"Fire Alarm Biscuit" of Nancy Silverton/Ruth Reichl Disqualified in International Competition

 A biscuit designed by Nancy Silverton and assembled by Ruth Reichl was disqualified Sunday at the prestigious World Biscuit Championship in Lyons, France by a panel of judges who ruled it had "Violated the spirit of friendly and fair competition."

The biscuit, dubbed the "Fire Alarm Biscuit" due to its propensity to set off alarms because of the copious amount of butter deployed in its assemblage, had taken an overwhelming lead in the competition when the Belgium team filed a formal complaint with the international judges. Brussels Biscuits United claimed the Nancy/Ruth biscuit was more butter than actual biscuit.

What also put the biscuit in the illegal zone was the after-baking addition of two inches of  Buerre de Baratte of Rudolphe Le Meunier. (See http://krikorianwrites.com/blog/2014/1/29/the-dangerous-french-butter-thats-despised-by-its-peers )

"This is a biscuit championship, so enter a biscuit," said Roger DeCoster, team leader of the Belgians. "There were more fire alarms going off in Lyons during the event than their were in the South Bronx in 1977."

The recipe for the biscuit is expected to be released to the public in Silverton's next cookbook.

Both Silverton and Reichl could not be reached for comment.