mobow
is one Smokin' Farker
- Joined
- Dec 11, 2009
- Location
- Marshall MO
Eden is a tough town to judge in. lol
how hard is it to become a CBJ?
- Thread starter deepsouth
- Start date
Ford
is One Chatty Farker
- Joined
- Apr 14, 2007
- Location
- Lakeland...
Do you have pink pig suspenders and a straw hat? That always helps to be a CBJ.
Slamdunkpro
Babbling Farker
- Joined
- Feb 27, 2007
- Location
- Northern VA
As long as the check clears.........you're in!
HANCE,
FBA training is basically the same as KCBS.
A couple of hours of "class" and some mock judging and you are good to go.
No follow up or continuing education.
TIM
ViciousGame
Knows what a fatty is.
- Joined
- Jul 13, 2011
- Location
- San diego
I just took a CBJ class a month ago. What I took away most from it was what to look for as far foreign items not allowed in the box, ie. illegal garnish, shards of foil, hair, etc. Also, how to score boxes without the six identifiable pieces and such.
One interesting bit was that one box purposely had only five pieces of chicken breast in the box. We were told to score normally; however, once the 6th judge was left without a piece we would retroactively re-score the appearance (just in case the 6th piece was hidden or something). When a judge picked up a piece of chicken, it broke in half. The judge is not allowed to pick up the half that fell back into the box, so magically there was a 6th piece for the 6th judge after all. The table captain helping us got a kick out of that. Needless to say, that judge who picked up the piece that broke in half scored the box a 5 in tenderness.
One interesting bit was that one box purposely had only five pieces of chicken breast in the box. We were told to score normally; however, once the 6th judge was left without a piece we would retroactively re-score the appearance (just in case the 6th piece was hidden or something). When a judge picked up a piece of chicken, it broke in half. The judge is not allowed to pick up the half that fell back into the box, so magically there was a 6th piece for the 6th judge after all. The table captain helping us got a kick out of that. Needless to say, that judge who picked up the piece that broke in half scored the box a 5 in tenderness.
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Ford
is One Chatty Farker
- Joined
- Apr 14, 2007
- Location
- Lakeland...
Have to judge first contest before getting credentials. I think because its a smaller group people get to know each other. With the hour window I think there's more discussion between judges. But like kcbs there is often a judge 6. Unlike kcbs their score counts. And score sheets let cooks track judges. Some are low ball for all 4 categories, others just way off for one.
If they did a test for CBJ's like they do for beer, there would be almost no CBJ's for judging. The test for Beer judging is highly detailed and many fail. One of the harder things is that you must be able to identify styles and taste them out. It is a total different world, same as wine judging for real wine competitions.
BBQ is about taste, and the vagaries are there, not die to lack of education, but, due to some folks are biased and refuse to change their opinions.
BBQ is about taste, and the vagaries are there, not die to lack of education, but, due to some folks are biased and refuse to change their opinions.
NRA4Life
is Blowin Smoke!
- Joined
- Jul 7, 2009
- Location
- Newark, OH
The main requirement is you have to have a deep rooted evil desire to leave a bbq competitor in total bewilderment as to why there is such a huge difference in your score vs. the other 5 judges at your table. That is all. It is a cool conversation starter though..."in my spare time I'm a certified bbq judge". That word "certified" gets them every time.
ModelMaker
Quintessential Chatty Farker
- Joined
- Apr 21, 2006
- Location
- Lake...
While it is indeed easy to become a CBJ (KCBS) it takes many,many contests to become seasoned. You never stop adjusting due to experience and self-improvement.
You cooks that get the goofy scores it may well be CBJ's in their early contests.
All we can hope for is a mix of more experienced judges will smooth out the curve.
Sadly, the aquisition of judges is more about income the expertise, but in time the judges that take it seriously will give you cooks a fair shot.
Ed
You dicks with the cooler ref. are problaby the ones that get left on the judging plate
as we all chuckle about your effort.
You cooks that get the goofy scores it may well be CBJ's in their early contests.
All we can hope for is a mix of more experienced judges will smooth out the curve.
Sadly, the aquisition of judges is more about income the expertise, but in time the judges that take it seriously will give you cooks a fair shot.
Ed
You dicks with the cooler ref. are problaby the ones that get left on the judging plate
as we all chuckle about your effort.
Westexbbq
Quintessential Chatty Farker
- Joined
- Sep 2, 2005
- Location
- Rockin'...
I was surprised years ago as to how easy it was. Since then I have helped cook for a couple of CBJ classes and that is where you get to do all the "tricks" they use to teach the prospective judges, per post #26 above. I have wondered as well if it would help if CBJ's had to go through a more rigorous training but the idea is to just learn the basics as to what KCBS wants to see and then go out and make sure you're a fair and competent Judge at contests.
deepsouth
somebody shut me the fark up.
- Joined
- Apr 21, 2010
- Location
- Biloxi, MS
ModelMaker
Quintessential Chatty Farker
- Joined
- Apr 21, 2006
- Location
- Lake...
If they're going to belittle my passion and effort as a judge as well as others that feel as I do, then I'll not apologize for my remarks.
The cooler dig gets old quickly....
Ed
A new judge really learns at the table, after scoring is done, when the judges can talk (whisper if other tables are still judging) to each other about what they just saw and ate.
^ This was told to me by a Master Judge a few weeks ago.
So, it takes quite a few comps for a new judge to earn some credibility. But they all score the same. Meaning, a newbie's scores are weighted the same as a Master Judge. Your only hope is that you dont have two low-scoring overly-discerning newbies at the same table. Scary.
^ This was told to me by a Master Judge a few weeks ago.
So, it takes quite a few comps for a new judge to earn some credibility. But they all score the same. Meaning, a newbie's scores are weighted the same as a Master Judge. Your only hope is that you dont have two low-scoring overly-discerning newbies at the same table. Scary.
Outnumbered
is One Chatty Farker
- Joined
- Sep 18, 2011
- Location
- Smithvil...
I'm a cook...and not a good one. I've taken the KCBS judging class twice just to get a better all around idea of what it all entails. It's very easy to get certified.
I have the utmost respect for judges that commit themselves to continually judging BBQ contests. It is definitely not an easy chore.
On another note, and a funny story...at our first class, a new judge gave a mock-up comp pork box a 3 on appearance. Why? He didn't think it "looked" like there would be enough for 6 judges to sample. The KCBS rep reminded him that he was incorrect on the appearance score. So props to KCBS for that.
I have the utmost respect for judges that commit themselves to continually judging BBQ contests. It is definitely not an easy chore.
On another note, and a funny story...at our first class, a new judge gave a mock-up comp pork box a 3 on appearance. Why? He didn't think it "looked" like there would be enough for 6 judges to sample. The KCBS rep reminded him that he was incorrect on the appearance score. So props to KCBS for that.
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