When personal taste gets in the way of professional palate

No.195: 7th May 2024

Hi, it’s David here.

This week’s newsletter from Kathy Slack is literally food for thought as she walks us through her experience judging the Great Taste Awards and shares the joys of judging and the challenges she faced not letting her preconceived biases get in the way of her judgement.

When we first started BeenThereDoneThat we purposefully made sure that our Expert Network’s identity remained anonymous, partly because they were working for the best agencies on the planet at that time but importantly because it ensured that the judges of the idea focused on the ideas rather than who wrote the ideas. Interestingly it also provided the CSOs and CCOs the freedom to share what they thought was right without feeling they would be personally criticised if the clients thought they were wrong.

It led to a much freer and diverse range of thinking that literally delivered on the much underrated ‘show me something I’ve never seen before’.

Anybody for ‘a vegan fish pie?’ 

As always, we are curious to hear what you think.

David Alberts

Co-Founder and Chief Vision Officer at BeenThereDoneThat

Hi, it’s Kathy here.

A drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. A dab of Dijon mustard. Next, a loaf of artisanal sourdough bread. So far, so good. But, hang on. An American style bubble-gum flavoured ice-cream cookie? And then beetroot kimchi. Followed by a spoonful of goat’s yogurt. And now a vegan ‘fish’ pie? Wait, my taste buds can’t think straight.

This is judging at the Great Taste Awards, an annual food industry accolade which awards products 1, 2 or 3 stars of excellence (though sometimes – often - none) to display proudly on their packaging and assure new customers that the product is deemed great by a panel of food experts. It is also, I find, a good lesson in judging creative ideas.

Because I am one of these judges, tasting, on average, seventy products in a one-day session. Products are accompanied by a description of the item but without defining features you can’t identify the brand or producer. And products are presented at random so you judge each marmalade, say, on its own merit and not in comparison to the one you just tried. Each panel of three judges tastes, discusses, scores, writes a few sentences of feedback, then passes it on to another panel for validation. It’s a fascinating, if stomach-churning few days.

What I notice about these judging sessions is how it gives me new empathy (sadly once woefully lacking, to my shame) for what my former clients experienced when I worked in advertising agencies. On presentation of a raft of creative ideas, they are required, that instance, to formulate a professional opinion, articulate it and then offer constructive feedback. Faced with a frozen vegan, gluten-free pizza, I am required to do much the same.

The most striking thing about the process is that it forces you to confront your own biases. Judges must use their professional palate, their technical understanding of cooking, and their knowledge of what something ‘should’ taste like, to access a product. And nothing else. You must set aside any personal dislikes or preferences. And this when I am most reminded of the difficulties of evaluating creative ideas.

Because putting aside your personal preferences is complicated. Easy enough at a conscious level. I, for example, dislike the taste of American style ice-cream cookies (similar to s’mores), but I can appreciate when one is well made and when one is not. Just as a client might not enjoy TikTok themselves (they wouldn’t be alone there) but appreciate when a video for their brand will do well on the platform – fast cuts, trending music, probably dancing and so on.

The difficult part is setting aside the unconscious biases. When I wince at the cherry-pie-flavoured ice- cream cookie, is it because the balance of vanilla and cherries is off, a valid criticism, or because I am, if I’m truly honest with myself, a bit of a snob (my loss) who thinks readymade desserts with artificial flavours are a bit low rent and so don’t deserve a badge of merit? What if this well-made ice-cream cookie is the pinnacle of all other ice-cream cookies, the best example of its kind inside or outside America? Wouldn’t I be doing it, and ice-cream cookie lovers, a disservice by failing to recognise it? It’s surprising how much soul searching can be caused by a frozen dessert. So too the client, particularly those born before 1990 like me, must set aside, say, any disdain or bafflement at TikTok advertising and judge the idea without prejudice.

Not only that, but a Great Taste judge, and a client, must find words to describe why they have the response they do. ‘It’s nice’ won’t cut the mustard, so to speak. ‘Is a competently made example of an ice-cream cookie with a correct amount of sweetness in the custard, a pleasingly crunchy biscuit and an enticing vanilla aroma’. Better. At the beginning of the day, your capacity to find the right adjectives to describe the quality and offer constructive feedback is tip top.

So too, your palate which is fresh and ready for anything. But by the end of the day, ‘the judges found the flavour deep and satisfying though felt the texture could have been firmer’ could become ‘tasted nice but a bit soft’. Or even, ‘I couldn’t tell you what I think because my taste buds are too addled’. Similarly, a client, faced with a barrage of creative ideas must gather their thoughts and articulate them. It’s even worse for clients, they often have the creative team responsible in the room, eager faces desperate for approval or scowls daring them to criticise. At least at Great Taste judge doesn’t have to deliver feedback directly.

There are ways of managing all this, whether you’re judging creative ideas or frozen desserts:

- The first is to have clear criteria for judging (no stars if there’s a major technical flaw, one star if only a minor improvement could be recommended etc). These are agreed and standardised amongst the judges and the same should apply to clients.

- The second, is to use a formula to marshal your feedback: begin by accessing the appearance, then aroma, texture, mouthfeel, flavour and so on so you cover all the bases and can tease out what is un/successful about the product. Again, clients might begin with the strategic fit, then access the execution, style, messaging hierarchy and so on.

- I also keep a list of suitable phrases and descriptors to refer back to if needed. It all helps the brain sort out what it thinks.

- Be mindful of your personal preferences and biases. The opinions will always be there, but they shouldn’t inform your feedback.

- We take breaks, cleansing the palate with a slice of apple, so we can meet each new product with the same freshness as the first and the organisers avoid cramming too many into one session. So too, we, as creators, can make life easier for clients by not overloading them with ideas in one session, giving them breaks and space to formulate an opinion and so on.

I just hope most creative ideas you and your clients see are easier to stomach than cherry-pie-flavoured ice-cream cookies.

Kathy Slack

Food Writer, Kitchen Gardener & Member of our Expert Network.

Supporting Articles

1. Great Taste is the world’s largest and most trusted food and drink accreditation scheme.

2. Five questions to help evaluate your ideas

3. Great Taste Awards 2023: 6 of the best three-star winners

4. Tales from the Veg Patch by Kathy Slack

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