On Friday 27 June the first ever Barista of the Bay competition was held in Zacry’s.
Two contestants from The Beach Hut, The Living Space and Zacry’s were put to the test in the hopes of being crowned Barista of the Bay.
After inter-team heats, the two finalists from each restaurant were decided and sent to Zacry’s armed with coffee knowledge and a lot of support from their colleagues.
The contestants were:
Tom and Mark from The Beach Hut.
Laurence and Phil from The Living Space.
Sarka and Sam from Zacry’s.
Each competitor had to brew a cappuccino, latte and flat white whilst being judged, by Dave from Origin Coffee, on their knowledge of the coffee machine and technical ability.
Once brewed our second panel of judges, Executive Chef, Neil Haydock and General Manager, Mark Williams judged the cup set up, overall appearance, foam quality and depth, temperature and of course, taste.
Marked out of 120 it was a tense competition, with a couple of shakes, a few spills and lots of thrills.
After an hour of brewing the results were in.
In third place, Sarka from Zacry’s winning a £20 voucher to spend at Origin Coffee.
Followed in second place by Mark from The Beach Hut winning a £50 voucher to spend at Origin Coffee.
But in first place and crowned Barista of the Bay, Phil from The Living Space winning a 12 month Origin Coffee subscription, aeropress, coffee grinder and Barista books.