COSTLY lesson learned and box pics

[U2CANQUE]

Yeah, hate to see it....but that is the hard set up with that part......the previous contest we were in the rep spent most of the cooks meeting talking about dq for this, dq for that, but, you can gurantee that there were no teams that did anything close to the dq talking points.....chalk it up and then you will be better off for it next time.....

Was still great to meet ya though.....

 

[Dale P]

The problem folks were having was the timing and Scottie cleared that up. I think many of us didnt know the rules about when we are supposed to be told the bad news. And to be honest, what Scottie explained makes perfect sense. Adjust for the next turn in. And I also agree about the reps. They do a great job, and I just like them both. Cathy is easier on the eyes than that helper she drags along.

 

[Scottie]

I can agree with that Dale. If anything, he just drags her down... As I have to stick up for her, as we were both born in the same hospital... :twisted:

 

[Divemaster]

Thanks Jeff.
Just to be clear, Cathy did nothing wrong.
I just didn't handle it well.

Like I said I can see both sides, and with Scottie's comment, I fully understand why it had to be that way.

You can bet your sweet arse that it will NEVER happen again!!
Putting 8 ribs in the box is a great piece of insurance. Thanks!

I do that with all of my entries esp. brisket and ribs. It also helps fill the box so, IMHO, it looks better.

I wasn't hiding anything, I just didn't thin the sauce down enough.
I poured it on so there were no brush marks.
This will be revised as well.

Live and Learn...........

I didn't mean to come across that you were... It's just me... Remember, I've had your cooking and know how good it is!

Maybe next time maybe you could thin it down a tad and then pour it...

 

[ZBQ]

What did the Rep do wrong? She did her job. They are to go and tell the team that their entry was DQ immediately after judging... They do not wait until the end of the contest to break the bad news to the teams... It's immediate. That way if there is something that needs to be corrected, it can be done for the next turn-in.

FWIW Phillip and Kathy might be 2 of the best reps that KCBS has. There is never a grey area when they are repping. I for one appreciate that in reps. I also know that I would go and cook a contest that they are repping, just because I know it will be a fair contest.

Scottie

ps my suggestion would be to get a sharper knife. As the cuts on the ribs almost looked like your kniofe was not sharp enough... They were not clean.

Scottie, please read my other posts.

I have REPEATEDLY said that Kathy did nothing wrong.

I handled the news badly.
It just really hit me hard when it sunk in just how bad this little
screw up cost us.

She was very professional when she told us and I could see it in her face that
she REALLY cared that it hurt our teams scores.

Actually, if you really want to know, the 1st words out of her mouth were:
"This is part of the job that I hate" I know in my heart that she meant it.

The ONLY person I am upset with is MYSELF for letting it happen
in the first place, because I know better!!

Thanks for the advice about the knife.....much appreciated...I will be revising my whole rib turn in
procedure so this NEVER happens again.

 

[Scottie]

I don't think I was implying that you thought Kathy did anything wrong. It was some things that others had said.

While I have never had a rep come to my site between turn-ins. I am sure it is very distracting and nerve wracking... As you said, it is a lesson that you learned and it won't happen again.

Try a super sharp knife. My 2 sharpest knives that I own are my ribs knife and my brisket knife. My rib knife will cut through cooked rib bones... I only use those 2 knives for my rib turn in and my brisket turn in. THey are not used for anything else, just to keep that super sharp edge...


Scottie

 

[Rick's Tropical Delight]

i said it wasn't right and i was speaking purely for how i would have taken the bad news and i know neil didn't take it very well. the rules may say to immediately inform the team prior to their next turn in, but in my first comp, uninformed opinion, i think that is a bad idea. they aren't turning in any more ribs, pork and brisket is next. i was having a hard enough time getting my boxes ready and the bad news would have crushed me. in my uninformed opinion, i'd rather get the news after the last turn-in. maybe i'm just too sentitive.

in the reps defense, after the cooks meeting and after the playing of the cd which restated the rules, the reps explained how the exact same thing happened at a previous comp and what the consequences were. they also explained how bad they felt when they delivered the news on that one.

so i reckon we all use this as a learning experience. i really feel for neil on this one because i know how he would take it because he was set-up right in front of me, although i didn't know what happened until i read this thread.

i apologize if i wasn't clear in my statements.

 

[The Pigman]

As I was coming back from turning in our ribs I saw a Brethren pulling his pork butt and it was mush and I felt so sorry for him we both had tears in our eyes. He has been one that I have come close to and conside a good friend even though we have seen each other just a few times. It sucks and I know my turn is coming but it dont make it any easier

 

[parrothead]

I disagree with the rule that all should give you a 1 for appearance, but the rules is the rules. Live and learn.

 

[Bentley]

I had a rib that wasn't COMPETELY seperated and when the judge picked it up
another one came with it.

