Veneziano Produces 2013 Australian Latte Art Champion and Barista Champion Runner Up
Announcement posted by Harvest Ideas 04 Mar 2013
Images: (Above) Jen Marks – 2013 PURA Latte Art Champion - pictured here with sponsor representative and Lance Brown of Lion Dairy and Drinks;
(Below) Craig Simon being awarded first runner-up in the 2013 Detpak Australian Barista Championship by Detpak’s Marisa Jones, sponsor representative.
In an exciting, jam packed weekend that was the AustralAsian Specialty Coffee Association's (AASCA) 2013 national coffee event, Veneziano Coffee Roasters are extremely proud of barista-roaster Jen Marks finishing in first place as the newly crowned 2013 Australian Pura Latte Art Champion whilst barista-trainer-production manager Craig Simon almost took out the Australian Barista Championship title back to back.
Well done Jen and Craig, it was an extremely close competition with the difference between first and second being only a matter of points in both categories.
A nail biting finish saw Craig Simon narrowly miss out on winning the title of Detpak Barista Champion of Australia for the second year running, finishing only seven points behind 2011 Champion Matt Perger. Craig suffered a 13 point penalty for going over time. Sasa Sestic from ACT finished in third place, in what can only be described as Australia's finest finalist line up in a national barista competition to date.
Veneziano are also extremely proud of Mike Wells, South Australian Barista Champion finishing in seventh place overall and winning the honour of being the calibration competitor for the finals judges, and newcomer Jade Jennings on finishing in tenth place in her first ever AASCA coffee competition - a fantastic achievement and a competitor that has attracted a lot of attention from people within the industry.
In the Latte Art category second place went to Ben Morrow from St Ali (VIC) (who was penalised on points for going over the allocated time) and last year's
national champion Scott Luengen (QLD) finished in third place. Despite an accidental milk spillage, Jen still managed to maintain her composure, clean up and calmly finish her latte art sets well within time.
Jen will now go on to represent Australian in the World Latte Art Championship in Nice, France, June 26 - 28, together with Elisha Mauger (from Gloria Jeans Coffees) in the World Cup Tasting Championship.
The Cup Tasting Championship final was dominated by the girls this year, with Lauren Stokes (5 Senses Coffee) finishing second. Jonny Pisanelli (From Scratch Patisserie), last year's winner, finished third. Veneziano's Jack Allisey (VIC) and Andrew Dickson were finalists in the Cup Tasting competition.
Veneziano also fielded two first-time competitors in the Brewers Cup Championship, Dale Parker (VIC) and James Thai (QLD), competing in the open heats. The top spots in the finals went to winner Lachlan Ward second place-getter Jamie Thomson, both from Sensory Lab (VIC).
The World Barista Championship and World Brewers Cup Championship will be hosted in Melbourne, May 23 - 26 in an Australian first, against competitors from almost 60 countries.
Images (top to bottom):
Jade Jennings, 2013 Australian Barista Championship finalist (10th place). Photo credit: Syd-low.com
Mike Wells, 2013 Detpak SA Barista Champion, finished 7th place (just missed out on a finals place) in a repeat of 2012. Photo credit: Syd-low.com
Jack Allisey, roaster at Veneziano (VIC), in the 2103 AASCA Cup Tasting finals
Andrew Dickson, roaster at Veneziano (QLD) in the 2013 AASCA Cup Tasting finals
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