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H&J Launches Barista Competition
Thursday October 19th 2006
Our first annual Harbour & Jones Barista Competition took place this month at the Union Handed Roasted HQ in West Ham, London. This competition was the culmination of an intensive two month Barista Skills Training programme put together by H&J and Union Hand Roasted to improve the operational and presentational skills of our front of house teams. It was also a great opportunity for us to learn more of the origin of coffee; from the growing, harvesting and processing of the bean through to its roasting here in London.
Six intrepid baristas had already entered our competition before we had a last minute wild-card entry on the night from Stuart and Gareth, our chefs at Lewis Silkin, as “Team Lewis”! Having heard of the fabulous prize at stake, they were determined to give the front-of-house staff a run for their money.
The talented taste buds of the panel judging the competition were Claire Matheson-Jones and Jeremy Torz from Union Hand Roasted and our own Nathan Jones as Presentation Judge. Judging followed similar guidelines to the “World Barista Competition” and required each barista to prepare two cappuccinos, two lattes and two signature drinks. The baristas had first to prove their technical skills in preparing the coffees on the competition menu. This included espresso preparation and extraction times, milk steaming and foaming techniques and machine cleanliness. The flavour and look of the drinks were then judged with bonus points being award for all visual elements. However, it was in the signature drink category of the competition that the creative flair of the entrants really showed with great flavours including raspberry, mint chocolate, ginger & chilli being used to produce some sensational coffee concoctions!
There was great support from all our units on the night with many H&J crew members coming to cheer on their colleagues. After much tense deliberation, the first prize was awarded to Sandra from Monitor. Sandra wins an amazing trip to Florence, courtesy of Union Hand Roasted and Mulmar and has also earned the honour of representing Harbour & Jones in the UK Barista Competitions in February next year. As part of this she will be invited to attend specialist training with other competitors to increase her skills and knowledge prior to competing. All competitors on the night won a night out at Hakkasan courtesy of Harbour & Jones in recognition of their hard work and excellent barista skills.
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