Friendsgiving and Thanksgiving dish competition: how to judge it
At a Friendsgiving or a family Thanksgiving, every dish on the table is a possible entry, and every cook is standing right there. That makes judging awkward: nobody wants to tell Aunt Lisa her stuffing came third, the food cools while people vote, and the table is full of kids and grandparents with opinions. This page covers how I would run a side dish contest at a potluck table, where the dishes are meant to be eaten together.
Pick the categories first
Rating stuffing against mashed potatoes compares two things nobody can compare. Sort the dishes into a few groups and give each group its own winner. Public Thanksgiving contests split things up too: the KELOLAND Thanksgiving Dish Bracket Challenge runs dish against dish in rounds (mashed potatoes against stuffing, for one), and a round has a closing time. A potluck has too few dishes for a bracket, so I would use groups. Suggested ones:
- Potatoes and starches: mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, rolls, mac and cheese.
- Stuffing and dressing: its own group, since every family has a strong opinion.
- Vegetables and casseroles: green beans, Brussels sprouts, corn.
- Cranberry, gravy and extras: the small things that get overlooked.
- Dessert: or leave it out and use the pie contest rules for a second round.
Aim for at least three dishes per group. A group with one dish gets a "best of the table" award instead. Ask everyone a week ahead what they are bringing, so a fourth green bean casserole can become something else.
Keep it anonymous when the cook is in the room
At a potluck you cannot hide who cooked what the way you can with pies in boxes. Hiding the maker still helps, and it takes about two minutes:
- Put a number card next to each dish when it arrives (#1, #2, and so on). Number each category on its own, so entries 1 to 4 are the stuffings.
- Write the key (number to cook) on one piece of paper and keep it with the host.
- Take the name cards off the serving dishes while voting is open. People will still guess, which is part of the fun, but they rate the plate in front of them.
- Read the winners and the names out at the end, so the cooks get their moment.
Add one house rule: nobody rates their own dish. The link cannot enforce it, so it runs on honesty, which is usually enough with a table of friends.
Vote before the food gets cold
Hot dishes taste best in the first minutes, so run the vote early. My suggested order:
- Plate small tastes of each dish in a category as soon as the food is out, before everyone loads a full plate.
- Open the vote link then and keep it open through the meal, so people can go back for a second taste.
- Pick a closing time before dessert is served and say it out loud. A fixed time, like the one a KELOLAND bracket round has, stops the voting from dragging on.
- Keep water and plain bread or crackers near the table to reset between tastes.
Stuffing, gravy and anything with eggs, dairy or meat fall under the two-hour rule, so plate the tastes early and put the serving dishes away before dessert.
Let the kids vote
A contest gives kids something to do while the turkey rests. Two ways to include them, both my suggestions. Pair each child with an adult who types in their ratings on a phone. Or make a second scorecard titled "Kids' table" and let them vote there, then compare the two rankings at the end. If a child does not want to rate every dish, that is fine: the ranking uses the ratings each dish received.
A score sheet with weights
For a panel of two or three people with paper sheets, or a final round between the winners of each group, this is the 100-point sheet I would use for side dishes. The weights are my suggestion, not a standard. Taste leads with 40 because it decides most people's favorite. "Goes with the meal" gets 15 so a dish that works next to turkey and gravy can beat a showpiece that only works alone.
| Criterion | Max | Low scores | High scores |
|---|---|---|---|
| Taste | 40 | Bland, too salty, or a flavor that fights the rest of the plate. | You want a second spoonful. |
| Texture and doneness | 20 | Gummy potatoes, soggy stuffing, a dry or cold center. | Right for the dish: fluffy, crisp on top, tender inside. |
| Goes with the meal | 15 | Fine alone, but crowds the turkey and gravy. | Makes the whole plate better. |
| Creativity | 15 | The recipe from the box. | A twist that works. |
| Looks | 10 | Hard to tell what it is. | Makes people reach for the spoon. |
Add the points for a total out of 100. Score each dish only against the others in its group.
Phone vote for the table, sheet for the final
The phone vote is quicker than the sheet. Every guest rates each numbered dish from 1 to 5 and the ranking is the average. For a whole table I would use the phone vote for the people's choice and keep the 100-point sheet for a final round only. Make one scorecard per category, with up to 20 entries each. Two dishes still level at the end can go to one more taste by the guests who have not tried either yet, one of the tie-breaks worth announcing before you start.
How the phone vote works
Type the entries in the order of their numbers. Guests open one link, see Entry 1, Entry 2 and so on, and rate each from 1 to 5. The ranking appears with the names when you close voting. A paper sheet suits a judging panel, and the link suits a people's choice vote.
Start a Friendsgiving scorecard. The title is filled in; add one category at a time, in the order of your number cards, and share the link.
Create a scorecard