Kitchen Garden Forum

Or more specifically, should I provide a bottle of (soda) water for the judges to dilute my elderflower cordial 'to taste' when they are judging?

I have never entered this particular class (for both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages) before and have no idea of the protocol!

I am hoping that some of you are more observant than me and might have noticed such things when either competing in or just visiting shows

I suspect that they'll taste it neat or use one thing to dilute all entries.

Thanks, Peter. That is what I thought too, but even though it is my entry, Mr Mouse is trying to insist that I supply some soda water so that the judges can taste the cordial at its best, and is trying to overrule me. If I don't, I wouldn't be surprised if he sneaks into the hall and puts it on the bench after I have set out my entries

I would take a bottle of brandy bribery usually works

robo wrote:I would take a bottle of brandy bribery usually works

Not with our produce judge she is teetotal.

BTW Mouse tell Mr Mouse his "assistance" could get your entry marked "Not as schedule" because the schedule specifies a bottle of cordial.
It should specify the bottle type (colour), labelling and presentation, just as onions have to have the top tied.

peter wrote: just as onions have to have the top tied.

Not in our show they don't, thank goodness, too fiddly. But if they are tied it has to be uncoloured.
Shallots have to be presented on a bed of sand


Benching due by 10am Sat 8/9. Have not even started getting entries ready.

1 x Strawberry Jam,
1 x Marmalade
13 entries in veg class
4 entries in photographic

Mrs S has entered some floral stems.

Good luck with all your entries and enjoy the shows. Our Horticultural Society folded a few years ago after celebrating it's Hundredth anniversary. A great loss to the community feel of our town. They used to have a Hobbies Exhibition at the same time with a huge range of home crafts entered. The prize money for it all must have been very costly, but everyone in the area used to go so I suppose what they took at the door and on the raffle covered it.

peter wrote:
BTW Mouse tell Mr Mouse his "assistance" could get your entry marked "Not as schedule" because the schedule specifies a bottle of cordial.
It should specify the bottle type (colour), labelling and presentation, just as onions have to have the top tied.

Thanks again - it's only a small show and such specifications are deliberately kept to a minimum so as not to put off potential new entrants, but thanks to what you have just said, he will hopefully listen to me now.

Pa Snip wrote:
Benching due by 10am Sat 8/9. Have not even started getting entries ready.

1 x Strawberry Jam,
1 x Marmalade
13 entries in veg class
4 entries in photographic

Mrs S has entered some floral stems.

Good luck to you both

good luck everyone who is entering produce in a show this weekend! We are not lucky to have anything like that near us. We do have an allotment open day tomorrow, but it is always a bit half arsed and only a handful of things on display, we gave up years ago.

Yes, good luck to everybody who is entering shows this weekend and do let us know how you got on!

Our village show being over, our allotment association has a barbecue planned on the site for tomorrow afternoon and, apparently, it's in honour of our 35 years there and (to celebrate????) our departure. The weather doesn't look brill so we might all have to squeeze into an 8'x8' shed!