Hi

I have a question about entering cake decorating competitions.

A local company will be conducting a Bakery and Pastry Expo during the month of October and there are three scheduled competitions:

1. Wedding Cake of the Year
2. Novelty Cake of the Year
3. Great Cake of the Year (great cake is like a Caribbean fruit cake)

I am interested in entering these 3 competitions but there is an entrance fee of BDS$100 (USD$50) per entry. Is this something common? Do people generally have to pay to enter such competitions? If you do, is is typically that expensive?

I don't really have an issue paying the fees if it would lead to more business because it seems as though there is no prize money and you only win bragging rights and a trophy. I just want to be sure that I am not being ripped off.

Stacey

Hi Unlimited

Thank for the response and clarification.

I think I'll go ahead and submit my forms. I'm so excited!!!!

All competitions I've entered have had a fee. Some very mimimal, some up to $25 per entry. Guess yours is just higher.

Honestly, don't expect to get business from a competition. It's more for yourself, being judged and learning from the experience. Bragging rights and a trophy is great!

And don't expect to be judged fairly. Regardless if the judges are "cake people" or not. It's totally subjective and from my own experiences, it's almost never done to the standard I think it should be. Sometimes the best looking cakes will get nothing and some shotty looking ones will win.

If possible, ask to see the judges scorecards. Often times they make comments that can be helpful in knowing what to change or fix for next time. Often times it's just "good job" or "nice cake" which doesn't help much.

Good luck!
KimAZ

Hi KimAZ

Thanks for your input, it was very informative.

I guess that I have to decide whether I can spend the BDS$300 on the entry fees and not expect anything spectacular in return (even though I will still do my best).

Stacey

Staceyboots, is this an annual competition? I'm wondering if you might want to consider entering just 1 this time to see what it's like and to get a feel for what the judges are looking for, etc. If it turns out to be a good experience, you can enter more cakes next time. In my first competition I just entered 1 cake, last year I entered 2 and this year I'm considering doing 3.