Judging the cheese

Text: an original contemporary personal account-style practice extract.

Before my first shift as a cheese judge, I expected the hardest part to be remembering names. Instead, we received numbered samples with no producer identified. Between samples, I drank water and ate a piece of plain apple. The steward replaced our plates but did not tell us which cheeses were local.

I found the numbered system reassuring because a famous label could not influence my score. I also thought the quiet room was helpful: without people discussing flavours beside me, I could decide what I had actually tasted. By the final tray, I was less worried about sounding knowledgeable than about describing one mouthful accurately.

From the paragraph beginning “I found”, give two things the writer found helpful about the judging arrangements.