Manawatu Hospitality Awards 2009
I have been a bit slow in writing this post with the results of the local Manawatu Hospitaity Awards for 2009. The awards took place last sunday – the 11th October 2009. It was a great night Emcee’d by Comedian Dai Henwood, very professional MC – and kept everyone entertained! (altho – i now see why he gets all the short jokes on the tv show “7 days” – i am 6′7″ and i felt like i was towering over him! – sorry Dai!) Anyway needless to say i was very impressed by Dai! Anyway the awards… The Finalists and Winners were as follows:(Winners of each Category is bold) Toops Restauran

NZ Barista Championship – Wellington Workshop Thoughts!
I mentioned a couple of weeks ago the workshops for the NZ Barista competition were about to start making thier way around the country! I was lucky enough to attend the Wellington one last weekend. It was great to have Carl Sara giving his advice on how to approach the competition to get the best out of it. He has a wealth of knowledge about the coffee he chooses and why he chooses it. Also between Carl and Emma Markland-Webster (and a few other experienced competitors and Judges) explaining the rules inside out and what they look for, it helps us to be better prepared when approaching the competitions! And Judging by the enthusiasm of the people that attended, Next years c

New Zealand Barista Championship Workshops
While i think of it, i’d like to let anyone whos interested in entering the 2010 NZ Barista Championship about the Roadshows which will be happening very soon! Let Carl Sara, four time NZ Barista Champion, and Emma Markland Webster, our first NZ Champion and World Barista Championship accredited judge, share their insights and tips with you. The primary goal of the workshop is to clearly communicate expectations of the competitor. Some of the questions that will be answered are: “What is a signature beverage and how do I develop one for competition?” “How do I ensure the beverage has ‘a dominant taste of espresso’?”

Blog – Time to think
Its obvious, i havent posted for a while. Not for a matter of not wanting to. I just have been wanting to get some more “meaty” topics to talk about on here. Still i havent posted any for quite some time. And during that time i have had much time to think about what to do with my site and blog. Do i keep it going? do i can it and use the domain for other ideas i have. What i have decided, is to try and keep the blog going. hopefully more regularly – as alot of the regular blogs i read and learn from have gone quiet as well. So hopefully, i can spark some topics with the help of others, that will help me learn, and maybe we can share our news in the g