Though the Grays Harbor County Fair officially began on Wednesday, Aug. 30, the fair unofficially began on the Saturday before for volunteers who worked the Open Class Still Life Departments.

That’s when exhibitors could drop off entries for departments such as Fiber/Needle Arts, Quilting and Preserved Foods. Then on Monday, came deliveries of entries for baked foods. And Tuesday marked the last day for entries for Department H Flowers, and by 10 p.m., grange volunteers had to have their displays in place.

And then the judging begins.

For the baked goods, formally classified as Department M in the Exhibitor’s Book, judging was on Tuesday afternoon in Building 16, which houses the exhibits for Flowers, Photography, Home Arts, and Fine Arts.

Seated at a rectangular table, two on each side, judges helped themselves to two of the four muffins set on the paper plate. They were entries for the Quick Breads and Muffins Division 3, which requires the entries to be made from scratch.

With the baked good entries having been dropped off on Monday, and the preserved goods having been dropped on Sunday and Saturday, these four judges began their day at 9 a.m. first judging canned goods and then moving onto baked goods at 2 p.m. For one judge, this was her second day of judging; on Monday she spent all day judging fiber arts.

Just as Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith on The Great British Baking Show meticulously assess the qualities of the products baked for the signature, technical, or showstopper bakes, so too did these judges.

Of the muffin in question, “It’s got a nice bake on the bottom too, I noticed the bottom right away,” one observed.

“And it’s very tender, flaky,” another judge chimed in.

They debated the muffin’s overall appearance — “There’s a little bit of a dome” — and the baking decision that may have led to it. “I just think it’s how they filled the cup,” another offered. The consensus was that it was delicious, very good, and a ribbon was issued. Marks were entered onto the scoring sheet and handed to a judge for reconciliation.

The next entry was a gluten-free biscuit. One judge tore it apart, smelled a piece — “We smell everything. Smells good.” — and crumbled it to assess texture. A judge commented that the flavor reminded her of a sugar cookie without the sugar, which another judge seconded, saying that adding some sugar could help. Another judge summed up the discussion by saying, “They look wonderful.”

“Gluten-free’s tough,” added another judge.

To the question of how long they had been judging, one joked that “I was here before the building was built.” Another judge figures she’s judged for at least 10 years. And a judge who called herself the newbie only had eight years in.

They don’t openly share that they serve as judges, and even though the entries are blinded to them, they can pick out bakers who have submitted entries over the years.

“After doing it a while, as I said I haven’t done it as long as you ladies have, you get to recognize some baking techniques,” the self-identified newbie judge said. “You see something and go, ‘I bet I know who made that.’”

The number of and type of entries vary over the years. This year saw more canning entries while other years had more baked good entries than this year. Lucy Vest, assistant superintendent for the Department M Baked Foods, said they’ve received a lot of entries for the Creative Kids exhibit. And it’s the “first year we’ve had some cakes made in the cake [category] for a long time,” said Vest. “Because it takes a lot of work to make a cake.”

The next entry being judged was in Division 6 Cookies, with the first two entries to taste test were biscotti, which are in the Other than Classified category.

“That broke nice,” a judge observed.

“Now where’s my coffee?” exclaimed one of the judges, as they commented that biscotti wasn’t supposed to be eaten dry. Which upon being handed a cup, she dunked a piece, “Yeah, it really comes out with hot coffee, hot tea.” And being the judge with the coffee, she was assigned quality control.

When given the second biscotti entry, which the two of the judges praised for its appearance, one said, “You could eat this without dunking it.”

“But you better try dunking it,” a judge said, breaking off a piece for the judge.

Which she did.

Ten divisions were open for entries to be judged in the 2025 fair.