Welcome, Soup Champions.

Thank you for your interest in the inaugural DMF Soup-Off Challenge.

Soup has the power to intrigue, delight, and bring a lot of backgrounds and flavors into one warm bowl — much like this team. Great soup also demands great governance. These rules exist so the rankings are fair, the tasting stays generous, and the bellies stay happy.

Failure to follow them may mean elimination and forfeiture of soup-tasting privileges. The Soup Commissioner and the Soup-Off Committee may interpret and enforce these regulations as necessary.

I. How the Soup-Off works

1. Submit one soup recipe to the Soup Commissioner no later than Monday, October 19, 2026.
2. The Soup Commissioner reviews every recipe for eligibility. Keep recipes confidential. Full recipes stay private until the Soup-Off is over, then the approved ones go into the official DMF Soup-Off Cookbook.
3. Approved chefs provide three descriptive words. Choose wisely. Those three words may be the soup's only marketing.
4. An ineligible recipe can be replaced up to two more times. The Commissioner's eligibility ruling is final.
5. Duplicate recipes go to the Soup-Off Committee. The original submission is favored, and the later entrant submits something else. Different versions of the same kind of soup are allowed. Pam's wild rice can compete with Oscar's grandmother's wild rice. Similarity is not duplication.
6. Bring the prepared soup to the DMF Training Room on Thursday, October 22, at 11:30 a.m. It should arrive ready to serve.
7. Everyone, including contestants, may sample and score using the official rubric.
8. Top soups are recognized for Best Flavor, Best Presentation, and Best Vibes. One soup is crowned DMF Soup Master.

II. Tasting protocol

1. Eating is encouraged. Competing is optional. You do not need to enter a soup to taste and vote.
2. Nobody has to sample every soup. Stomachs have limits.
3. Muffin tins are provided so you can try more soups without hitting maximum capacity. Strategic tasting is encouraged.

III. Official soup rules

Rule 1: No store-bought soup

Homemade soup only. Soup purchased pre-made — grocery store, restaurant, deli, can, carton, or any other suspiciously convenient source — is ineligible. Store-bought ingredients are fine. Store-bought soup is not.

Rule 2: No chili

This is a Soup-Off, not a chili cook-off. A landmark 1995 ruling of the National Committee of Soup Standards established that chili does not qualify as soup. Signs of chili include a high solid-to-liquid ratio, a dense consistency, and heavy reliance on chili peppers or chili powder as the primary flavor. Strongly chili-adjacent recipes go to the Soup-Off Committee, whose ruling is final. Renaming it "Texas-style bean stew" will not help.

Rule 3: No propaganda

No campaigning, bribery, intimidation, coercion, vote-buying, or other attempts to tilt the outcome. That includes offering coffee for a vote, demanding that yours be tasted first, handing out promotional materials, excessive lobbying, or threatening coworkers. Friendly enthusiasm is welcome. Soup-based election interference is not.

IV. Final authority

The Soup Commissioner and Soup-Off Committee may determine eligibility, resolve duplicates, rule on soup-versus-chili questions, handle unforeseen soup circumstances, and read these rules in the spirit they were written. In a dispute, the Committee's decision is final.

May your broth be flavorful, your toppings be plentiful, and your soup be worthy of DMF Soup Master.