How to Judge a Chili Cook-off

If you're going to be one of the judges at a chili cook-off, you better love your food hot and spicy. Just like a wine taster, you should bring an educated pallet to your work. And lots of water.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Judging sheet
• Spoon
• Saltines

1. Sign up to judge the cook-off and meet with the head judge prior to the start of the event. Get your assignment and directions on how to evaluate the entries.

2. Use a new, clean spoon to test chili from the judges' cup. Most chili cook-offs have one chili judges' cup that all the judges sample from, so no double-dipping allowed.

3. Evaluate each chili on the predetermined criteria on your judging sheet. Typical categories include color, aroma, taste, aftertaste, consistency and texture. Assign whole numbers to each entry, not decimals or fractions.

4. Clear your pallet between each tasting to provide each entry an unbiased evaluation. Use water or saltines to clear your pallet.

5. Place your score on the official scoring sheet that corresponds to the contestant number on the judges' cup. Check that you record the correct score on the correct sheet. If you realize you made a mistake after handing in the sheet, alert the head judge immediately and let him render a ruling.

Tips & Warnings

• Alert the head judge of any food allergies you have that may impact your ability to judge.
• Don't try to compare each sample.
• Never discuss the judging while the judging is still taking place.