 |
Caffe Ritazza team leader, Marta Twardygrosz, takes the SSP UK Barista Championship title for 2011 |
UK. A signature drink mixing white chocolate, mint and coffee helped Caffè Ritazza team leader Marta Twardygrosz to secure the SSP UK Barista Championship title for 2011.
Twardygrosz, who works at Caffè Ritazza at Liverpool John Lennon Airport, impressed the judges with four espressos, four cappuccinos and four of her signature drink in front of a live audience at Dickens Inn, London.
She fought off competition from colleagues at more than 600 units across the company portfolio, which includes Upper Crust, Pumpkin, Millie’s Cookies and Camden Food Co.
Judges at the final, in which eight baristi competed head-to-head, said Twardygrosz showed “passion, dedication and a strong understanding of the whole coffee process”.
She will now take part in the Caffè Ritazza World Barista Championships, following in the footsteps of SSP UK’s Matt Roberts, who reached the finals of the SCAE UK Barista Championships last month.
“I’m delighted to have won the competition, and it’s opened up some fantastic opportunities for me,” Twardygrosz said. “I have worked at Caffè Ritazza for three years, and am very passionate about the coffee that we serve; so it feels great to be recognised by the judges in this way.
“I chose a refreshing mint-chocolate drink for my signature creation because it gave a real feeling of summer, served cold. I’m just glad the judges liked it.”
SSP UK National Coffee Specialist Graziano Moroni has developed the internal competition over 18 months to reward and recognise barista talent within the company.
“The standard of competition was phenomenal and all the finalists deserve a lot of praise,” he said, “but Marta stood out as a fantastic barista. Her presentation and technical ability was flawless, not to mention the taste of her drinks.
“This competition is part of a wider strategy to develop a culture of great coffee within SSP UK. We serve 22.5 million cups in the UK each year, so it’s crucial we get it right. We are putting a lot of energy into developing people who are really passionate about good coffee.
“In the past 18 months we have established 13 coffee training schools across the UK, training 42 head baristi and over 1,000 senior baristi. We have even reduced the downtime of coffee machines as more staff become experts in the entire process of coffee making – and the feedback from customers so far is very encouraging.”
