FN Cookie Contest

[jgm]

Last night I was watching a cookie-baking contest on the Food Network. The bakers were all amateurs; they baked cookies in categories including chocolate chip, spice, fruit, and one of their own choosing. (There might've been another category, but I've slept since then...)

The contest was held in Denver. I don't know anything about how the field was narrowed down to the finalists on the program. In fact, the show may be a few years old for all I know. Additionaly, the reason behind the choice of locations is not something I have knowledge of. The contest may have been held in conjunction with another event.

One thing bugged me. There were several failed batches among the contestants due to the high-altitude difference. If these were professional bakers, fine, throw anything you want at them. But these folks were not professionals at all, and I felt that the high-altitude problem deep-sixed some batches that would have turned out really well at a lower altitude. I'm not sure that was entirely fair. In such a situation, theoretically, a contestant could arrive a few days early, rent facilities, and make their recipes several times to figure out the necessary tweaks. Some of the contestants had several kids, and there would be no way they'd be able to afford to do that.

Once recipe in particular flopped miserably; it was a moroccan cookie that should have "bloomed" into a rose shape in the oven. Instead, it flattened out. The judges also weren't pleased because it was in the fruit cookie category, and the only fruit was some lemon zest. So the altitude was not the only thing working against the contestant.

I feel pretty strongly that the contest should have been held elsewhere, and that throwing this kind of complication at amateurs wasn't entirely fair. Do you agree? Disagree? Or do I just need to find something else to whine about?

[Caroline923]

Only saw last dessert presentation myself - and totally agree - plus - they were comparing apples to oranges it would seem. Categories too broad to be very valid - but then maybe the first part of show was better......

[chefpeon]

Undeniably unfair!

I'm a pro, and even I'd be befuddled by the altitude change! It would take a few days of tweaking before I ever entered my "sea-level" cookies in high altitude contest!

I think whoever decided the location for the contest was a complete bonehead!

Or the Food Network, thinking only about ratings, was thinking..."How can we set up amateurs for complete failure and laugh at them all the way to the bank?"

A funny aside:

When I was a girl scout, and I was trying to earn my homemaking badge (or whatever it was), I used my mom's one and only baking book to make batches of cookies. Every batch came out MISERABLY. It was then that I got this reputation within my family that I did NOT BELONG IN THE

KITCHEN. Anything I made, my family would not touch. I could not for the life of me figure out

what I was doing wrong. I even had my mom check my work. We made the recipes together, and the cookies STILL were terrible. They were like rocks. Ok, my mom said, maybe it wasn't ME.

She said, "When I used this book back home in Colorado......." and then it hit her. It was a high

altitude baking book!!!! So even though the bad cookies weren't my fault, my family STILL regarded me as a terrible cook/baker. So later when I announced in my 20's that I wanted to be a pastry chef and I was going to school to learn, they all thought I had to be crazy. I DID finally get my girl scout badge by the way. Oh, yeah, and I graduated from pastry school!

[sugarlove]

Undeniably unfair!

I'm a pro, and even I'd be befuddled by the altitude change! It would take a few days of tweaking before I ever entered my "sea-level" cookies in high altitude contest!

I think whoever decided the location for the contest was a complete bonehead!

Or the Food Network, thinking only about ratings, was thinking..."How can we set up amateurs for complete failure and laugh at them all the way to the bank?"

A funny aside:

When I was a girl scout, and I was trying to earn my homemaking badge (or whatever it was), I used my mom's one and only baking book to make batches of cookies. Every batch came out MISERABLY. It was then that I got this reputation within my family that I did NOT BELONG IN THE

KITCHEN. Anything I made, my family would not touch. I could not for the life of me figure out

what I was doing wrong. I even had my mom check my work. We made the recipes together, and the cookies STILL were terrible. They were like rocks. Ok, my mom said, maybe it wasn't ME.

She said, "When I used this book back home in Colorado......." and then it hit her. It was a high

altitude baking book!!!! So even though the bad cookies weren't my fault, my family STILL regarded me as a terrible cook/baker. So later when I announced in my 20's that I wanted to be a pastry chef and I was going to school to learn, they all thought I had to be crazy. I DID finally get my girl scout badge by the way.   Oh, yeah, and I graduated from pastry school!

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The production company Highnoon Entertainment (I think that's the name) is located in Beavercreek, CO. I think that's partly the reason why most Food Network competitions are held there, less expenses for the production company.

