This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
News
German bartender scoops Marie Brizard crown
Piotr Sajdak from Salut! Bar in Berlin has taken the top prize at the 2016 Marie Brizard Masters, which took place in Bordeaux, France last night (22 November).
Piotr Sajdak collects his trophy and becomes the Marie Brizard Master 2016
The tense grand final was the finale of a two-day international contest and was decided during a gala dinner at the Institut Culturel Bernard Magrez, an art gallery chateau in central Bordeaux.
One of four finalists – alongside Samuel Turp of Canada, Vasil Peevski from Macedonia and Sébastien Kunderup, Denmark – Sajdak impressed the 130-strong audience with his original cocktail presentation.
The winner was decided by audience vote, taking into account the cocktail itself and the quality of the presentation.
In addition to the grand title – Sajdak wins the opportunity to develop a new liqueur with the Marie Brizard R&D team – Denmark’s Kunderup won the trophy for ‘Best Storytelling’, while Canada’s Turp took home the accolade for ‘Best Presentation’.
After the prize giving, Stanislas Ronteix, Marie Brizard Wine & Spirits (MBWS) deputy CEO, congratulated Sajdak and celebrated all 35 bartenders who participated in the global finals.
“What I really want to thank you for is the hard work you put in every day in your job,” he said, addressing the competitors. “Being a bartender is daily hard work and I’ve witnessed that for almost 20 years in the industry. It’s a lot of work, and that’s what I want to thank you for.”
The grand final and gala dinner was the conclusion of two days of competition and workshops.
35 participating bartenders – all winners of local heats – hailed from 28 markets from across the Americas, Europe, Africa, Middle East and Asia Pacific.
On the first day, each presented their original cocktail and undertook a number of assessments including a written test and a blind tasting.
Eight selected semi-finalists were then required to create a new cocktail from a ‘mystery box’ of ingredients and present it to the judges and audience. A final four were then put through to the gala dinner grand final where Sajdak triumphed.
Marie Brizard used the workshops during the competition to announce the launch of No. 17 Yuzu, a yuzu-based liqueur.