OC Cupcake Classic: The Event

The OC Fair's OC Cupcake Classic was the second cupcake competition I've judged this month, but both events were completely different from one another.

The OC Cupcake Classic took place at the Exhibitor Promenade Stage at the OC Fairgrounds. I was surprised to see a large crowd of people waiting to watch the event. I didn't realize it would be so crowd-friendly.

Photo: Angry Julie

The tables on the stage were lined with cupcakes. I was definitely ready to begin partaking of the cupcake deliciousness.

After we introduced ourselves to the audience, the judges took their seats on stage. Since there were so many cupcakes to try, each judge had a group of cupcakes to taste. My only regret of the event was that I didn't get to try ALL of the cupcakes!

I was given the opportunity to judge the professional category and the youth category. The other three judges split the amateur category, since that's where the majority of the cupcakes were entered.

Photo: Angry Julie

I have been asked many times if I have a special technique for tasting cupcakes. I do. The most important part is cutting the cupcake in half first. You don't want to miss out on some hidden filling! The event organizers provided water, fresh lemons, and saltine crackers for cleansing our palettes.

Photo: Angry Julie

There was a video camera on stage which displayed a feed to the audience. I've never been watched so closely when judging cupcakes before. I was careful not to make any weird facial expressions, although Monica and I were having a great time chatting too.




Most of the entrants were in the audience, as they had to drop off their cupcakes a few hours before the event. It was so fun to see how excited the entrants were to have us taste their cupcakes. After each cupcake was sampled for judging, the event organizers walked the plate of not-eaten cupcakes around the room so the audience could get a closer look.

Tomorrow: a close up view of the cupcakes!