There is a core judging panel which consists of a representative from East Staffordshire Borough Council, South Derbyshire District Council, Burton College and the Burton Mail.
A representative from the sponsor of each category will be an additional judge on that specific panel.
The panels will initially undertake a comprehensive and quantitative review of all entries in each category. For this they will select three entries to take through as finalists. These will be announced on Wednesday, September 15 in the Burton Mail.
All of the finalists will be contacted before this date to confirm their progress, and also to arrange a date for the judges to visit their business or premises. The visit will last around 60 minutes and involve a more detailed discussion about their entry and business performance (relative to the category entered). There will be an opportunity for the finalists to present additional material and also show the judges any aspect of the business in operation.
The five judges will vote on their choice of the winner based on their assessment of the entry form and site visit. If there is no outright winner from the initial vote then the finalist with the least votes will be eliminated and the five judges will vote again.
