Here is an excellent breakdown of the rules provided by Jennifer in the last battle as a reminder to anyone following along!
PHOTOS
Each team will post 4 photos per day on a designated set of three dates (see below). Each 4-photo post will be shots of prep and cooking of one of the three dishes, or all three dishes. No text will is allowed. Any comments must be from the judges and fellow board members.
These are just proposed dates but if they work for everyone.....
7, 9 & 11 November : Team USA will post
8, 10, & 12 November: Team Wikings will post
FINAL JUDGING PHASE
13 November, prior to midnight, each team must post 3 photos, comprising one photo of each of their three final dishes with explanation.
The judges can ask questions of the teams, all questions and replies must be completed by [midnight 16 August Pacific time ?] Scoring will be completed November 14.
JUDGING
Each team can score a maximum of 30 POINTS
Judging is based on:
1) Appearance / presentation
2) Creativity / use of secret ingredient
3) Technique
Each of the above categories is worth 3 points, so the maximum score for each dish is 9, making for a combined max per team of 27 points.
4) Cohesion: this final category is awarded as a team score and is worth an additional 3 points.
JUDGING CATEGORIES
APPEARANCE: Covers the prep and final plated photos. There's is an element to planning your shots that is part of the competition. Judges are looking for good presentation from start to finish. This would be similar to how the IRON CHEF TV show discusses dishes as they are made. After plating, before scoring, the judges can post questions for the competitors.
CREATIVITY: covers creative uses of: secret ingredient, weber grills, fire/smoke, different proteins. More is better.
TECHNIQUE: covers how much of the creativity made sense. Did the cooking techniques match the chosen proteins? Does dish appear to be expertly executed? Was the secret ingredient used appropriately?
COHESION: covers the team/meal concept. Was there a theme other than secret ingredient? Was there repetition in any dish? Was the secret ingredient used in a unique manner for each dish? How well did the three dishes work together as a whole team effort?
Jeff had an idea on the first battle that we should try to keep everything from each battle in a single thread since it's easier to follow, if everyone I agrees I second that and suggest everything is posted here.....
Clark