1. Aim

The main objective is to promote this tasty Murcian delicacy and achieve excellence in meatloaf, distinguishing each year the artisan and establishment that make the best product and make it available to citizens and visitors.

2. Inscription

Participants must be registered or in the process of being registered in the Artisan Registry of the Region of Murcia in the profession of Pastry Chef before the contest begins and be active at the time of the competition.

All artisans who wish to participate in this contest must fill out and submit the APPLICATION by email: contestregionalpasteldecarne@gmail.com.

The APPLICATION can be downloaded at this link Application and bases of the IV Regional Meatloaf Contest

The winner of the III Regional Artisan Meat Pie Contest will not be able to participate.

The deadline to submit the APPLICATION will be March 21, 2023.

Product characteristics

Participants must prepare a meatloaf with a filling made from veal, in all its varieties. The size of the product will be 13 cm in diameter and with a maximum weight of 215 gr. per unit. Upon delivery of the product, both the diameter and the weight will be checked. Meat pies that do not comply with these measures will be disqualified.

3. Presentation

The delivery date will be March 22, 2023, from 9:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., at the Center Regional de Artesanía de Murcia, located at C/ Actor Francisco Rabal, nº 6 in Murcia, and the collection will not be valid if the cakes are delivered after the deadline, or if the box bears a mark that identifies the participant.

6 meat pies will be delivered in an unidentified white box. The delivery will be made to the staff of the contest team assigned for this purpose at the Murcia Regional Crafts Center, C/ Actor Francisco Rabal nº 6. 30009 Murcia.

The person in charge of collecting the boxes will take note of the delivery: name of the pastry shop, delivery time and person making the delivery. Anonymously, a random number will be assigned to the box, which the participant will not know, so that the jury cannot be contaminated.

The tasting and decision of the jury will take place at the Murcia Regional Craft Center on March 22, 2023. The tasting will begin at 12:30 p.m. and the result will be saved in sealed envelope guarded by the Secretary of the Jury, until the awards ceremony, which will be made public in the afternoon that same day, proceeding to the delivery of awards.

4. Jury

The Jury will be made up of professionals from the trade and qualified personnel appointed by Resolution of the General Directorate of Consumption and Crafts at the proposal of AREPA.

5. Methodology

The visual appearance of the puff pastry, the balance between dough, filling and puff pastry, the smell, the texture, the flavor and finally, the global acceptance will be assessed.

• Color and appearance of puff pastry. Up to 10 points.
• Aroma, texture (balance between mass), filling and flavor. Up to 10 points.
• Global acceptance. Up to 10 points.

The score of the different evaluation elements of the meat pies will be from 1 to 10, where one will be the lowest value and ten the highest value. To avoid possible ties, decimals may be added. All the cakes will be valued together and cold, both for the note on puff pastry and for the balance between dough and filling. Once the cold evaluation has been carried out, the cakes will be heated for tasting.

A minimum of one eighth of the piece will be tested and a maximum of one fourth by each member of the jury. From 4 to 6 cakes from each participant will be shown to the members of the jury, some of which will be broken into pieces and others whole. The cakes will go on a tray with the number assigned from the presentation and collection and that only the person designated for this purpose will know.

6. product tasting

The trays of cakes will be served to the jury at five minute intervals. The cakes will be heated for 5 minutes in an oven at 200 degrees Celsius. The person who heats the cakes will use a tray per participant, that is, a maximum of 6 cakes can be heated on each tray, which will belong to the same participant so that they do not mix at any time. The tray will go with the assigned box number, and at all times the cakes will be identified with their number. From the time they come out of the oven until they are presented to the jury, no more than two minutes may elapse. Once the first ones have been served, the next batch will be heated until all the participants are covered.

7. Awards

The meatloaf with the highest score will be recognized as Best Meatloaf 2023 in the IV Regional Artisan Meatloaf Contest and will obtain a trophy and a plaque for the establishment.

The General Directorate of Consumption and Crafts, and the Regional Association of Pastry Entrepreneurs of Murcia (AREPA) undertake to publicize this event and the winning cake in their promotional elements.