Arlin_MacRae
somebody shut me the fark up.
- Joined
- Apr 14, 2004
- Location
- Choctaw, OK
This post is mostly for those of you who are judges but haven't been to your first gig, or you're thinking of becoming judges. The rest of you - no laughing. :wink: Feel free to ask or constructively criticise me after reading. Learning is good.
Today Jeannie and I crossed over from mere badge owners to real KCBS CBJ's by judging at Smokin' Red Dirt in Enid, OK. Perhaps not so coincidently, it was held in the same building we took our CBJ class in. Worked for us, anyway.
We arrived 30 minutes early (we did NOT want to be late!) and we found out someone had organized the judging tent to a 'T'. There were sign-in sheets and we found all the judges were already assigned to tables. The tables had sheets of paper taped on them showing the table number and the judges' names, ranked by experience (we were the bottom of our table lists, yes!). My table captain (Rhoda) was the only one sitting there and, as it turns out, her husband was table captain at Jean's table. Fun. I feel sorry for Rhoda a little as I look back on my machinegun-like questioning of her, but she was awesome and I learned a ton before another judge even sat down. They say the table captains will take care of you, and if that husband and wife team is typical, it's true beyond belief. Thanks, Rhoda, wherever you are. You're a gem and you started another judge out right!
So other judges started sitting down and we introduced ourselves and yeah, I'm a newbie and I'm all squishy and excited. :laugh: I sat next to Susan (can't remember her last name) and I recognized her from somewhere. When I saw her CBJ badge I almost did the "I'm not worthy" genuflection bit. She was CBJ #234. Two. Three. Four. Mine is 24,308. Wow. Anyway, that flaming orange hair was recognizable as I found out - she and her hubby had just judged up at Pleasant Hill, Jeff Stith's awesome annual Big Creek competition. Small world. Anyway, she helped me throughout the entire competition with funny stories and kind guidance and she was a hoot to boot. GREAT gal. Thank you!!!
Going in, both Jean and I were nervous. We were afraid that we'd hurt a team by judging them too low or by judging another team too high. Personally, I didn't worry a LOT about going too low, because the lowest score is tossed out. I was more worried about awarding a 9, then finding the next entry should have been a ten, but couldn't be. Know what I mean? Now I've ranked both of them the same when clearly the sample I had second should have been the only 9. I was also worried about taking too long. I found out at CBJ class that I seemed to need more time than the average bear to really look at a box to nail the appearance score in my mind. I also had no practical experience at all when it came to judging six entries within the set time limit.
I reigned myself in when it came to awarding nines on appearance, taste, and tenderness, and it worked. I think I gave two perfect 999's (but several were close), and the table captain let me know my numbers were right in line with the other five judges. Did I go further down the scale? Oh you bet. Like I said earlier, I wasn't afraid of being the lowest, 'cause mine would get tossed. I gave out plenty of 8's, some 7's, and one or two 6's. Even one 5. Kiss of death, that 5? Maybe. I agonized over it and still marked it that way. The entry was pretty ugh. Nothing was inedible during the session, although I heard stories of 2's being given. Thankfully I didn't have to even think of going that low!
One thing that helped me was my knowledge of what championship entries looked and tasted like. Thanks to Dammitandy and Kim of Smoke-on-Wheels for that. I know what can be done to those four meats when you know what you're doing. A lot of entries hit that mental mark today and, sorry guys, one rib was the best I'd EVER had. :laugh:
I discovered the way to get maximum appearance judging time was to sit near the middle of the table. I watched the boxes as they came towards me, when they were in front of me, and when they were heading to the other end of the table. A simple solution, yes, but if you don't think about it and sit on an end you'd better have quick eyes! As far as taking all the time I needed to judge taste and tenderness, I just DID. I was the last to turn in my card every time but once - but I never came close to the time limit and my fellow judges & the table captain never even sighed loudly - bless their hearts. I'll get faster, I'm sure, but I wasn't going to rush it this time. I probably won't try to do that for the next few. Why risk hurting a team because you missed something while trying to be as fast as your neighbor?
Another thing that was kinda tough to do without constantly thinking about it was to completely forget the sample I had just tasted as I bit into something new. NO COMPARING SAMPLES! I got through that pretty well, actually. It's probably like working a muscle over time: it'll get stronger and easier.
Food management (stomach management). Holy farking hell... Rookie Dave, I don't know how you judged seven categories wherever the heck you were that one time. THIS boy was stuffed like a tick at the end, today! Our table judged 23 meat samples and two desserts and that was pushing it for me. And I can eat!! I was worrying about Jean somewhere behind me. I pictured her being sent to the juicing room like that girl on Willy Wonka. :-D I tried to nail taste & tenderness in no more than two bites. A few times it just wasn't possible, and a couple of times I HAD to have a third bite of whatever it was, because it was so good! No more of that chit. URP Strangely enough, the ones I needed three bites of were all bland and I was looking for flavor. I hope I'll learn to decide quickly that yes, there's very little flavor here. Either that or I'll be stuffed again and again...
What else...paper towels. Grab a bunch! Keep one wet at all times - or take your own damp towel/wash cloth. Chicken was phenomenally messy. "I'm supposed to pick up a pen and write after each of these? SURE!" LOL
Let me close this rambling beast with this: I only know a couple of guys who judge a lot, and they're great guys, but I wasn't sure about judges in general. They're just like the cooks, it turns out, trying to put out the best product they can - them by being fair, accurate, consistent, and fast. It was a blast today. And I'm VERY glad you Brethren taught me first about the blood, sweat, tears, and frustration you go through to put meat before a judge. I salute you all. Now where are those farking Tums?!!!
