Egg Farmers of Ontario Butter Tart Contest

Are your Butter Tarts the best? Enter the Egg Farmers of Ontario Butter Tart Contest!

The Egg Farmers of Ontario Butter Tart Contest will open in March 2025.

Any home or professional baker is eligible to enter the contest. You must read the rules and regulations to enter the contest. 

Where Ontario’s Best Butter Tart is crowned!

Judging takes place in Rotary Hall inside the Midland Cultural Centre and the public is invited to watch our judges undertake this important task.

Taste alongside the judges!

Our volunteers circulate throughout the audience with trays with these delicious little samples, allowing festival visitors to taste the same butter tarts as our judges! You can find the Egg Farmers of Ontario Butter Tart Contest in Rotary Hall within the Midland Cultural Centre.

10 a.m. – Judging of Traditional Butter Tarts

1 p.m. – Judging of Wild Style Butter Tarts

3:15 p.m. – Judging of Best in Show

3:30 p.m. – Winners are announced

Looking to sample some of the contest tarts? The judges only cut off a small portion of the tart to taste and then our volunteers circulate throughout the audience sharing the rest.

How are the Butter Tarts Judged?

Are you wanting to know how your butter tarts will be judged? You've asked, we've listened. We are releasing the top-secret judging criteria, so that you can make your butter tarts even better for the 2024 competition! 

Here is what your sweet treats will be judged on...

Traditional Butter Tarts

Traditional butter tarts must not contain anything other than traditional ingredients. Adding anything other than traditional ingredients, will unfortunately result in disqualification from this category. Traditional butter tart flavours can only be: 

  • Plain           
  • Pecan
  • Raisin
  • Walnut
  • Maple
  • Coconut
  • Molasses

 

Judging Criteria for Traditional Butter Tarts

General Appearance /50

  • Baking (even size, uniform consistency) /10
  • Crust (attractive edging, design) /10
  • Colour (golden brown, even colour) /10
  • Texture (flaky, not too greasy, even thickness) /10
  • Overall appeal of the tart (visual) /10

Filling and Taste /50

  • Proportion of filling to size of crust/10
  • Crust (not over or under baked) /10
  • Texture-pleasing (not gritty, mushy, dry) /10
  • Flavour (Pleasing? Overpowering?) /10
  • Overall appeal (taste) /10

Total possible points: 100 per judge.
Wild Style Butter Tarts

If you can dream it, you can do it. As long as it is still a butter tart, you can add a twist with a non-traditional ingredient or two!

 

Judging Criteria for Wild Style Butter Tarts

General Appearance /50

  • Baking (even size, uniform consistency) /10
  • Crust (attractive edging, design) /10
  • Colour (golden brown, even colour) /10
  • Texture (flaky, not too greasy, even thickness) /10
  • Overall appeal of the tart (visual) /10

Filling and Taste /50

  • Proportion of filling to size of crust/10
  • Crust (not over or under baked) /10
  • Texture-pleasing (not gritty, mushy, dry) /10
  • Flavour of entry/10
  • Overall appeal and creativity of the tart/10

Total possible points: 100 per judge.
Best in Show

The "Best in Show" competition compiles the first place winner of each of the four categories. The judges then have the difficult task of tasting the four first place tarts and deciding which butter tart is the best of the best and the top winner!

 

Judging Criteria for Best in Show

General Appearance /50

  • Baking (even size, uniform consistency) /10
  • Crust (attractive edging, design) /10
  • Colour (golden brown, even colour) /10
  • Texture (flaky, not too greasy, even thickness) /10
  • Overall appeal of the tart (visual) /10

Filling and Taste /50

  • Proportion of filling to size of crust/10
  • Crust (not over or under baked) /10
  • Texture-pleasing (not gritty, mushy, dry) /10
  • Flavour (Pleasing? Overpowering?) /10
  • Overall appeal (taste) /10

Total possible points: 100 per judge.