Long-time Country Women’s Association member, Mrs Irvine said there was a lot more to judging than just taking a bite.

“The orange cake says in the schedule ‘orange cake iced on top only’,” she said.

Before each cake was tasted, Mrs Irvine runs a trained eye over the outside to assess: appearance, edges, any burnt areas, whether icing had run down the sides and which shape tray it had been cooked in.

The bottom of each cake is inspected for rack marks, these are not allowed.

The cake is then cut through the centre to assess: its texture, whether the cake was cooked evenly and also to check if the top had dipped and had been filled with icing.

“If it’s going to be an orange cake, it’s got to smell like oranges,” she said of the reason why each entry is smelt by judges.

A sliver is then cut from the centre of the cake for tasting.

The Royal Bathurst Show runs from Friday to Sunday.