If you watch Loretta Ivory judge oatmeal cookie entries at the Colorado State Fair, you'll quickly learn unless she's looking at an entry in the junior division, her standards are exceptionally high. I sat down next to her as she judged several parts of the cookie competitions.
Loretta Ivory: So I'm going to be a little brutal.
Dianne Derby: Why?
Loretta Ivory: Because they're adults.
Dianne Derby: What is brutal for you?
Loretta Ivory: Well, you'll see.
Dianne Derby: Okay, I'm ready
I learned her first impression can change fast.
Loretta Ivory: These should look like triplets. So a batch of cookies, probably 48 cookies or so, you can pick out three that match.
Dianne Derby: They have to be identical?
Loretta Ivory: Absolutely.
Dianne Derby: Okay.
Loretta Ivory: I said, brutal. Then I'm going to turn them over and I'm going to see if they're all okay. So right away, that was either a hot cookie sheet or it was baked too long.
Dianne Derby: Why are you an expert in this, Loretta?
Loretta Ivory: I'm a certified judge, and so I actually went to judging school. the textbook that we used is actually from the USDA. They actually said, This is what bread should look like. This is what a can of peaches should look like.
After her nearly three decades of judging the pantry division, Ivory knows the standards set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture by heart.
Loretta Ivory: This looks like the USDA definition of an oatmeal cookie.
Dianne Derby: And what is that definition?
Loretta Ivory: It's not more than three inches. It's uniform in color. It has a snap to it. See that nice snap. And as you look at the cookie, you only see a little brown line at the bottom.
Dianne Derby: That's very specific.
Loretta Ivory: Yeah, that's my job. It has to be.
She's brutal, as she calls herself, but wants to be helpful, and often asks the clerks who work alongside her to write down her feedback.
"There is a lot of detail, a lot of minutiae that she has to know, and obviously she knows a lot," said state fair judge clerk Julie Fairman. "She's an expert."
Ivory is quick to point out that no one in the judging room can influence her decision, including me as she hands me a piece of one of the oatmeal cookies to try for myself.
Loretta Ivory: Okay, now the taste test,
Dianne Derby: That's a fun part. Oh, I get to taste?
Loretta Ivory: Of course you do.
Dianne Derby: So I don't share my opinion?
Loretta Ivory: It won't make any difference to me anyway.
She takes her role seriously, but often adds a little humor along the way.
Dianne Derby: Can you bake a great oatmeal cookie?
Loretta Ivory: Oh, I was about to say something colorful. Yes, I can.
Dianne Derby: I'd rather have the colorful.
Loretta Ivory: They say, "Damn right." I took the state title. I took the sweepstakes in cookies. All my cookies got blue ribbons.
Dianne: All your cookies?
Loretta Ivory: Yes.
Dianne Derby: And your secret is?
Loretta Ivory: Time and experience and a lot of cookies.
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