 6:45 am home at 5:00 PM). Do you really think I came to judge just so I could take home my leftover BBQ samples? One piece of chicken had blood running out of it. Come on give me break.

For the Gas price alone I could have went to one of your fellow competitors and bought a lot of BBQ and not had to drive 240 miles and spend a whole day doing it.

What does it hurt to let the judges take home what ever they don't eat?

I understand your complaint but you have to understand from a judges point of view also.

I have no problem with judges taking home my entries, in fact I try to put extra meat in the boxes for the Table Captains and helpers. I just judged a contest with 34 teams and didn't notice any CBJ's taking bird bites to fill their Ziplocks. The cooks in attendance judging all agreed we just can't see taking a bite and packing it off to eat later, but that's their perogative. I did get some looks for using my ziplock for a garbage bag!

Personally I'd like to see more CBJ's come by my camp before the judges meeting and say Hi or wish us Good Luck or stick around for the awards ceremony, the good ones do and we appreciate their efforts.

I have seen judges who do seem to be very motivated to take home some meat. They will take large samples of pulled pork or make sure they take the largest rib or whatever. But, they usually also spend their time to judge the meat. It is rare for me to see a judge not taking a good size bite or bites and rushing to score the sample so they can get the sample in the cooler. We are not rushed for time.. As for profiling and everything else once that sample is thrown into a baggie the profiles are pretty mixed up with sauce from one being all over they other etc etc. I would hate to have to throw all the meat away. It would seem like a great waste to me. Though since I judge so many contest I have become picky as to what I keep. If I throw your sample in the trash it is not a good sign. keith