Arlin
Today Jeannie and I crossed over from mere badge owners to real KCBS CBJ's by judging at Smokin' Red Dirt in Enid, OK. Perhaps not so coincidently, it was held in the same building we took our CBJ class in. Worked for us, anyway.
We arrived 30 minutes early (we did NOT want to be late!) and we found out someone had organized the judging tent to a 'T'. There were sign-in sheets and we found all the judges were already assigned to tables. The tables had sheets of paper taped on them showing the table number and the judges' names, ranked by experience (we were the bottom of our table lists, yes!). My table captain (Rhoda) was the only one sitting there and, as it turns out, her husband was table captain at Jean's table. Fun. I feel sorry for Rhoda a little as I look back on my machinegun-like questioning of her, but she was awesome and I learned a ton before another judge even sat down. They say the table captains will take care of you, and if that husband and wife team is typical, it's true beyond belief. Thanks, Rhoda, wherever you are. You're a gem and you started another judge out right!
So other judges started sitting down and we introduced ourselves and yeah, I'm a newbie and I'm all squishy and excited. :laugh: I sat next to Susan (can't remember her last name) and I recognized her from somewhere. When I saw her CBJ badge I almost did the "I'm not worthy" genuflection bit. She was CBJ #234. Two. Three. Four. Mine is 24,308. Wow. Anyway, that flaming orange hair was recognizable as I found out - she and her hubby had just judged up at Pleasant Hill, Jeff Stith's awesome annual Big Creek competition. Small world. Anyway, she helped me throughout the entire competition with funny stories and kind guidance and she was a hoot to boot. GREAT gal. Thank you!!!
Going in, both Jean and I were nervous. We were afraid that we'd hurt a team by judging them too low or by judging another team too high. Personally, I didn't worry a LOT about going too low, because the lowest score is tossed out. I was more worried about awarding a 9, then finding the next entry should have been a ten, but couldn't be. Know what I mean? Now I've ranked both of them the same when clearly the sample I had second should have been the only 9. I was also worried about taking too long. I found out at CBJ class that I seemed to need more time than the average bear to really look at a box to nail the appearance score in my mind. I also had no practical experience at all when it came to judging six entries within the set time limit.
I reigned myself in when it came to awarding nines on appearance, taste, and tenderness, and it worked. I think I gave two perfect 999's (but several were close), and the table captain let me know my numbers were right in line with the other five judges. Did I go further down the scale? Oh you bet. Like I said earlier, I wasn't afraid of being the lowest, 'cause mine would get tossed. I gave out plenty of 8's, some 7's, and one or two 6's. Even one 5. Kiss of death, that 5? Maybe. I agonized over it and still marked it that way. The entry was pretty ugh. Nothing was inedible during the session, although I heard stories of 2's being given. Thankfully I didn't have to even think of going that low!
One thing that helped me was my knowledge of what championship entries looked and tasted like. Thanks to Dammitandy and Kim of Smoke-on-Wheels for that. I know what can be done to those four meats when you know what you're doing. A lot of entries hit that mental mark today and, sorry guys, one rib was the best I'd EVER had. :laugh:
I discovered the way to get maximum appearance judging time was to sit near the middle of the table. I watched the boxes as they came towards me, when they were in front of me, and when they were heading to the other end of the table. A simple solution, yes, but if you don't think about it and sit on an end you'd better have quick eyes! As far as taking all the time I needed to judge taste and tenderness, I just DID. I was the last to turn in my card every time but once - but I never came close to the time limit and my fellow judges & the table captain never even sighed loudly - bless their hearts. I'll get faster, I'm sure, but I wasn't going to rush it this time. I probably won't try to do that for the next few. Why risk hurting a team because you missed something while trying to be as fast as your neighbor?
Another thing that was kinda tough to do without constantly thinking about it was to completely forget the sample I had just tasted as I bit into something new. NO COMPARING SAMPLES! I got through that pretty well, actually. It's probably like working a muscle over time: it'll get stronger and easier.
Food management (stomach management). Holy farking hell... Rookie Dave, I don't know how you judged seven categories wherever the heck you were that one time. THIS boy was stuffed like a tick at the end, today! Our table judged 23 meat samples and two desserts and that was pushing it for me. And I can eat!! I was worrying about Jean somewhere behind me. I pictured her being sent to the juicing room like that girl on Willy Wonka. :-D I tried to nail taste & tenderness in no more than two bites. A few times it just wasn't possible, and a couple of times I HAD to have a third bite of whatever it was, because it was so good! No more of that chit. URP Strangely enough, the ones I needed three bites of were all bland and I was looking for flavor. I hope I'll learn to decide quickly that yes, there's very little flavor here. Either that or I'll be stuffed again and again...
What else...paper towels. Grab a bunch! Keep one wet at all times - or take your own damp towel/wash cloth. Chicken was phenomenally messy. "I'm supposed to pick up a pen and write after each of these? SURE!" LOL
Let me close this rambling beast with this: I only know a couple of guys who judge a lot, and they're great guys, but I wasn't sure about judges in general. They're just like the cooks, it turns out, trying to put out the best product they can - them by being fair, accurate, consistent, and fast. It was a blast today. And I'm VERY glad you Brethren taught me first about the blood, sweat, tears, and frustration you go through to put meat before a judge. I salute you all. Now where are those farking Tums?!!!
Arlin