Five bartenders compete for Funkin title

Funkin has chosen five bartenders to complete for the title of Innovation Champion, and win a paid position with the cocktail brand.

Funkin has selected its five finalists for its 2015 Innovation Champion competition.

Bartenders from across the UK were invited to create a Funkin serve that reflects the brand’s approach using any product from the fruit puree brand’s FunkinPro range, and submit ideas for the next “cocktail innovation”.

The selected finalists are Michael Stringer of BlackLeaf Events (London), Joe Macbeth of Rub Smokehouse & Bar (Nottingham), James Le Gallez of Apéritif (Guernsey), Massimo Zitti of Cane & Grain (Manchester) and Róbert Kecskés of Chez Chow (London).

According to the brand, the finalists all showed “vision and a keen understanding of the Funkin rage”.

The final will take place later this month at The Cocktail Trading Co. in London. Finalists will be required to recreate their Funkin cocktail and present their innovative ideas, as well as “think on their feet”.

“This year, we’ve had outstanding entries for our second annual Innovation Champion,” said Andrew King, Funkin managing director.

“Cocktail innovation is at the heart of everything we do and we’ve selected five finalists that we feel best represent Funkin’s ethos. 2016 will be an exciting year for Funkin and we are confident whoever is named Innovation Champion will have a rewarding experience as part of our visionary team.”

The winner will have the opportunity to work with Funkin on a paid, part-time freelance basis for one year.

Earlier in 2015, Funkin added two new “single batch” syrups to its FunkinPro range.