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Will cooks take comment cards into consideration?

7/26/2012

4 Comments

 
Comment cards - I have received them as a competitor and given them as a judge. I know you've heard "cooks don't care what you write on a comment card", In my opinion, as a competitor, I welcome comment cards. I do look at them and it may be ONE judges opinion However, if I get comment cards from 2 judges stating almost the same thing, then I have to step back and look at them seriously. As a Chef, I know that NO 2 judges/customers will have the same opinion of a dish unless it was very good or NOT so good.

Recently I visited a BBQ restaurant in a western Chicago suburb and was very disappointed, My first clue was when the cook took a rack of ribs out of the AltoSham wrapped in Saran Wrap and it looked like a log that they had used to OVERCOOK the ribs. He unwrapped the babyback ribs - halved it and threw them on a char-broiler and proceeded to wipe sauce on them and burn it on the already overcooked ribs. As a chef,cook,caterer, I would have NEVER have served ribs like that to ANYONE. Luckily the restaurant had a website and they had stellar comments and reviews. After our meal, we left a comment on the website in the appropriate place on what we thought of the food. WE DID get an email from the owners regarding the negative comment on their site and an apology regarding food quality.

No matter what, the comments that judges send to the cooks will be looked at and may be taken into consideration. As a Certified Table Captain, I always encourage the judges at my table to utilize the comment cards (when appropriate). It will help the cooks know why a judge scored a dish as they did. IF they seriously consider the comments received that is up to the individual cook.

I know I do!

Dan Rote
Chef,CBJ,CTC
4 Comments
Seth Watari
8/15/2012 08:13:30 am

Dan, I too like comment cards, as long as the comment is something that I can deal with in my cooking or preparation. There are many occasions when a judge submits a comment that states "...tastes bad" or I didn't like the smoke. Well that's not helping the cook make changes and certainly is more of an opinion. If judges are specific in what they liked or disliked about a sample, then each comment card has value...too salty, too spicy, or loved light smoke flavor. As a fellow TC, I suggest that judges submit comments but in a constructive manner. I have a favorite story that I tell that I received a comment card that my brisket tasted like beef...not much that I can do with that comment since I didn't know the associated score from that judge.

Comment card can be used as a powerful tool or a frustration factor if they contain frivolous statements...it all depends.

Reply
Mike Allison
8/15/2012 01:58:51 pm

As a new competitor (3 comps) I really wish we would receive some sort of feedback from our judges, especially when it's obvious that we're missing the mark. There's very little we can learn from a scorecard that includes 6 6 6 and a 9 9 9 for one category. As a new competitor, i would appreciate the opportunity to get direct feedback from the judges.

Reply
Wesly Mitchell
10/17/2012 04:13:32 pm

As a cooker i think there is nothing more important than the comment cards i truly wish that all judge filled out a card. But at the same time they do need to make sure they are not rude in their comment and be honest in what they write. Now on the hand of being a contest promoter i do ask all my judges to fill out the comment cards as i believe they are truly helpful to the cooks and i make sure that there true to the score they give as i had a judge that wrote it was the best beef he had in along while but yet only give the cooker a 6 so please make sure they are honest comments

Reply
Candy Elkins/CBJ/TC & Comp Team link
6/12/2013 04:40:32 am

Yes comments cards help. As a team and we get a 7 in tenderness, tell us was it too tender or too tough. I don't think judges use comment cards enough. Even if the box is excellent, tell the team that as well.

In recent judging, there were judges who found flaws with an entry, but didn't fill out a card.

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    Dan Rote

    Waterloo, IA - KCBS Certified BBQ Judge since 2008 and is founder of Phat Kat BBQ competition team. Judged 13+ competitions.

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