Lennart Deddens, bartender and distiller at Mr. Mofongo in Groningen, yesterday finished joint third in Diageo World Class Netherlands, the most prestigious competition for bartenders worldwide. This makes Deddens the first northern bartender to make it that far. He had qualified during the preliminary rounds for the final day that took place at Club ABE in Amsterdam. He made it to the last four of the ten bartenders.
During the afternoon session, which was not open to the public, the Groninger was on a roll in the Cocktails Against the Clock Challenge. The candidates had to provide six classic cocktails with their own twist within eight minutes and accompany the whole with a correct story. Deddens set the fastest time here with 7:18 minutes.
At the Theoretical Challenge, the jury was impressed by his version of the Dry Martini. The participants were asked to give their own twist to this well-known cocktail. The use of the home-brewed malt wine, produced in Mofongo's Distillery, was especially appreciated. Malt wine is the basis of every good gin and gin is in turn the 'father' of the main ingredient of the Martini; London Dry Gin.
Due to this good performance, the bartender ended up in the semi-finals together with three Amsterdam colleagues. A small mistake, however, was fatal and he missed the all-decisive shake off. Despite this, Deddens is very satisfied with his performance: “I am proud of how I performed during this match. It's for myself and Mr. Mofongo a confirmation that we are on the right track. Honestly, this just gives me more motivation to come back even better next year.” The match was eventually won by Leroy Soumokil of Henry's Bar in Amsterdam.
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