Catfish Derby Cook-off Official Rules

Competition Date: Saturday, May 15^th, 2010

1. Eligibility. Anyone is eligible to enter, whether amateur or professional cook/chef. Must be 21 years or older to enter (alcoholic prizes may be awarded). All entrants must submit an Entry Form and Fee, which must be received by May 14th, 2010. Entry fee is $20 per recipe entered. Any entry arriving after May 14th, or last minute entries will still be welcome, but the entry fee will then be $30. Last minute entries will not receive any special arrangements and must follow all the same rules as other entrants. Entrants may present more than one dish, but each entry will be considered separately. Entries must consist of one recipe only - for example, a single hors d'oeuvres plate with three different catfish items will be considered one dish or possibly not be accepted (at judges discretion), unless each item is registered as a separate entry. All recipes must contain domestic catfish (basa swai is not allowed).

2. Qualifications of Entries. All entrants will need to meet at the Clearlake Oaks Community Center on the morning of the Cook-off (time to be determined later) to be registered and have identification numbers assigned to each entry. Each entry will receive a number at random as a means to identify it yet retain its anonymity for judging. Numbers will be assigned to the dishes on the day of judging to further facilitate anonymity. These numbers, along with the description/recipe, will be the only identification presented to the judges. At this registration time, entrants will be assigned their cooking/presentation time slots. Basic food preparations are to be done off site - no facilities for preparation will be provided. Final cooking and presentation will be done on an assigned schedule and take place at the Clearlake Oaks Community Center. Burners, counterspace, and preparation areas will be provided and several contestants will be working at the same time. Once all cooking/presentation time slots have been assigned to those entrants present, registration will be closed and no further late entrants will be accepted. After final cooking and plating it is the individual entrant's responsibility to get the entry to the judging area intact and at the proper temperature. To promote uniformity of entries, covered containers will be provided for each entry for transportation and presentation to the judging area. No personal or substitute serving vessels will be allowed. All entries must be accompanied by an accurate and fully descriptive recipe for the judges to review before tasting. No raw fish of any type may be presented. Entries will be received from the entrants by a check-in official just outside the judging location, and then presented to the judges. Entrants will need to prepare four servings of each entry. Entries can consist of any category of food, e.g., breakfast, lunch, dinner; main course, salad, side dish, dessert; hors d'oeuvres or beverage; but all entries must contain catfish. A recipe for the dish must be submitted by the time of the dishes submission.

3. Judging. Judging of Catfish Entries will take place in the Clearlake Oaks Plaza. Judging will be based on taste and presentation. Judges will rate each entry immediately after sampling and make note of their impressions. Judges will rate each dish independently, giving each a score of up to 20 points for taste, 10 points for presentation, and bonus 5 points at each individual judges discretion. The panel of Judges will be introduced and present at the time the winners are announced.

4. Awards. Awards will be given for Best Catfish Dish, Most Unique Catfish Dish, and Furthest Distance Dish. Awards for the Best Catfish Dish will be decided by the judges based on total points given by the three judges. In the event of a tie, the winner will be decided after the judges share and debate their notes. There will be a First, Second, and Third place in this division. Awards for the Most Unique Catfish Dish will be decided by the judges based on total points given by the three judges. Criteria for "most unique" will be subject to the judges' interpretation of items that were beyond expectation, represented a new concept, or surprised the judges in some way. In the event of a tie, the winner will be decided after the judges share and debate their notes. There will be only a First place winner in this division. Award for the Furthest Distance Dish will be granted based on the address where the Entry Form was mailed, or with two forms of identification with agreeing address information, e.g., Driver's License and vehicle registration. There will be only a First place winner in this division as well.

Entry form available at http://www.clearlakeoaks.org/forms/CatfishCookOffEntryForm2010.pdf.