How to judge a soup cook-off
Soup sits in a slow cooker for two hours, noodles swell, cream soups thicken and everyone's palate is salty by the fourth cup. A soup cook-off needs a score sheet and serving rules that fit that. This page covers both, plus how to run the vote.
Skip the paper sheet: make a phone scorecard in about a minute.
A score sheet built for soup
Generic cook-off sheets give presentation and creativity a big share. Soup is mostly flavor and body, and a bowl of brown liquid does not photograph well, so appearance gets 10 points here. These weights are my suggestion; change them to match your rules.
| Criterion | Max | Low scores | High scores | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flavor and seasoning | 35 | Flat, too salty, one note, raw or scorched spices. | Seasoned through to the bottom of the bowl, salt and acid in balance, clear about what the soup is. | |
| Body and broth | 20 | Thin and watery, or gluey. A cream soup that has split or turned grainy. | A broth with depth, or a cream soup that is smooth and coats the spoon. | |
| Ingredients | 20 | Mushy vegetables, swollen noodles or rice, tough or raw pieces, hardly anything in the bowl. | Each piece cooked to its own point, in a sensible ratio of solids to liquid. | |
| Aroma and appearance | 10 | A slick of grease, a gray color, an off smell. | Smells good from arm's length and looks like something you want to eat. | |
| Overall | 15 | Tastes like a list of ingredients. | You would want a full bowl on a cold day. | |
| Total | 100 | Soup number: ______ Judge: ______ | ||
Ingredients get a row of their own because soup fails there more than anywhere. A soup can taste fine and still have a carrot that is raw in the middle or pasta that has turned to paste. A judge who tastes late in the event should score the soup as it is served, whatever it tasted like at noon.
Broth soups and cream soups
A tomato bisque next to a chicken noodle soup is an uneven match: cream and puree win the first spoonful, clear broths win on depth. With six or more soups, I would split them into two classes and make one scorecard per class. The Orland Township Souper Bowl packet (PDF) also gives separate prizes: a judges' award, a People's Choice and a best decorated station. With fewer than six soups, one list is fine.
Decide where chili goes before you send invitations. The Orland packet allows one soup per cook and no chili. A Charlotte staff council flyer (PDF) runs chili and soup together, one entry per cook for either one. If you allow both, give chili its own class and use the chili cook-off guide for it.
Slow cookers, temperature and portions
- Every cook brings a slow cooker with a lid and a ladle. Ask in the invitation who needs an outlet, since outlets run out first.
- Keep it hot. The Orland packet says soup must be served at 135°F and kept covered as much as possible. The Charlotte flyer asks for crock pots held at 150°F or more. A cheap food thermometer on the table settles any argument.
- Cook ahead, reheat on site. Orland cooks make the soup the same morning in an assigned kitchen, then reheat it for sampling. Cream and dairy soups are the risky ones in a warm office, so keep them cold or hot, never lukewarm for hours.
- Plan the volume. Orland asks for 1½ gallons per soup. For a home or office event, 2 quarts per soup is enough for about 30 tasters at 2 ounces each.
- Put an ingredient card by each number that names dairy, gluten, nuts and shellfish. It lists ingredients only, so it does not give the cook away.
Tasting order and blind cups
- One helper numbers the slow cookers and keeps the key. Use the same small cups for every soup and leave garnishes until voting is over.
- Number the soups from light to heavy: clear broths first, then vegetable and bean soups, then creamy ones, then anything spicy last. The list on the phone then matches the order guests taste in.
- Put out unsalted crackers or plain bread and water. Salty soups tire the palate fast, so the last cups can get lower scores unless people reset between tastes.
- Stir before each ladle. Solids settle, and the first scoop from the top is mostly broth.
Run the vote with the scorecard
Type the soups in cup order, share the link or put the QR card on the table, and ask each guest to rate every soup from 1 to 5. Nobody needs an account and the scorecard stores no names, so it suits a church supper or a street fair as well as an office. The ranking is the average of all ratings. One scorecard holds up to 20 soups.
The Orland packet bars cooks from voting. I would do the same, and say so when you hand out the link, since the scorecard cannot tell who cooked. Keep voting open until the last soup is served, then close it from the host page to show the ranking.
If two soups tie
When two soups have the same average, the one more people rated ranks higher. If the average and the number of ratings both match, they share the place. For a single prize, pour two small cups of each tied soup and have three guests who did not cook taste them side by side. Announce that rule before the tasting starts. Splitting the prize works too.
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.
Your guests open one link and tap 1 to 5 for each entry. You print a table card with the QR code. Free, no account for you or your guests, deleted after 30 days.
Start a soup cook-off scorecard. The title is filled in; add your soups in cup order and share the link.
Create a scorecard See a sample contest