[jgm]

That certainly seems a plausible explanation.

As a viewer, I feel a little cheated that I didn't get to see the contestants strut their best stuff.

I'm glad I wasn't a contestant. I can't imagine the frustration of putting that much work into the contest, only to have my work fall flat (literally) on national TV.

[K8memphis]

I could not agree more. It was incredibly unfair. And could have been very easily remedied by allowing them more time in advance if it just had to be in Colorado.

My cake-buddy, Mari, won second place.

Yeah, it was cruel really, huh.

[cakezilla]

Stone me if you will....

I try painfully not to watch these amateur competitions for the reason that there are a lot of things about them that I dont care for. I dont think the competition was unfair. All the contestants had the same advantage. The altitude challenge was just an obstacle that they ALL were dealt. It's something that should have been taken into consideration prior to stepping in that kitchen. Trial runs, recipe adjustments, and what not are things that need to be the responsibility of the contestants. I dont think FN gave any of them one advantage over the other and for that reason, I feel it was a fair competition.

[jgm]

It's true that they were all dealt the same conditions, and the changes they needed to make were changes they could have and should have anticipated. However, a contestant with more disposable income, or other advantages, could afford to hit town perhaps a week ahead, rent facilities, and try his/her recipes over and over again until the tweaks were just right.

To offer a scenario, what if the officials at Minot AFB decided, as a matter of military pride, that they wanted their guy to win, and decided to provide him with every advantage possible? There are surely military facilities in the Denver area where he could have stayed, and practiced his recipes, and walked away with the $10,000. In a scenario like that, the other four might as well have stayed home.

If I'd entered the competition, and made it that far, I would have spent a week at my brother-in-law's house in Denver, making sure I knew how to compensate. But not everybody has a brother-in-law in Denver.

The contest should have been about the cookies, and the ordinary people who bake them. That's where the entertainment value comes from. I found myself getting very indignant on behalf of some of the contestants who were obviously done in by the altitude --and that's not entertainment. Contests are the most enjoyable when the playing field is as level as possible.

K8, it would be great if you could find out some details from Mari. If she's not prohibited from doing so, I'd love to see you post a few paragraphs of her comments about the contest.

[JeanneCake]

I didn't see the TV show, but after reading the other posts, I wondered about what kind of information the contestants were given (rules, regulations, etc) to prepare for the contest. Everyone knew they were going to be in Denver, but that doesn't mean they automatically put it together that their recipes needed to be tweaked for the high altitude. It would have been considerate for the organization to have mentioned it or suggested the contestants arrive a day or two before to practice - it isn't as if they could have practiced for high-altitude baking while at home at sea level...

[Lindacakes]

For anyone who is interested in Bake Offs --

Cookoff: Recipe Fever in America

by Amy Sutherland

is an excellent book. Very interesting, very entertaining.

It's about competitive baking, who sponsors it and why, who enters the contests and why, and what goes on there.

My guess is, the folks who compensated for the altitude are regular cookoff circuit people who know the ropes. I'm guessing the contest made it known, but only in the fine print.

[tmgrobyn]

I am watching the show right now. AS soon as they introduced the contestants, I noticed something odd. Saptosa Foster has compted on other shows for Food Network. She won a pie baking contest back in 2004 for Crisco and then in 2005 won the Fish Grilling Cookoff on the food network.

I seem to recognise one other contestant but can't put them on a show yet. These may be home bakers, but they're not your average run of the mill at home baker.

[Grovite]

wrong post

Edited August 27, 2006 by Grovite (log)

[cakezilla]

I seem to recognise one other contestant but can't put them on a show yet. These may be home bakers, but they're not your average run of the mill at home baker.

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You are absolutely correct and that is my BIGGEST peeve about these show; how they define "amateur" and like terms in regards to who qualifies as what.

[lapasterie]

The gal that won did an "Iron Chef" at home competition commercial.

[K8memphis]

K8, it would be great if you could find out some details from Mari.  If she's not prohibited from doing so, I'd love to see you post a few paragraphs of her comments about the contest.

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Got word back from Mari...

"Hey Kate:

Sorry that I haven't answered sooner, but we just moved into a new home and it's been crazy here with all 5 of them home. I cannot wait until next week- when they are back in school! I'd be happy to answer some questions. I belong to E Gullet, but don't have posting priviledges, so you can post for me.

