Last week, our Fearless Editor-in-Chief/Community Event Planner Sundae posted a status on Facebook which read:
Hey Ocracoke peeps, is there anyone out there who’s never been asked to be a fig cake bake-off judge, but is hoping to be asked? We need a few more judges for the Fig Fest this Saturday and I’m taking suggestions. It’s a tough job – you have to eat a LOT of cake!
Being the selfless person I am, I decided to take one for the team and volunteer to be a judge. Now I’m no food expert, but I’m also not picky. Off the top of my head, the foods I don’t like are as follows:
1. Capers.
2. Canned peas.
Considering the vast array of foods I’ve tried and loved, I was quite excited to take on this new culinary challenge. I don’t always eat sweets – I don’t need a lot of sugar; I’m already sweet enough – (I legit stole that from my dad), but I do thoroughly enjoy them. I took several steps to prepare myself for the tasty task facing me that Saturday afternoon.
First, that morning, I went for a walk. Then I took a nap, showered, and made sure my camera was charged. During that time some rain moved in and Facebook exploded with posts about the Festival, all of which stated activities would resume at 3pm at the Community Center. Once I was ready go it was Will’s turn to get ready, so I patiently waited for him. Just kidding; I’m not the least bit patient, but I had no choice but to wait, so I did. Once we were showered and dressed, we drove over the Community Center.
As soon as we walked in we saw fig paraphernalia all over! Fig preserves (bought some), fig syrup (got a jar of this too), pickled figs (which are awesome and we bought a jar of Balsamic figs), fig tea (yep, bought two types), fig bags, fig cake recipe towels, fig ornaments, Fig Festival tees, fig plants, fig cakes, figs everything! There were fig products for days.
Ocracoke local Chester Lynn hosted a great talk about the various types of figs, their seasons, best uses, and how to grow them. I had no idea there were so many types of figs!
Before the talk concluded, we judges were wrangled up by Sundae and led into the kitchen area where we met our fellow judges, were told about how the judging worked, and signed the certificates that would go to the future winners. I was grouped with Flavia Burton and Debbie Wells to judge the “Innovative” fig cakes, and once the Traditional and Innovative cakes were out and numbered, the judging commenced.
We began the judging by observing the overall presentation of the cakes. Some bakers added real fig leaves on the dish, while another created an icing fig leaf pattern. One baker topped the cake with orange slices and other bakers poured icing over the top, sprinkled crumbled nuts to compliment the icing, or placed mile-high swirled icing on top of cupcakes. No matter what, they all looked superb. Once we had finished writing our scores for cake presentation, we sat down to eat!
We were each handed a plate, a napkin, and a fork; placed directly in front of where I was sitting were the majority of the fourteen cakes entered in the Innovative category, and after being in such close proximity to the desserts, we three judges were ready to roll!
The cake-cutter, Arden Barnhardt, commenced the cutting and all eyes were on us! Seriously, I felt like I was part of King Henry VIII’s court (and specifically King Henry VIII’s court because I watched "The Tudors" so I have some of those scenes burned in my memory) with the audience on the higher level and people on either side of the judges’ table. Luckily, we were participating in the chopping up of cakes instead of more Henry VIII-like chopping, so everyone involved remained happy. By the time we were handed our first sample, our appetites were high. I was eating for two (that’s right! Baby Canterbury is arriving in February 2018!), so I was especially looking forward to the figgy deliciousness.
Each creation was wonderful. Some were rich and some were spicy. One tasted like it was from the tropics while others reminded me of winter holiday treats. One was even gluten-free! They were all unique and creative in their own way. Cakes, breads, rolls, cookies, everything you can imagine! By the time we got to cake #10, we were all feeling quite full, but we had a job to do, so we womaned up and did it. I found making notes about each one to be easy because each one was so different and every dessert stood out.
The cake which ended up winning first place, however, stood apart even more. With hints of orange and olive oil in the thick cake and meaty whole figs baked onto the top, this not-overly-sweet-but-very-satisfying dessert was wonderful. The creative genius who baked it is Karen Ross, whose husband, Ken, also entered in the competition. (He mentioned that he was glad she won, instead of him!)
We awarded the Runner-Up prize to the chewy, crunchy, delicious fig and walnut bars made by island resident Laura McClain. Both winners have agreed to share their recipes for a future Fig Festival cookbook!
Editor's note and full disclosure from Sundae: I moonlight as the Fig Festival's event coordinator. I had so many people say no to judging this year that I took to Facebook, only to be surprised by Crystal's enthusiasm. I don't know why -- enthusiasm is her m.o. Anyway, it never occurred to me to take advantage of the situation by imbedding a Current reporter until a few days after the event when I was still recovering and hadn't written anything yet and I thought -- hey! I can ask Crystal to do it!
I'll follow up with a story about the Traditional Winner and Runner-Up, and other Fig Festival events ASAP.
