All entries will be judged by the following criteria:

• EXECUTION — clean and presentable uniforms including hard-soled shoes, hats, aprons, and safe food handling practices
• TEAMWORK — evenly distributed workload, team cohesiveness, and communication
• TASTE — a subjective category based on judge’s expertise
• CREATIVITY — ingenuity of the ingredients used, creative use of ingredients
• LOCAL — recipe highlights local, seasonal products (only for the Lively Local Award)
• COMPLIANCE — meets all Jr. Iron Chef VT Guidelines and Rules