Tonya Root's "Raspberry Chocolate Cake" almost won the coveted blue ribbon at the Kentucky State Fair's from-scratch "Your Favorite Cake" competition.
Almost.
The competition's judges were originally torn between her cake and Rita Wooldridge's "White Chocolate cake with lemon curd filling." But when they checked the recipes for both cakes, Root had submitted just a list of ingredients, not a full recipe with directions.
At what point is a recipe not a recipe? And did Root fulfill the contest's requirements to submit a recipe when she sent in a list of ingredients?
Longtime competition judges Janette Chapman and Elizabeth Coots discussed the issue at length with Culinary Superintendent Steve Lee. They even looked up the definition of "recipe," which was listed by Oxford as "a set of instructions for preparing a particular dish, including a list of the ingredients required."
Root's incomplete recipe cost her a blue ribbon.
More:'Your Favorite Cake' has been crowned at the Kentucky State Fair. Here's how to make it
"I mean, I could give you a list – cup of sugar, stick of butter – but you wouldn't know how to do it if I didn't give the directions," Chapman said. "You have to know what to put first, what size cake pans to use."
Coots pointed out that the winning cake was a toss-up. She and Chapman tasted both cakes several times and dissected shape and layer evenness and other factors.
"You have to get nit-picky at that point," Coots said.
The judges decided Root's cake could not win first, second or third place without a complete recipe. They also noted it is well-known the contest results in a printed recipe in The Courier Journal. Root was awarded fourth place in the competition instead, and Wooldridge's white chocolate cake took the blue ribbon prize.
"The judges pick the cake anonymously by appearance and crumb and all those things, and then we check the recipes to make sure nothing in the recipe breaks the rules, like using fresh whipped cream," Lee said. "People have to understand, this is a fun thing, a learning experience. It's a coveted blue ribbon, but you don't get much money."
Root said she was originally confused by the ruling until she spoke with Lee at the fair for further clarification. She suggested future competition rules be adjusted to say "complete recipe" instead of just "recipe."
"It makes sense. It’s a bummer, but I’m not mad or jealous," Root said. "The person who won deserved it. But I want to prevent this from happening to someone else down the line. Next year I've got a really really good idea. I'm gonna write a recipe that's worthy for a beginner."
It's not the first time controversy has hit the culinary competitions at the state fair. In 2014, Kentucky State Fair officials investigated whether a store-bought crust was used to create that year's prize-winning buttermilk pie. In 2015, a new sign was posted by the pie police at the fair stressing the ban on commercial pie crusts, boxed cake mixes and canned frostings.
Reach food reporter Dahlia Ghabour at dghabour@courier-journal.com.
Kentucky State Fair 2022
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