So, I got 1's across the board for appearance and all 1's from the judge who didn't get a sample!!

Never have figured out why you get 1's for something that has nothing to do with whether they are all attached or not.

The judges view the box before anyone takes a sample, what possible point is there for making 6 people give a 1?

1 judge does not get a taste, guess what you get two 1's from 1 judge. What am I missing here?

 

[CaptTable]

Neil,

It was very thoughtful and classy of you to call us earlier and especially for talking to Kathy. We've been reading the posts all along and fully understood what you were saying and knew you never implied Kathy did anything wrong.

I have not chimed in earlier because I was really curious to see the different responses to the situation. I am particularly glad to see that most everyone really does know that it hurts us deeply, as it does almost all reps, to have to, basically, take someone out of the "overall" picture.

Rick, I understand where you are coming from about how you would prefer to not be told until after the contest. I believe after you have been competing a little longer and see a few more situations like this (and, regretfully, there will be more) you will come to see the necessity of immediate response. Kathy and I feel this type action is as much out of respect to the team as it is anything else. Plus, you will harden yourself to just let it drop and continue on because the turn-in times continue on.

As for waiting until after the contest to inform, there is a lot on the reps' plates once the judging ends and should any other situation have occurred that would need to be addressed, well, things could get very chaotic and something fall through the crack. And that would be disasterous to learn of something like this by seeing it in the scoring!

Sorry for the long post, but I just want to reiterate, Neil, that you didn't have to make the personal call, but it meant a lot to us as does all the nice things said about us in the above posts.

Phillip & Kathy

 

[Rick's Tropical Delight]

thanks for the response, phillip & kathy. i understand how it all works now and see the reasoning behind it. sometime my emotions get the best of me and cloud my better judgement...

neil, that was a standup thing to do by calling them to discuss the situation. you have my respect. sorry if i fueled the fire and caused this situation to be worse. i hope to see you in sharonville and i promise not to play reggae the entire time :biggrin:

 

[The Pigman]

So if you are not playing Reggae does that effect the Boat Eggs on Sat Morn.???????????

 

[ZBQ]

Neil,

It was very thoughtful and classy of you to call us earlier and especially for talking to Kathy. We've been reading the posts all along and fully understood what you were saying and knew you never implied Kathy did anything wrong.

I have not chimed in earlier because I was really curious to see the different responses to the situation. I am particularly glad to see that most everyone really does know that it hurts us deeply, as it does almost all reps, to have to, basically, take someone out of the "overall" picture.

Rick, I understand where you are coming from about how you would prefer to not be told until after the contest. I believe after you have been competing a little longer and see a few more situations like this (and, regretfully, there will be more) you will come to see the necessity of immediate response. Kathy and I feel this type action is as much out of respect to the team as it is anything else. Plus, you will harden yourself to just let it drop and continue on because the turn-in times continue on.

As for waiting until after the contest to inform, there is a lot on the reps' plates once the judging ends and should any other situation have occurred that would need to be addressed, well, things could get very chaotic and something fall through the crack. And that would be disasterous to learn of something like this by seeing it in the scoring!

Sorry for the long post, but I just want to reiterate, Neil, that you didn't have to make the personal call, but it meant a lot to us as does all the nice things said about us in the above posts.

Phillip & Kathy

Thanks Phillip and Kathy.

The intent of my original post was a rant for myself, and "learn from my mistakes" for others.
Somehow it became something else along the way.

Looking forward to seeing you guys again, well....NOT during turn in!:wink::lol:

Hopefully we can put this to bed now.

Thanks again
Neil:-D

 

[bignburlyman]

Well I don't post often, more of a lurker but I thought I might give my opinion on these entries:

Chicken----based on your scores looks like the taste was what brought it down a little- appearance scores were ok, maybe as others said a little darker, taste could have been enhanced by a little more sauce? I don't look at the evenness of pieces size to score appearance, but maybe by putting smaller pieces in front and larger in back makes it more balanced. Nice that the greenery doesn't overwhelm the box. Good job overall, my score---8.

Ribs---sauce is a little thick as stated, the ribs are uneven in size, (3rd bone from bottom is way wider than the others, maybe a little more balance. Looks like the taste and tenderness scores from the judges with a sample were low, so something must have been off there. I wonder if the appearance DQ could influence the other scores lower? Or were they not great ribs. My score---7.

Pork---the pieces with bark in front look a little dry, go with more meat in the box, maybe more pieces with bark surrounding the pieces in the middle. Looks like taste and tenderness scores hurt once again. My score---7.

Brisket---the notch in the top of the slice detracts from appearance to me, it immediately draws my eye to it. The fat across the bottom of the front slice may detract from your score, maybe trim that off before boxing. The slices have a nice shine, I presume from a little sauce. Again, 3 of the judges scores for taste and tenderness hurt you. My score----7, if not for the notch it would be a solid 8.

Good luck at your next comp.