Judging Criterion

At pans-up calling times, all teams should be ready to parade to the main pavilion and deliver their paellas to the serving tables. Volunteer “Pit Bosses” will guide this process. Pans should be placed on the tables next to the corresponding team name tents. PLU will provide team name tents.

Judges will quickly view and taste each paella (overall appearance, cooked proteins, cooked rice, socarratt) and select the top 3-4* paellas from each heat for full deliberation and 2nd tier scoring. Please note, only 2nd tiered paellas will receive full scoring sheets. PLU staff members will serve a plate of paella to each team, after which, we will ask teams to leave the main pavilion. After all paellas have been served to the public for each heat, team paella pans will be available for pickup from the pickup table and our emcee will announce which teams advanced to the second round.

(*The number of paellas advancing to the full judging round may vary depending on the total number and categories of competition paellas in each heat. We will finalize this once team registration is closed.)

Scoring

The information below will be what the judges will be scoring on, if the competing paella moves to second round:

TRADITIONAL

DESCRIPTION	CONDITION FOR JUDGING	SCORING
Timing	Timing: 0-5 minutes behind (no penalty); 5-9:59 minutes late (-2 points); 10-14:59 minutes late (-4 points); 20 – 24:59 minutes late (- 8 points); 25 minutes late and beyond (Disqualified)
Team Spirit	Uniform/Costume/Enthusiasm	5
Appearance and Presentation	The overall look of the paella and description of the dish	10
Traditional Ingredients	True to a Traditional Paella	10
Taste Profile/Overall Flavor	How well is it seasoned; how well do the flavors and individual ingredients come together;	10
Rice	Is the rice cooked properly? Not under-cooked, chalky, or mushy/overcooked. How well has rice picked up the flavors of the rest of the ingredients?	10
Other Ingredients	How well are other ingredients cooked and integrated into the paella (flavor and doneness)?	10
Socarrat	How well is rice evenly caramelized on bottom of pan? Crispy, not burnt.

KEEP PAELLA WEIRD

DESCRIPTION	CONDITION FOR JUDGING	SCORING
Timing	0-5 minutes behind (no penalty); 5-9:59 minutes late (-2 points); 10-14:59 minutes late (-4 points); 20 – 24:59 minutes late (- 8 points); 25 minutes late and beyond (Disqualified)
Team Spirit	Uniform/Costume/Enthusiasm	5
Appearance & Presentation	The overall look of the paella and description of the dish	10
KPW Ingredients	Ingredients are creative and non-traditional/unusual	10
Taste Profile/Overall flavor	How well it is seasoned; how well do the flavors and individual ingredients come together.	10
Rice	Is the rice cooked properly? Not under-cooked, chalky, or mushy/overcooked. How well has rice picked up the flavors of the rest of the ingredients?	10
Other Ingredients	How well are other ingredients cooked and integrated into the paella (flavor and doneness)?	10
Socorrat	How well is rice evenly caramelized on bottom of pan. Crispy, not burnt.	10