I judged my first competition about a month ago. I didn't realize you could log into the KCBS website and view your scores compared to the table average, that was pretty interesting, so thanks for that info. I was generally less than a point away from the table average, and the rest of the judges at the table had done many comps.
Congrats on judging your first comp.
There were three instances I was significantly lower than the table between 2 or 3 points for a submission, and I rated them 6's and 5's in a couple categories, and I remember exactly which ones - one was incredibly salty, like I may have gotten a piece with a pocket of thick injection, one was a real dry piece of chicken breast with a thick coat of salt + pepper, and the other had an "ambitious" amount of cayenne hot enough that you could tell when each judge got to it. All of those in my mind were definitely below average in at least one of the judging criteria yet they still received above average scores from most of the table, given the average score for the submission.
Remember what KCBS stresses -- I will be true to my own taste. I like salt more than some, and I definitely like heat. I don't mark down for these unless really over the top. Also keep in mind the scoring system has become inflated over time.
I meant to fill out a comment card for a couple of them, but it was a fast moving comp and we were off to the next category before I knew it and forgot - as a cook I know that feedback would've been helpful. Being the low scorer in those submissions, I suppose my score was thrown out anyway.
This is a problem for sure. I wish we had a little more time. Some cooks appreciate them.
Was the rest of the table full of experience judges wrong? Logic would tell me they know what they're doing given the number of comps they judged. But it's also possible I just the "bad" piece from the box as well, and I know what I tasted and feel my scores were fair.
Possible. I never knew a chicken with six thighs. And it's tough to get 6 straight ribs off of 1 rack.
I feel fairly experienced in barbecue, eaten a ton of it, cooked a ton of it, tasted comp barbecue cooked by others quite a few times, so I think that makes me a fair judge.
I don't believe you can be a good judge if you don't cook yourself. You can find flaws easily, because you have made them all yourself along the learning curve.
But let's be honest...anyone that takes the judging class "gets in", regardless of the level of experience they have, and I'm sure there are plenty of unfair scores given out.
Thus my wish for more demanding criteria to become a judge, but from what I've heard, this isn't likely to happen.
I don't really know a good way to weed those out...you can state what the judging criteria are all day long, but at the end of the day taste is subjective and people are human so...
And thus it comes to the crux of the matter -- subjectivity. You can't legislate taste. Yes, we are supposed to put aside personal preferences and judge what is in front of us, but can you do this in reality? I try, but that rib entry that is savory, with a kick of heat, and a sweet glaze has my subconscious screaming 9.