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A day in the life of our consumer judge - Susan Bowles
The alarm wakes me at 5.50am – nothing unusual about that. Then I remember… today I’m not driving in to Egham as usual to my job as case accountant at chartered accountants Wilkins Kennedy. Instead I’m taking the train to London to poke, prod and eat my way through more than 100 different turkey dishes!
Sounds like a nice job – if you like turkey, of course, which I do! Find I’m the first judge to arrive at the studio where the judging of the annual British Turkey Awards – yes honestly! - is being held. Hope I don’t come across as too eager – or even worse, greedy! Smells like Christmas with that unmistakable waft of roasting turkey. The chef has been here since 6.30am. Have a coffee but decline the biscuits – too much turkey coming my way later!
The other judges arrive – a nice bunch. Not so scary as I had imagined. They are all high flying magazine editors or cookery experts, so it’s a bit daunting. But I’m here to represent the great British public, those of us who go out to work, fit in the food shopping at weekends and have to feed a family every day of the week. So I’m determined to have my say.
Then it begins! We’re looking for the winner of the best Christmas Premium category and shortlist two whole turkeys and a joint with orange slices decorating the back. They are all lovely and we tuck in – but there is a clear winner. My lips are sealed – all the winners are being announced at a posh dinner and dance at Claridge’s fabulous art deco ballroom on September 13th. I’m sworn to secrecy til then.
The Best Barbecue category is fun – sausages, kebabs and tikka flavoured steaks. Almost feels like summer!
There’s a category called Best Added Value – what on earth is that? The organisers explain – something’s been added to make it better value for the shopper, though if you ask me, it also adds value for the manufacturer! Some of these products are really expensive in relation to straightforward turkey steaks or fillets. But you’ve got to consider the convenience factor, of course – and as a mother and grandmother (I’ve got two darling granddaughters) I know time is money!
I nibble on a Bernard Matthews Golden Drummer – know they are famous but I’ve never tried these before. These are in the Innovation category because they are now made with 100% breast meat and come fresh, not frozen. Would I give them to my grandchildren? Answer is yes, as a special treat.
Phew – there’s one category where we just have to look at the packaging rather than eat the turkey – a welcome breather. Then we have a glass of wine and get our second wind! It’s not all turkey – we also have to judge the best accompaniment to British Turkey – chutneys, stuffings, cranberry sauces – that sort of thing. And the last category is to find the best supermarket stocking British Turkey – we look at ranges, packaging, cooking and serving instructions – and we argue! It’s a constructive argument, thankfully. But it remains a really close call between two of the supermarkets. In the end the vote is unanimous. We all agree the winner is…ah ha! That would be telling. Then it’s off home to tell my husband Tom all about it – but not the winner of course! Tom is retired now and usually does the mid week cooking. Tonight I’m requesting beans on toast! Tom is coming with me to Claridge’s on September 13. He’s been there before and says I’ll love all the glitz. I just think it’s a brilliant excuse to buy a new dress! The theme is masquerade and the comedian Jimmy Carr is providing the after dinner entertainment. He should be a laugh.
Go to bed still feeling distinctly full of turkey but satisfied I’ve helped find some of the finest British turkey products in the land. Not a job I’d like to do everyday – too much eating for a start! But it certainly made a change from my usual paperwork and columns of figures. Mind you, I don’t think my colleagues will believe me when I tell them how I spent my day off….