CONTESTANT – A contestant is any individual or group that is part of the Arlington Foodies or a farmer's market participator that will prepare and cook an entry for the purpose of being judged. The contest organizer may not cook in any category in this contest. Contestant will be referred to as “contestant”.
INTERPRETATION of RULES – The interpretation of the rules and regulations are those of the contest organizer and his or her decisions are final.
REFUND OF ENTRY FEES – A requested donation of $10.00 may be submitted in advance via paypal at
https://paypal.me/arlingtonfoodies with comments (taster or competitors)with the email address
info@arlingtonfoodies.com or donated the day off at check in.
EQUIPMENT – Each contestant will supply all of the equipment necessary for the presentation of their soup. The health and safety of contestants, judges and spectators should be a primary consideration when offering items. SOUPS MUST BE PRECOOKED UPON ARRIVAL. Bowls and spoons will be supplied. YOU MUST BRING YOUR OWN LADLE AND HEATING/WARMING SOLUTIONS. No wood burning ovens or grills as this competition is held indoors.
MEAT – We ask that no Pork products be used in the creation of your items as some religious sects do not eat this item. Soups using meat, must stay in a heated environment and served at a temperature above 140 degrees.
CONTESTANT’S SITE – Each contestant is required to keep all items contained within assigned space.
CLEANLINESS AND SANITATION – All contestants are expected to maintain their area in an orderly and clean manner and to use good sanitary practices during the preparation, handling and judging process. The use of sanitary gloves is required at all times while handling food. Failure to use sanitary gloves may result in disqualification. Contestants are responsible for cleanup of their site once the competition has ended. All federal, state and local food safety rules and regulations must be adhered to at all times.
CATEGORY – Only one umbrella category is included for this competition: Soups – Contestants may bring any soup made any way you choose, judging of flavor is only based one soup, but soup accents could have an edge for presentation points (with enough for 20 judges to TASTE (counts twice) and 1 presentation plate).
JUDGING – Entries will be submitted in the containers supplied by contestant at check in by the CONTESTANT. NO GARNISH. Only the entry to be judged is allowed in the container. Each entry will be judged on APPEARANCE, TASTE (counts twice), PREPARATION, PRESENTATION AND OVERALL IMPRESSION.
SCORING – Each entry will be scored by no more than 20 judges in the areas of APPEARANCE, TASTE (counts twice), PREPARATION, PRESENTATION AND OVERALL IMPRESSION. Scoring ranges from a low of 1 to a high of 5 with total tally the final result per contestant. Any entry that is disqualified as per SECTION 11 will receive a score of zero for all four categories from all judges at the table. CONTESTANT WITH THE LOWEST SCORE WINS. IN THE EVENT OF A TIE IT WILL BE MAJORITY JUDGE'S CHOICE BETWEEN TWO TIED PARTIES.
DISQUALIFICATION – An entry can be disqualified by the event organizer only. An entry can be disqualified for any of the following reasons: a. If there is anything foreign other than intended cooked ingredients in container submitted for judging b. The entry is turned in after the officially designated time (No later than 2:45PM) c. Gloves are not used while handling food products d. Not cooking the item that was inspected e. There is evidence of raw dough such that the egg is raw and the dough is runny.
PREP TIME – Contestants should arrive at least 30 minutes prior to the Start time of 3PM to check in and unload items. YOU MUST BE REGISTERED BY 2:45PM OR YOUR SLOT GOES TO AN ALTERNATE.
TURN IN TIMES – Set up for this event begins at 2:30PM and ends at 5PM, and judging begins promptly at 3:00PM. The Auction will take during the taste testing, simultaneously. PLEASE ARRIVE BY 2:45PM!!!
JUDGING PROCEDURE – Contestants will stand by their entrees at their table for inspection by an Arlington Foodies Representative. The contestant will bring their top choice to the their table and set it by their corresponding number. The judges will then score each entry for APPEARANCE, TASTE (counts twice), PREPARATION, PRESENTATION AND OVERALL IMPRESSION. NUMBER 1 IS THE BEST SCORE AND 5 IS THE WORST!!! The event organizer makes sure that all scores are recorded in the proper place. Once all entrees have been TASTE (counts twice)d, contestant may complete their cleanup and break down process of all items except the presentation entree. The event organizer will then collect the judging slips.
WINNERS –ARLINGTON FOODIES SOUP CHALLENGE GRAND CHAMPION title will be awarded to the Contestant with the LEAST total points and shall be declared the 1st place award winner FOR THE 2020 Category of Soups. One prize ONLY will be awarded $100 and an award. In the event of a tie, Judges will review both entrees again and decide together the top choice.
Contestants may not sell any food items, but are welcome to share samples among the crowd of spectators.