Catering company Vacherin crowns its first Barista of the Year

Pancewicz was the overall winner of the coffee making competition which was held at the Illy training centre in the Business Design Centre last week. The competition was split into three categories: 'Prefect Espresso'; 'Perfect Milk', where the five contestants had to master making a latte, cappuccino and macchiato, and 'Signature Beverage' where they were each asked to come up with their own unique hot drink and 'sell it' to the audience. Experts Marco Arrigo and Davide Rocchi were on hand to mentor the contestants and provide tips before judging their coffee making skills. The winning signature drink was a modern take on an Irish coffee which consisted of a Mocha with milk, hazelnut syrup and a dash of Kahlua and Cognac, finished off with a swirl of foam on the top. Prizes also went to Vicky Mouland for the best Espresso, Saba Woidermariam for best signature drink, Marina Podlesnaja for the best milk and Antonio Salvani for the most improvement during the competition. Vacherin operations support manager and coffee guru, Anna Morris, said: "The first Vacherin Barista of the Year competition was a great success and we are definitely looking to make it an annual event. It was fantastic to see our baristas in action and everyone learnt a lot from Marco and Davide at Illy as well. "Overall, we were really impressed with everyone's entries, especially for the signature drinks which were all really original – we are even hoping to introduce them at some of our sites over the next few months."