Emanuele Mensah on winning Diageo World Class GB
Diageo World Class GB winner Emanuele Mensah told us why every bartender should give the contest a go, regardless of the outcome.
Diageo World Class is seen as the ultimate prize for many bartenders – almost like their version of the Olympics.
As the competition gets more than 40,000 entries each year, national heats take place to settle who represents their country at the final – which will be held in Toronto in September this year.
In Great Britain, 10 bartenders took part in a three-day final in Edinburgh in June. Emanuele Mensah, prep mixologist at the Connaught Bar in London, claimed victory for the region.
It wasn’t Mensah’s first rodeo. He’s entered World Class twice before, finishing third in the GB heats last year and second the year prior. He’s now proven that the third time really is a charm.
Mensah and the other finalists were tasked with three challenges. The first was The Art of Process with Tanqueray No.10, where entrants showcased their technical prowess through two serves.
For this, Mensah created a cocktail called the Brightside, where he fermented beetroot for a Champagne-style serve. “We all know beetroot, but I wanted to create new flavours with it – like a quality Champagne, super-calculated and fizzy,” he tells The Spirits Business.
Next, he focused on fat washing in a serve called the Omega, where he dried, peeled and blended melon into a paste – almost like an onion or pistachio paste. This was fat-washed with Tanqueray No.10 to create a silky smooth Martini-inspired drink, served ice cold at -17ºC from the freezer and presented with a melon ball garnish.
“I was thinking about the future for the concept, where we won’t have an abundance of ingredients as we do today, and choice is very limited,” he explains. “In the future, it will be our duty as bartenders to find value in and respect ingredients by using them as a whole.”
The second was a storytelling-driven challenge called The Blend of Eras, using Johnnie Walker’s Blue Label. “I needed to find a story that we can connect to Johnnie Walker, to ourselves and technology,” he says. “So I was thinking about how I can translate it into a meaningful way that really is personal to me.”
His cocktail, called Waves, was served in a wine glass and made with Johnnie Walker Blue Label, peach cordial, sesame whey and a touch of Scottish kelp fortified wine.
Inspired by a West African folklore story about Anansi the spider, the cocktail also featured an interactive experience that could be accessed via QR code.
“It’s my way of sharing knowledge, just as Anansi shared stories and Johnnie Walker shares Blue Label with all of us,” he continues. “The digital cocktail acts as an archive of everything behind the drink: the inspiration, the recipe, the source of ingredients, the sounds they make, and even a playful game. You drink Waves and then dive into its story.
“Every year it’s a different challenge, different drinks, and a different mindset. My approach is just being truthful to myself and the flavours I love – seasonality, fresh ingredients and being able to reinterpret them to the best of my ability.”
The third and final challenge saw the finalists pair up for a pop-up bar.
Family feel
Besides being able to show off what he can do, Mensah sees the competition as a learning process, a mindset he carried into this year’s proceedings.
“For me, that was the goal, and it was the same in previous years. Year after year, I’m learning, improving and understanding my strengths and weaknesses. I want to make sure I can learn from others.”
To Mensah, it’s the people who make World Class. “There are people from everywhere, all gathering together,” he says. “More and more cultures and people from different backgrounds are approaching World Class. Personally, through this competition, I’ve met a lot of friends, and I think it’s a very great way to connect all of us [bartenders and ambassadors].”
Mensah feels this sense of communal spirit has been one of the biggest points of the change in competition since he first participated. “It’s evolving, but in a very good way. It’s not just about the competition; it’s about building a stronger community and getting people together, getting them to share their love for drinks and hospitality.”
Life as a bartender has so far taken Mensah from his native Italy to Sydney, Australia, and now to London. Through his career, he’s been able to count on mentorship from the likes of Agostino Perrone and Giorgio Bargiani (from the Connaught), Ryan Chetiyawardana (aka Mr Lyan) and Diageo GB predecessor Danilo Frigulti – who aren’t exactly the worst people to take advice from when it comes to bartending.
Mensah reflects: “We are in a time where we are very lucky, because through technology, social media and everything else, it’s very easy to reach out to people and ask questions, to really build this community.”
He believes feedback has been key to his development in the drinks industry. “Colleagues, mentors, people I really admire and can look up to – I know they can give me as honest feedback as possible. This year, I wanted to make sure everyone could taste my drink. Every time I made a drink, I made sure there was feedback.
“I want to make things that my mom is gonna love, the bartenders are gonna love, the guests, the guy from the bus station… Everyone. It’s not just a drink for bar people, it’s a drink for everyone. Everyone can find their little piece of familiarity in the flavours.
“It’s important to have different feedback and different opinions. From there, I can really understand how I can make the best drink possible for the judges.”
This year’s judges included Monica Berg, Sandrae Lawrence, Simone Caporale, Iain McPherson and Frigulti.
Advice for new entrants
Taking a breather is Mensah’s first tip to anyone entering World Class. Before entering a competition, he goes on holiday for a week. “I don’t think about anything else. This year, I went back home for the first time in five years, to see my friends from my childhood, my mom and everyone. It gives me extra energy.
“I’ll take a little break before the competition, because otherwise, all year, I’m thinking about World Class. It really helps to calm my nerves.”
Mensah also practises meditation, which helped him during the waits between challenges, especially as he was last up for the Tanqueray round. “I wake up in the morning and do 25 minutes or so of meditation, and the same before going to sleep. It really controls the nerves.”
If meditation isn’t your thing, Mensah encourages participants to find their own method of getting into the zone. “There can be a lot of tension because everybody’s unsure and it’s a very short period. People go jogging, to the gym or even do push-ups. It depends – for everyone, it’s different.
“This year, we were in a beautiful location, the most beautiful I’ve ever seen for World Class. We have a house where we share rooms, including a huge living room. But everyone has time to do their own thing and relax. That, for me, made a big difference.”
Moving forward, he hopes to see more entries for World Class from a wider range of backgrounds.
“One of my biggest goals was to inspire more people to join it, because it’s such a great platform to grow. People are a little bit intimidated because it’s just such a big competition. It demands a lot from you, but at the same time, it helps you to really understand who you are and who you want to be.
“It’s not for everyone, of course, but if you feel like it’s something you want to give it a try, just do it. Everyone is open and super nice. There is support for every question. Diversity is getting better and better.”
Related news
Disaronno grows in UK on-trade
