By Sacha Delfosse
The Australian finals of the 2011 Stella Artois World Draught Masters were held on Wednesday (14 Sep) at the Belgian Beer Café Oostende in Adelaide, with 12 of the nation’s ‘perfect pourers’ showcasing their skill.
The bartenders were required to serve two Stella Artois beers using the brand’s 9-Step Pouring Ritual for the judges.
Cristina Cocchiaro, who works at the Belgian Beef Café Oostende, was crowned the winner and will now fly to Buenos Aires to compete in the global finals in October.
“I am absolutely delighted. I have had the best possible training from my personal mentor and last year’s global runner up, Siobhan Mullins. She was hard on me every step of the way to ensure absolute attention to detail and perfection in the Stella Artois Nine-Step Pouring Ritual,” Cocchiaro says.
“I am so grateful for the Stella Artois program that has enabled me to broaden my knowledge and skills and strive for absolute perfection in superior beer service. I cannot wait to get to Buenos Aires and proudly represent Australia. Fingers crossed I can bring back that World Draught Master trophy.”
Cristina Cocchiaro will represent Australia at the 2011 Stella Artois World Draught Masters
To claim the victory, Cocchiaro first had to compete in a ‘pour-off’ after her and WA bartender Lucinda Williams drew for second place. After winning that round and a place in the final two, she faced off with fellow South Australian, Jack Henderson, with a meticulous Cocchiaro impressing the judges with both her skill and passion for beer.
As part of the competition, the 2010 champion Chris Myers, from the US, was flown down to provide the competitors with some further training as well as acting as a judge alongside last year’s global runner- up, Siobhan Mullins, who also hails from South Australia.
In an entertaining side show to the main competition, Myers and Mullins jumped behind the bar and had a tongue-in-cheek rematch of the 2010 global final, trading amuse barbs with each other and showing the skills that earned them their places last year.
Myers says he was quite impressed with the level of skill displayed by all the competitors, and admitted the judging process was tough, with only minute differences in skill, presentation and performance setting the winner apart from the rest.
“It’s one thing to pour a beer behind the bar at your local pub, but it is another thing completely to perform the Stella Artois 9-Step Pouring Ritual in front of a crowd of thirsty onlookers.”
“All finalists exercised great skill in front of a capacity crowd last night. It was Cristina however, who ultimately impressed us the most and I wish her the best of luck in Argentina next month,” Myers explains.
