Virginia 4-H Contest Guide - Egg Preparation Demonstration

Description of Contest

1. To develop and demonstrate leadership and communication skills.
2. To acquire knowledge of quality standards, size classification, nutritional value, preparation and storage, functional properties, versatility and economic value of eggs.
3. To develop creative skills in the preparation, use and serving of eggs.
4. To learn to enjoy eggs as a food.
5. To use sound nutritional knowledge when planning meals.

Levels of Competition

Unit (county), District, State, National

Age categories:

• Junior contestants – 9 to 13 as of September 30
• Senior contestants for any Virginia-held Egg Preparation are 14-18 as of September 30
• Note! National contestants must be 14-18 as of January 1 of the competition year. It is possible for a youth to eligible for the state competition and ineligible for the national competition.

This age eligibility conforms to the National 4-H Poultry and Egg Conference Rules

Awards to be Earned

Danish Awards: Blue Ribbon 100-90, Red Ribbon 89-75, White Ribbon 74 and below.

Top senior individual (14 years of age or older as of January 1 of the present year) at the state contest is eligible to compete at the National 4-H Poultry and Egg Conference, Louisville, Kentucky.

Rules for this Contest

The Virginia state Egg Preparation Demonstration contest will use the national rules except for the following:

VA 4-H Rules

1. Each participant must present a demonstration on the preparation of an egg dish.
   The demonstration must include the following:
   • Information on nutritional value, versatility, functional properties, ease of preparation and economics of cooking with eggs.
   • Steps in preparation of the dish.
   • A finished dish ready for sampling. This must be prepared in the contest site kitchen facilities prior to demonstration or during the actual demonstration. No contestant may prepare any portion of their dish outside of the contest-site facilities. Judges will be served and will sample each finished product at the conclusion of each demonstration.
2. The demonstration must be no more than 12 minutes in length. Contestants will be permitted to finish the demonstration. If the talk goes over 13 minutes, five (5) points will be deducted. An additional three (3) minutes will be provided for the judge to ask questions.
3. The contestant must have demonstrated the selected recipe no less than 3 times prior to the contest.
4. Each contestant must submit to the judges three copies of the recipe used in the demonstration. This recipe must not contain the name of the contestant nor the unit represented.
   • The egg dish must contain a minimum of:
     • a. ½ egg per serving if the dish is classified as an appetizer or snack.
     • b. ½ egg per serving if the dish is classified as a dessert.
     • c. ½ egg per serving if the dish is classified as a beverage.
     • d. 1 egg per serving if the dish is classified as a salad or main dish.
5. The egg dish recipe may utilize prepared packages of food ingredients (i.e. grated cheese) or canned items (i.e. tomato paste).
6. Each contestant will furnish his or her own supplies for the demonstration EXCEPT at the state level, the contest committee will provide a range, oven, microwave oven and refrigerator for preparation of the egg dish. For unit and district level competitions, check with the contest coordinators to see what options are available for appliances.
7. Easels will be provided for the demonstration. Only posters and table-top displays will be allowed. No slides or videos will be allowed. Posters displayed must be the work of the contestant.
8. Contestants may use notes or outlines to assist them but reading from notes exclusively will hurt their presentation.
9. No contestant will be allowed to have any means of identification as to his or her name or the unit they represent either on their person or on their posters.
10. The preparation room will be off limits to everyone except the contestants and the egg preparation room staff.
11. Contestants will work alone in the contest preparation room unless an emergency arises, in which case, they will be assisted by the preparation room staff.
12. Each contestant is responsible for clean up after his or her demonstration.
13. In case of ties, the ties will be broken by the following method in order listed.
    • The contestant with the highest score in “Presentation” will win.
    • The contestant with the highest score in “Recipe” will win.
    • The contestant with the highest score in “Finished Product Quality” will win.
    • A method will be decided upon by the contest committee.

Recipe Will Include the Following Parts:

1. Name of recipe
2. List of Ingredients: (listed in order they are used in the instructions).
   • Measurements given in common fractions
   • No abbreviations used
   • No brand names used
3. Instructions for combining ingredients.
   • Clear instructions for every step in combining and cooking the ingredients.
   • Short, clean, concise sentences.
   • Correct food preparation terms to describe combining and cooking process.
   • Size of pan stated.
   • Temperature and cooking time stated
   • Number of servings and calories per serving.

National Level Contest Rules:

http://www2.ca.uky.edu/national4hpoultry/EggPrep.html

Educational Resources to Help Prepare for this Contest

American Egg Board - http://www.aeb.org

The Incredible Egg - http://www.incredibleegg.org

Kentucky 4-H Egg Preparation Demonstration- http://www2.ca.uky.edu/agc/pubs/4aj/4aj09po/4aj09po.PDF

Score Sheets for this Contest

Egg Preparation Score Sheet - http://www2.ca.uky.edu/national4hpoultry/ScoreSheets/eggscore.pdf