Want to buy or sell something? Check the classifieds
  • The Fedora Lounge is supported in part by commission earning affiliate links sitewide. Please support us by using them. You may learn more here.

Families of the Lounge

1967Cougar390

Practically Family
Messages
789
Location
South Carolina
I picked up my son from school yesterday afternoon. We were on the way to my truck and he wanted to send a picture to his Mom. :)


9467F2FA-AD5E-4F4E-971C-B40A4FE58724.jpeg


Steven
 

Babydoll

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,483
Location
The Emerald City
I attended the State Fair yesterday, and was able to see all of the ribbons my entries won. Here's what I got:

Crochet:
Snowflake - 1st place
White doily - 1st place
Rainbow flower doily - 1st place & Award of Excellence
Green doily - 1st place & WINNER OF CLASS!!!

Photography:
Superhero - 1st
St. Nicholas - 2nd

Baking:
Cookies - 2nd
Scones - 1st

This is my Winner of Class doily. My mom has already claimed it to display at her house.
IMG_20180825_174645.jpg
 

Babydoll

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,483
Location
The Emerald City
Strangely enough, the cookies are my specialty that I have made for years and years. My Grannie taught me how to make them. It was her mother's recipe. They are a Norwegian cookie that has a specific baking technique (the color on the bottom is a pale golden blonde, once you get beyond that, they are over-done), and a specific flavor profile (almond extract). I entered them as sugar cookies because technically they are.... but they obviously did not wow the judges enought to win first. :( I think if I had put them in the "ethnic cookie" category I might have fared better.

The other factor is I have never entered the baking category before, so I have no idea what criteria the judges use to determine the winner. This is my cookie (lower), and the first place winner (upper). Mine is a standard 2 1/2" cookie. The upper must have been at least 4" across, plus they frosted it. (Crappy looking frosting, imho.) So, are judges wanting a bakery-style cookie? The competition rules state that no commercial mixes are to be used, and must be made by the entrant.

IMG_20180826_063537.jpg


Another factor that worked against me was that the day I baked and turned in my entry was not the day they judged the cookies. They judged the cookies the next day, and everyone knows that cookies are best when freshly baked.

I have thought about this a lot. You can tell. I will get some judges notes back when I pick up my ribbons next week, so I will hopefully figure out what they are looking for in that category.
 
Messages
16,813
Location
New York City
Strangely enough, the cookies are my specialty that I have made for years and years. My Grannie taught me how to make them. It was her mother's recipe. They are a Norwegian cookie that has a specific baking technique (the color on the bottom is a pale golden blonde, once you get beyond that, they are over-done), and a specific flavor profile (almond extract). I entered them as sugar cookies because technically they are.... but they obviously did not wow the judges enought to win first. :( I think if I had put them in the "ethnic cookie" category I might have fared better.

The other factor is I have never entered the baking category before, so I have no idea what criteria the judges use to determine the winner. This is my cookie (lower), and the first place winner (upper). Mine is a standard 2 1/2" cookie. The upper must have been at least 4" across, plus they frosted it. (Crappy looking frosting, imho.) So, are judges wanting a bakery-style cookie? The competition rules state that no commercial mixes are to be used, and must be made by the entrant.

View attachment 132710

Another factor that worked against me was that the day I baked and turned in my entry was not the day they judged the cookies. They judged the cookies the next day, and everyone knows that cookies are best when freshly baked.

I have thought about this a lot. You can tell. I will get some judges notes back when I pick up my ribbons next week, so I will hopefully figure out what they are looking for in that category.

The day lag from baking to judging is, as you note, very unfortunate. Also, as your thoughtful analysis implies, there is a subjectivity to the judging. In a way, unless you all baked the same recipe with the same ingredients, all judgement has to be somewhat subjective. To wit, a judge who loves iced cookies would probably lean toward the top one all other things being equal. Also, some people, for example, think chocolate chip cookie should be soft; others prefer hard. All I know for sure is I love the look and description of your Grandmother's cookie.
 
Congrats on your success at the fair @Babydoll ! I think your cookie looks better, but you never know what's in the judge's mind.

I entered a chocolate cake in the adult division when I was a long-haired fifteen-year-old in 1975. Came in second and I really enjoyed the looks on the faces of the old-timers when I came to pick up my ribbon. I also won Best of Show in the hobby crafts division with a toothpick sculpture of an owl. It beat out grandfather clocks and other amazing woodworking examples, so you never can tell about judging... :rolleyes:
 
Messages
16,813
Location
New York City
Congrats on your success at the fair @Babydoll ! I think your cookie looks better, but you never know what's in the judge's mind.

I entered a chocolate cake in the adult division when I was a long-haired fifteen-year-old in 1975. Came in second and I really enjoyed the looks on the faces of the old-timers when I came to pick up my ribbon. I also won Best of Show in the hobby crafts division with a toothpick sculpture of an owl. It beat out grandfather clocks and other amazing woodworking examples, so you never can tell about judging... :rolleyes:

To your implied points about judging a book by its cover, one of the things I love about my guilty TV please of "The Great British Baking Show" is the incredibly diverse background of the amateur bakers - whatever preconceived notion one has about who bakes quickly goes out the window.
 

Woodtroll

One Too Many
Messages
1,211
Location
Mtns. of SW Virginia
I attended the State Fair yesterday, and was able to see all of the ribbons my entries won. Here's what I got:

Crochet:
Snowflake - 1st place
White doily - 1st place
Rainbow flower doily - 1st place & Award of Excellence
Green doily - 1st place & WINNER OF CLASS!!!

Photography:
Superhero - 1st
St. Nicholas - 2nd

Baking:
Cookies - 2nd
Scones - 1st

This is my Winner of Class doily. My mom has already claimed it to display at her house. View attachment 132693


Great job! Doing well at several different things really speaks well of your talent!
 
Messages
13,627
Location
down south
I attended the State Fair yesterday, and was able to see all of the ribbons my entries won. Here's what I got:

Crochet:
Snowflake - 1st place
White doily - 1st place
Rainbow flower doily - 1st place & Award of Excellence
Green doily - 1st place & WINNER OF CLASS!!!

Photography:
Superhero - 1st
St. Nicholas - 2nd

Baking:
Cookies - 2nd
Scones - 1st

This is my Winner of Class doily. My mom has already claimed it to display at her house. View attachment 132693
Congratulations!!

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk
 

Babydoll

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,483
Location
The Emerald City
I will get some judges notes back when I pick up my ribbons next week, so I will hopefully figure out what they are looking for in that category.

I got the judges comments about my cookies.

"certainly representative of old world cookies, not overly sweet and crisp, great presentation."

Ok. So next year I am going to enter them in the Ethnic Cookies category. Judge liked the cookie, just not as a sugar cookie.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
107,021
Messages
3,026,576
Members
52,528
Latest member
Zonko
Top