Three employees from BaxterStorey, the UK’s leading independent food service specialist, have been named among the Top 20 baristas in the UK and been selected to compete in the semi-final of the UK Barista Championship 2015 next week.
BaxterStorey is the only foodservice catering company to compete in the finals. Café Manager at BaxterStorey, Don Altizo, will compete alongside his colleagues Jana Slamova and Kieran Carney, both Head Baristas. In 2014, Don made it to the finals of the competition where he was awarded the accolade of being one of the top six baristas in the country.
Baristas competing in the competition come from all aspects of the coffee and food industries, including independent coffee shops, high street brands, trainers, roasters, importers and contract caterers. With the next phase of the competition set to take place on Wednesday 4th March 2015, the three semi-finalists will be asked to showcase their skills in order to win a place in the final.
Tim Sturk, mentor to the three contestants and Head of Coffee Training and Development at BaxterStorey, said: “It’s absolutely thrilling to have three BaxterStorey baristas competing in the semi-finals, I couldn’t be more proud of them. The UK Barista Championships is widely acknowledged as the most difficult barista competition in the world and all three candidates have learnt so much from the opportunities and challenges that the competition has already delivered to them.”
In 2012, BaxterStorey launched its own ‘Barista Academy’ to support the development of staff within the business; enabling them to understanding the history of coffee, the coffee bean journey, the importance of quality milk, machine maintenance, recipe management and customer service.