After last year’s Moxie Recipe Contest, several people approached me with feedback.  Just little things, like “I wish I could have tasted some of the food.  Everything looked so good!” I tossed around a variety of possibilities.  Moxie Buffet? Moxie Food Fight?  A logistical nightmare perhaps and I don’t think Chummy’s would want us to throw food around their restaurant, no matter how distinctly different.

Don’t get me wrong.  The judges were fun and entertaining.  If Anthony Bourdain’s agent called me this instant, I’d certainly welcome him.  But the overwhelming words I heard from folks I talked to was they wanted a “people’s choice.”

Then it hit me.  I didn’t have to do things exactly the same way I did it last year.  Why not shake it up and have NO celebrity judges this year?  The People’s Court of Moxie.  What better way to reach a verdict than have a 12 member volunteer jury sample the recipes?  To prevent a hung jury, have one additional jurist act as a tie-breaker (maybe someone with a big and bold pompous personality) in an isolation booth somewhere sampling everything.

People…what do you think?

Interested in being in the jury pool?  Comment here on the blog and let me know.  All comments are moderated before posting, so if you would prefer not to have your identity in the comments section, just include the words “don’t post my comment.”

All volunteers for the jury pool must be 18 years of age or older.  Liking the distinctly different taste of Moxie helps, too.

Power to the Moxie People!

The Moxie Recipe Contest will be held on Friday evening, July 11, 2014, at Chummy’s Restaurant in Lisbon Falls, Maine.  The judging begins at 5:00 p.m.