The open judging was definitely fantastic! I have a lot of areas to improve, and those judges didn't hold back! Chicken was the roughest for us. In fact one judge said our chicken tasted like "dirt"! Gonna need to work some more on that flavor profile, as I wasn't really trying to go for dirt! LOL It was funny hearing the judges debate different aspects as well.
I can't take any credit for the cupcakes. My two daughters did those. My older daughter baked them and designed them, and my younger daughter put them all together at the contest. It was a really good way to involve the two of them in the competition though. Even though there was no dessert category, they were very popular with the crowd!