Taking home the winning title for her Twin Peaks-inspired signature coffee, Alice Innocenti, general assistant at Lexington Catering, beat the nine other finalists with her cherry latte.
She said: “I put all of my effort into making a great cup of coffee for my customers every time, and I am very competitive, so absolutely delighted to win this award.
“For me, I really wanted to show my creative side and do something a bit different. I love Twin Peaks so used this as the inspiration for my signature drink, which the judges seemed to like!”
Showcasing her technical capabilities and creativity, Innocenti impressed judges including chief executive Mike Sunley; chef director, Rob Kirby; Lexington Catering head barista, Kamil Kamieniecki; 2017 winner, Artur Kukuryk; and coffee roaster and blogger, Celeste Wong.
Sunley commented: “A huge congratulations to Alice who had some fun with her Twin Peaks inspired Café Latte but managed to keep things simple – producing a cup of coffee that is perfect in both taste and visually.”
Open to all employees across the Lexington and Elior City B&I business, this year’s competition saw over 100 entrants attend the training event, with nine chosen to go on to the live final.
Following Innocenti in second place was team leader, Khaled Rachedi, and barista Andre Perim and Valentina Mucaria, club manager, in joint third.
Sunley added: “Year-on-year the standard of the competition just keeps increasing. All of the finalists showed outstanding skill, creativity and true professionalism, giving the judges some very hard decisions to make!
“We’re immensely grateful to all of our judges and to our coffee partners for investing their time in coaching our team.”
Speaking of the importance of coffee to restaurateurs, Wong added: “Everyone deserves a good coffee but it is all too often an afterthought to restaurants.
“It is absolutely fantastic to see Lexington put coffee at the very heart of their business, and to work with their baristas and coffee partners to up their game.
“Customers often have a coffee after their meal and it is therefore the last memory they will have, which is why it is so important to get it right.
“The coffee produced at businesses like Lexington and Elior needs to be as good as speciality coffee, and even better than the high street. It is really encouraging to see such talented baristas in this competition.
“I particularly loved the tartness of cherry incorporated in Alice’s winning coffee and the fact she produced a creative but practical signature drink that can easily be rolled out across sites.”