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Diageo World Class draws to a close
Just six bartenders remain in the Diageo World Class global cocktail competition, the winner of which is due to be announced tonight (1 August).
Eight finalists were whittled down to just six yesterday, ahead of the awards ceremony tonight
Following a week of challenges set in locations across London and the UK, the bartenders involved in the final have been whittled down from 46 to just six.
Yesterday saw the remaining 12 left in the competition undergo two challenges: Ketel One Market and Ron Zacapa Gastronomy, before an elimination round took them down to eight. Kaori Kurakami from Japan, Hardeep Rehal from Denmark, Hannah van Ongevalle from Belgium and Ronnaporn Kanivichaporn from Thailand all left.
The final contestants were then required to participate in a speed challenge, creating eight cocktails in eight minutes, in front of eight esteemed cocktail judges.
By the end of the round, a further two bartenders were asked to leave, Jeffrey Chang from Taiwan and Giacomo Gianotti from Spain.
One final challenge will take place today, where the last six will create and present their own signature cocktail to a panel of judges.
The winner of the 2014 competition will then be announced at an awards ceremony held tonight at the historic Old Billngsgate.
He – there are now only males left in the competition – will join the likes of David Rios, Tim Philips, Manabu Ohtake, Erik Lorincz and Aristolelis Papadopoulos as winner.
The six bartenders left in the 2014 Diageo World Class competition are:
Grant Sceney, Canada
Charlie Ainsbury, Australia
Ahmed Yahi “Mido”, France
Claudio Perinelli, Italy
Peter Chua, Singapore
Charles Joly, USA