The stars come back to fight out the UKBC - Boughton's Coffee House

How widely can the UKBCspread a coffee message?A major aspect of the UKBC,but one which is often over -looked, is that the contest isnot just about one winner. It issupposed to promote coffee,for the benefit of the industry ingeneral. It should help bringthe subject to the attention ofthe public, the wider coffeetrade, and the general cateringtrades.But does it? And can it? Is thisthe year that some person orbrand launches a promotional initiativethat seizes the opportunityto put baristas and speciality cof -fee into the spotlight beyond therelatively narrow confines of ourown trade?"I have mixed emotions aboutthis – the UKBC still hasn'tachieved what we wanted to,"says Steve Penk of La Spaziale,one of the original team who reinventedthe contest after wecame last in the world one year…as a result of which, the UK hadtwo world champions in the nextthree seasons!"It is still elitist, in that we have25 top baristas, two or three ofwhom have travelled the world onthe back of it. When we startedthis work, one concept was for itto bring the average barista up toa certain level… but that hasn'thappened. And we have not suc -ceeded in interesting the widercatering trades at all!"Coffee has still not made it on tothe TV screen, except as anoccasional novelty."Baristas are not that excitingas TV personalities!" suggestsPenk. "The big difference is this –you can watch the TV chefs, andthen go out and buy the ingredientsand make it at home. Bycomparison, most baristas talkingabout coffee go over the heads ofa general audience, and the generalconsumer can't make it forthemselves at home.”Yet it is still quite possible totake coffee to a wider audience."Just look at what the GreatBritish Bake-Off has done - it hastaken that subject back to basics,and it has inspired people, fromgrandmothers to young girls, whohave got back down to baking."One major attempt to lookbeyond the 'elite' is the 'best newcomer'idea, in which Union“The UKBC shouldmake caterers questionwhy they do things theway they do”- sponsor Allan PirretHand-Roasted recognises the topperformance by a barista in theirfirst competition with a big prize –a trip to origin."The majority of baristas are notaware of the UKBC, and a greatmany others think there's no pointin going in for it as they have nochance of winning," observesUnion's Alan Miller. "But you'vegot to start somewhere – weaccept this is a slow burn."There was a lot of talk aboutour prize last year, so I wouldhope that people working at highstreetlevel would now know of it,and I do hope that first-timeentrants will be more encouragedbecause of it."This is probably the only coffeetrade competition that everybodycan get involved in, so unless ouroutreach grows and we widen theinterest, what's the point?"Cravendale, milk sponsor forseveral years, also wants towiden the appeal."We think the way to get morebaristas interested and engagedis to create much greater awarenessthrough relevant onlinemedia. We're going digital to helpencourage new people into thebarista world by creating a train -ing manual, and an app thatbrings the manual to life."At Novus Teas, sponsor AllanPirret says he is 'uncompromisinglyrealistic' about what theUKBC should achieve."The focus on champions isgood for foodservice in general,as it shines a spotlight on theimportance of skill, of quality ofingredients, and offers a hint ofscience as to why we do thesethings. This should make caterersquestion why they do things theway they do – too many whoserve coffee do it very badly,when a bit of this focus may be allthey need to do it well."As ‘outreach’, Steve Kelsey ofCafé Trade, hosting the Chesterheat as part of the local food fes -tival, may hold an amateurbarista contest to inspire somepublic interest."We want to capitalise on the30,000 visitors that come to theChester festival every year. Thewider festival includes celebritychefs and cooking classes forchildren, etc., so now we'll bethere, telling the story of coffee."Whether or not we target theoutside world, what does theUKBC do for its sponsors? Theypay money to have their namesup – how well do they exploit thepotential?Very few sponsors use theevent outside the coffee trade,but concentrate on using it tobuild contacts within the industry."It is difficult to measure thebenefits in terms of sales," saysCravendale. "However, we get tosee our product in action, by peoplewho work with it day in andday out. To listen to these peopleis priceless feedback for us."Monin is looking for some ofthat feedback this year, and typicallyis at the Chester heat todemonstrate new ideas withflavours. Yes, there is an elite setof top baristas, says Monin'sDarril Ling – but what Monin cando is take the ideas of the eliteand re-interpret them in morepractical, cost-effective ways foruse by frontline baristas all acrossthe catering trade.Union Hand-Roasted takes thesame attitude. "As much as wethink we support our trade cus -tomers closely, to be out andabout among them is vital.“Last year we took a brewbaralong to each regional event, andthis got a great response – therewas genuine appreciation ofsomething else to do other than'just watch a competition', andgreat conversations were started.So we contributed another interestingaspect to the event, whichled to a lot of contacts beingmade, and we'll do that again thisyear.”This year's regional heats are at Exeter (6/7 February), Newcastle (15/16 February), Bury St Edmunds(5/6 March), and Chester (30th March-1st April). The finals of the UKBC and the various other contestswill be at the London Coffee Festival, 25-28 April.6