Part of the challenge, to my understanding, was high altitude. I did as much research as I could, but until I arrived, it was nothing like what I had read up on -especially coming from Long Island.

Here's the deal......Did I think the compettion was fair?? Now knowing what I know- no, I don't. Here's some of the reasons why....

1. Saptosa Foster (great woman) along with Dionna Hurt, are on the competition circuit. I did not know this until I met these ladies the night before the competition. After hearing that, I wanted to "throw up". I've never entered into ANY contest and was a deer in the headlights.

2. Theresa CAnnavo, has a commerical on FN, which she produced to enter for the "Next FoodNetwork Star)..... I think ( I could be wrong) that she's had some formal training......So her "commerical" was really her entry. She also had a "no bake" cookie- which totally contradicts the "high altitude" challenge. Hey I forgot to set my timer, and got bashed for raw cookie dough, but that's exactly what she had and came in 2nd place. Also, many others have come up to me and stated that "a gingerbread hosue" is not the same as a cookie. Wheter or not I agree with this, one thing is for sure, if it was based soley on "cookies" then Sapotsa should have won with her peach fig newton. IT ROCKED!! And I thought it was a very creative way to make an old favortie new.

3. No matter what happened, it was definitely a "learning experience" and I am grateful for the opportunity. By no means does this mean that I would enter any other competition. I did it to see how my cookies were and if "excuse my language' people were blowing smoke up my ass, or if my cookies were really as good as some say. I wanted an objective point of view. And Mark Bittman, who is a NY Times food critic and cookbook author made me feel that my cookies are, infact, good!!!

I hope this answers your questions, and if you have any more, please let me know. I'd be happy to answer them.

P.S. Although High Noon is located in Colorado, most of the Challenges are NOT filmed there, but around the country."

[tmgrobyn]

Thank you Mari (through k8memphis). I knew I'd seen more than just Saptosa on FN prior to this contest. Mari, I thought you did a great job with your cookies and was rooting for you all the way! Your kids are so cute!

[Lindacakes]

Is there an objective point of view about cookies being good?

Isn't the beauty of the cookie in the tastebuds of the beholder?

If you like them, then, they're goooood cookies!

I've made some cookies from recipes people tout that I threw in the garbage. And I've sent cookies to my father that he just-doesn't-like. He won't tell me which ones these are, I find out from my brother. Who loves the same cookies my father warns him about.

Some people will actually eat a cut-out cookie flooded with icing in garish colors and like it!

[jgm]

I found Mari's insights interesting, and I thank you for helping out with getting them to us, K8.

We here on eG tend to think that the Food Network should be all about cooking, but like every other TV network, it's really all about winning advertising dollars, which is accomplished by gathering as many viewers as possible. Although I personally think that both ends could be successfully satisfied, too often I think FN keeps its eyes on the wrong prize.

What a shame, for "ordinary" people to have an opportunity to cross paths with the likes of Mark Bittman, only to realize, upon arrival for the contest, that things are not what they seem. I know all cooking contests have problematic aspects, and it's really hard to level this particular playing field. But I really think this contest was more about getting a show produced to sell to advertisers, than about having a fair, challenging, and entertaining contest.

[meredithla]

Mari, K8 or anyone--how did they find the contestants? Did FN solicit applications on the channel or website or just contact people they knew and invite them to participate? I kept expecting the show to explain how the contestants were chosen but they didn't!

[StephMac]

I believe Food Network posted an "open call" on their website for the cookie contest - I remember hearing about it from a friend. If memory serves, you had to submit 4 recipes with your application, one from each of the categories they judged. I don't know if the application asked for a story or an essay about why you wanted to compete, but I'd bet that it did.

Sometimes they post challenge information on this site, so you can go watch the contests. And there's also a "Be On Food Network" page that offers up opportunities to be on one of their shows - I bet that's where the challenge participation information would go.

[Stacey L]

This was one of my least favorite "challenges." No one I talked to liked it, because it was perceived as poorly designed and executed.

Besides the issues already mentioned, I found it terribly unfair that the gentleman in the contest was considered an "amateur," and yet he does bake as part of his job. Granted, he is not a specialized or classically trained pastry chef, but if you get paid to cook/bake, then you're not an amateur (not that this helped him any ).

There are so many great professional contests that I would love to see. It would be a great way to see the up-and-comers in the profession and to view new ideas/techniques. If Food Network would work on getting these shown, then maybe they wouldn't be getting desparate for new material.