Peter's Pond Judging

Took my first shot at judging at a KCBS style contest yesterday at the Peter's Pond contest on Cape Cod. Was an interesting experience, and I definitely learned some things.

For those who have never judged before, it is a very organized process. Each person judges six entries for each category. It seemed to me that for every category, there were one or two entries that were excellent, a couple that were average, and one or two that was not very good.

As a competition cook, I learned a few things that certainly will help me. Saw some interesting presentations, tasted some different things.

The biggest thing I learned: I would rather cook and compete than judge. However, in the future, I will be sure to judge a contest now and then, because I believe it will help me as a cook.

Also, congratulations to I Smell Smoke and Lakeside Smokers, the grand and reserve grand champions of the contest.