Her Judges’ Feedback Forms Were Almost Entirely Off Topic
Most soup competition feedback forms have space for comments about flavor, consistency, aroma, and aftertaste. At the East Coast Ladle Championship, contestants receive two pages of written feedback from the judging panel. When Renée collected hers, she found that only one of the five judges had addressed the soup. The other four had filled the entire page with commentary that the event director described as ‘enthusiastic but outside the scope of the evaluation criteria.’ She still won first place.
The Volunteer Judges For Her Category Were Oversubscribed By 300 Percent
Judging volunteer spots for regional soup competitions rarely fill up before the registration deadline. For the year Anika entered the Phoenix Desert Heat Soup Challenge, the volunteer judge application for her specific category — lamb and lentil — received more applications than the rest of the event combined. The organizers had to implement a lottery system. Eleven of the twelve rejected applicants showed up anyway and stood near the tasting table. Her soup won. The crowd applauded for four minutes.
