Q. As a mildly famous professional cook, I agreed to judge a children’s cake-baking competition at the summer fête of the tiny village I have just moved to. Subsequent conversations have worried me as I have learnt that the parents of these under-tens are taking the competition very seriously. It’s clear that the awarding of a first prize to any child, however well deserved, will make me more enemies than friends. My name is already on the publicity leaflets and it’s too late to pull out. I would welcome your advice.
– Name and address withheld
A. Instead of awarding a first prize, you should pronounce each of the entries to be the winner of a separate category. For example, most beautifully decorated cake, most delicious cake, most nutritious cake, most colourful cake and so on.
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