This does happen (but not as often as you think), and is not because the judge knows who entered the exhibit. The same people win prizes because they are very experienced, and know what the judges are looking for. You can get the same results by entering, learning from your mistakes, ...
Molly Mulshine
A competition is all about winning of course, I get that, but why should cooking be likened to boot-camp competition when it comes to acquiring skills in the kitchen? Why the protracted pressure, the terrible hurry, the panic, the adrenal spikes and, unsurprisingly, the shedding of tears –...
I was a judge at a chef 's competition in Reykjavík, Iceland. At the start of the competition the judges followed the chefs through a large, very bright, American-style supermarket in the ingredient-gathering phase of the event. As we left the store...