I would just like some simple one line type feed back. for example:
meat tough
meat dry
skin rubbery
too salty
too hot
That would help.
Be careful what you ask for. People know when they like and dislike something but are not always good at articulating the reasons why.
I'm in the education business and we administer course evaluations to every sudent at the end of every course. You would be amazed at the dichotomy of the responses from the same class. Some will say "the course moved to slow" while others "the course was too fast". Some complain about the room being warm while others in the same room complain about it being cold. In the end, students score classes that they like high and ones they don't low regardless of the commentary. In the end, they will find a way to make their individual scores reflect how they "feel" about the experience.
I've seen the same thing on all of the judging reality shows on TV, including the BBQ shows. On American Idol how many times has Paula liked something that Simon didn't?
So how will you feel when you get a scorecard with one judge who thought your food was bland when another thinks it's too salty. And what will you change when one judge calls your entry mushy and another calls it tough? As cooks we already get our knickers in a twist when 1 judge scores a 5 and another a 9. Imagine our collective confusion when the comments from 1 entry are opposed.
The difficult part is that we don't actually get to sample what the judges do. Who knows if the ribs that went in the box are the same ones left on the cutting board. Or if the brisket turned in was better or worse than the brisket we didn't submit. All we know is the score we receive. I contend that's all we need to know. If the score for an entry was low and we don't think we could improve it, it's time to change the recipe.
There is a random element in these competitions. But the teams that do well are the teams that consistently turn in perfectly cooked BBQ. Doing so doesn't guarantee a win but it puts those teams in a position to win every time they compete.
We also do CASI chili contests occassionally and in those events, if your chili doesn't make it to the final table, it's not even scored. And you never get a score sheet or even ranking sheet after the contest.
So, if it ain't broke why fix it?