No Garnish

[Uncle Bubba]

Sucks!!!

I know I speak for all "Best of" competitors. It was unbelieveably hard to do, especially with 7.5x10" boxes. Way too big. I was looking for parsley. Not being able to turn in burnt ends sucked too.

[Captain Morgan]

appearance should be at most 15 percent of scoring, imho....I have no idea what percentage it counts in the various judging bodies.

I think it's a bbq contest and while people eat with their eyes, it's
far far far easier to make crappy food look good than to make
good food look crappy.

In other words, are we cooking and eating or are we interior decorators?

[Bruce B]

I heard one disturbing comment from one judge in Mt. Morris this past weekend, it was, "Boy, there were a lot of pretty boxes turned in today." Which, to me, shows that the teams do take the appearance of their boxes seriously, but you have to wonder if the overall scores of teams with sub-par product and good decorating skills are elevated over teams that have great product but perhaps are not as well versed in the art of parsley manipulation. Who knows....

[Captain Morgan]

yep... many judges who don't cook or cook well get an inflated ego.
They can be subject to impressions from Food Network and
Gourmet magazine. It looks good, so it must be good, right?

Hey, you're not tasting what you see on Iron Chef or look at
in Bon Appetit.....pretty is not what barbecue is about.

and parsley is not what bbq is about.

[Puff]

Originally Posted by Captain Morgan

yep... many judges who don't cook or cook well get an inflated ego.
They can be subject to impressions from Food Network and
Gourmet magazine. It looks good, so it must be good, right?

Hey, you're not tasting what you see on Iron Chef or look at
in Bon Appetit.....pretty is not what barbecue is about.

and parsley is not what bbq is about.

Well said Cap!

[Diva Q]

Originally Posted by Uncle Bubba

Sucks!!!

I know I speak for all "Best of" competitors. It was unbelieveably hard to do, especially with 7.5x10" boxes. Way too big. I was looking for parsley. Not being able to turn in burnt ends sucked too.

I completely agree. These were the hardest turn-in boxes I have ever done. I was worried I did not have enough meat to fill them and I didn't like the way everything slipped around on the inside.

[wittdog]

Those boxes sucked...and an hour between turn ins...without any garnish...that was like an hour from hell....