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5. Jury
Culinary Guideline of WACS


5.1 REQUIREMENTS / QUALIFICATIONS

  • He or she must he an approved judge in their own country
  • He or she must have written endorsement of their country's representative organisation
  • He or she must have a resume of culinary competition and judging experience
  • He or she must have at least one gold medal in an international culinary competition
  • He or she must have been an active participant or judge within the last five years
  • The approval of applicants will he the responsibility of the WACS Culinary Committee.

5.2 SELECTION OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE JURY

One cannot be selected as the head of the jury if one has not first been an approved WACS judge. The second requirement, which is also very important, is that he or she must have judged a minimum of five international WACS approved shows.

It is recommended that whenever possible, the principal judge is selected from the host country. I told you what is required to become a WACS approved judge and as we know, each jury needs a President or a Head Judge. Let's look at his or her requirements.

1. You cannot be selected as Head of the Jury if you are not an approved WACS judge first - so this requirement is No. 1.

2. The second requirement, which is also very important, is that as we like to have experienced people looking after this important task, he or she must have judged a minimutn of five International WACS approved shows.

It is also recommended that wherever possible, the chief Judge be selected from the host country.

5.3 REMUNERATION

In order to get the best judges available, we also believe that it is only fair that the organisers of the show pay travel, accommodation and food expenses for each judge. When it comes to medals for the judges, we believe it is wrong to have the same medals for the competitors as the judges, therefore, it is proposed that either a special medal is given to the judges or a certificate. If this cannot he done, then a gift of appreciation will be adequate.

5.4 JUDGING CRITERIA

In culinary competitions there is the preparation of the display and then there is the scoring. But it is the assessment of the work that lies, at the heart of the purpose of competitions. There are two areas of assessment: the critique and the scoring.

Within WACS approved culinary competitions, the critique is delivered by an experienced, trained, approved culinary judge. In the learning process, there is no substitute for a professional, constructive critique, delivered in a manner of teacher to student and with the respect afforded a professional colleague.

Critique sessions should be held immediately following the judging session and prior to the opening of the show for viewing by the public or prizegiving. This allows privacy for the judge and the competitor to discuss the display. Also, by having the critique as soon as possible following the viewing by the judges panel, the display is still fresh on his or her mind and the critique can be more accurate and helpful. The best critiques are to the point and note both the strong points and the weak, and will be specific about each. In addition, the judge should offer guidance on what skills and techniques should be built upon or developed. If the competitor is a student, his or her instructor should always be present during the critique.

The second area of assessment is the scoring. As the judges panel reviews a display, points are awarded in several areas and are then averaged to yield a single score for the display. Based on a possible 80 points in the Gold displays as well as Pastry. The Hot Kitchen Category R is out of 100 points. Course displays are awarded gold, silver, bronze medals or a diploma. Every participant in a WACS approved competition must receive a certificate to verify participation.

In WACS approved competitions the competitors compete against a standard and not each other. Since a competitor is judged on how his or her display measured up against the standard, there may be many competitors who win the same medal.

Medals are awarded to all competitors who score sufficient levels of points.



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