I just judged my first cooking contest ever. Some observations follow:

1. It was good.
2. Free food.
3. Lots of dishes (about 12 different things).
4. I thought I was strict, but then I saw how the other judges scored and I realized I’m not.
5. The more meat or sugar in your dish the highest the odds of you winning. "or" is the keyword here.
6. Americans don’t use nearly as much condiment as mexicans or israelis. Not a single dish inflicted pain in my tastebuds.
7. Gazpacho is not popular here. I think a lot of judges gave the gazpacho a low score thinking it was cold soup (wait a minute… that’s what it is!)
8. I would gladly participate as a judge in a cooking contest again. If you know of one or if you are planning on cooking and need somebody to judge it, let me know. And don’t worry (see number 4)