My Life as a Judge at the World Food Championships
My Life as a Judge at the World Food Championships
By Bob Barnes
Last month I had the privilege and honor to judge at the 2nd annual World Food Championships. This is called the World Food Championships for a reason, as all entrants must have already proven themselves to be the best in a previous competition to be allowed to compete, and with $300,000 in prize money, it certainly attracts the best of the best. After applying months earlier I happily received notification that I had been selected, one of a group of 300-plus selected from a pool of more than 1,000 applicants. My assigned categories were Sandwiches and Burgers, a selection I was quite pleased with.
The first leg of my judging experience was being treated to a reception held at the Golden Nugget pool, which was a chance to rub elbows with the hundreds of competitors and other judges while enjoying treats that included margaritas, marinated quail, meatballs and tacos enhanced with a whole roasted pig.
The next day when I arrived to judge I was directed to a tent where I met other judges hailing from all over the country and all walks of life, all of who were as delighted as myself to be selected and one even saying it fulfilled a bucket list for her. As for the judging, the process was very straightforward. Each dish was judged on a scale of 1 to 10 in areas of appearance, taste and execution, with the execution being about overall impression and if it worked or not. We learned that the ratio of competitors to judges was one to one and were admonished to not discuss the entries while judging them. We were seated randomly in groups of four and given four dishes to judge in each round. A table captain received a tray of dishes for us, and presented a larger display for us to appraise its appearance before we all were given a sample to judge. I quickly learned to pace myself, which proved difficult on those entries that were increasingly hard to put down. While the first round was anything goes, the second round was structured, with a stipulation to make a specific type for the category (e.g. in sandwiches it was grilled cheese and in burgers a patty melt).
In each of the four rounds I judged I found all entries to be enjoyable but in each a favorite was evident, and thankfully we got to keep the remnants to nibble a bit more after turning in our scoring sheets.
An unexpected component of the judging experience was being filmed and interviewed by the CORE Media Group's SHARP Entertainment film crew filming a documentary to be aired in 2014. The film crew was cordial and careful not to get in our way, and those of us lucky enough to be interviewed had a chance for our 15 minutes of fame.
A handful of celebrity judges were in our ranks, including Chef Vic "Vegas" Moea (TV regular and owner of Vic's restaurant) and our own LVFNB Pro Publisher & Creative Director Juanita Aiello.
The WFC appears to have found a home in Las Vegas, and it has grown exponentially in attendance and exposure with the downtown Fremont Street Experience location making it more easily accessible to the public. While this was my inaugural judging experience, I sincerely hope it will be the first of many.
http://lvfnb.com/122013issue/1213p17_WC.html
« Back to News
Subscribe for
Email Notifications SUBMIT
Archive
- October 2024
- September 2024
- August 2024
- July 2024
- June 2024
- May 2024
- April 2024
- March 2024
- February 2024
- January 2024
- November 2023
- October 2023
- September 2023
- August 2023
- July 2023
- May 2023
- April 2023
- March 2023
- February 2023
- January 2023
- November 2022
- October 2022
- August 2022
- July 2022
- June 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- January 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- August 2021
- July 2021
- June 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- October 2019
- September 2019
- August 2019
- July 2019
- June 2019
- May 2019
- April 2019
- March 2019
- February 2019
- January 2019
- December 2018
- November 2018
- October 2018
- September 2018
- August 2018
- July 2018
- June 2018
- May 2018
- April 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- December 2017
- November 2017
- October 2017
- September 2017
- August 2017
- July 2017
- June 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- March 2017
- February 2017
- January 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- October 2016
- September 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- March 2016
- February 2016
- January 2016
- December 2015
- November 2015
- October 2015
- September 2015
- August 2015
- July 2015
- June 2015
- May 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- February 2015
- January 2015
- December 2014
- November 2014
- October 2014
- September 2014
- August 2014
- July 2014
- June 2014
- May 2014
- April 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014
- January 2014
- December 2013
- November 2013
- October 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- July 2013
- June 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013