|
You can get e-magazine links on WhatsApp. Click here
|
|
|
Saili Rane pips Qureshi, Hali to win first Starbucks Coffee Championship
|
Friday, 28 August, 2015, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
|
Rohini Hiremath, Mumbai
|
fiogf49gjkf0d Tata Starbucks Pvt. Ltd hosted the Grand Finale of the first Starbucks Coffee Championship here on Thursday. The platform gave the company’s partners an opportunity to compete with each other on expertise and knowledge of coffee along with beverage crafting skills.
The Championship's Grand Finale was held amidst a panel of prominent judges comprising Tata Starbucks’ leadership team as well as senior leadership from the capital region.
Avani Davda, CEO, Tata Starbucks; Manmeet Vohra, director, marketing and category, Tata Starbucks; Mark Ring, senior VP and GM, Starbucks China and Asia- Pacific; Brady Brewer, senior VP, marketing, category and store design, Starbucks China/Asia-Pacific; Jon Lietchy, director- operation, Tata Starbucks; and Sumit Zaveri, chief financial officer, Tata Starbucks; were at the judging panel.
During the finale, partners competed in four challenging rounds. The first three rounds comprised a Personal Coffee Tasting- Pour Over session in which participants demonstrated both their knowledge and passion for coffee in an interactive coffee tasting, a Bar Skill round, which tested their artistic way of presenting beverage, and the third round was the ultimate Blind Tasting round to taste the accuracy of their coffee palate.
Commenting on the occasion, Davda said, "We are thrilled to host the first Starbucks Coffee Championship in India. Our partners directly contributed to the success of Starbucks by helping us build the brand one cup, one person at a time, in every neighbourhood we serve. The Starbucks Coffee Championship is a celebration of our unique store partners and their passion and commitment to the brand as well as their coffee artistry."
Evaluating the performance from all the three rounds, the judges shortlisted three finalists Saili Rane (Mumbai), Rubina Qureshi (Mumbai), and Shikhar Hali (Bangalore).
The final round was Question & Answer in which the three coffee masters were judged on the basis of their proposed presentation to evaluate coffee leadership in their regional markets, which was bagged by Saili Rane from Mumbai Region.
"It's a proud moment and a feeling of incredible achievement. I want to take this opportunity and thank everyone from my store who has helped me in every moment of my practice. I have put in great efforts and worked hard to achieve this tag. I'm very excited for the next well,” stated Saili Rane, the winner of the championship.
The Starbucks Coffee Championship unfolded with three competitive levels and saw participation by 150 Starbucks partners and coffee masters. These coffee experts were nominated for each of the six cities in India. The participants competed at the district level wherein only 22 contenders were chosen to proceed to the regional semi-final round. Amongst which final six were picked to battle it out for "Starbucks Coffee Championship" title at the national level.
The winners of the India championship will be participating in the Starbucks Regional Championship to be held later this year in southeast Asia.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|