Author: Marvin Leugering

The ANGOSTURA® Bar & Beverage Awards 2023, announced its winners at a gala ceremony held at The Westin Hotel in Cape Town. 200 guests from industry attended this inaugural awards ceremony from all over the country.

“South Africa is one of the world’s top destinations for gastronomy, leisure and hospitality,” says Paul Reynell, Angostura Bar & Beverage Awards Director. “And a huge contributor to our global reputation as a destination is our cocktail bars and teams. This annual campaign now recognises all industry stakeholders and the role they play in South Africa’s economy.”

One of the big awards for 2023, Best Cocktail Bar, went to Gauteng based Sin Tax.  Co-owner, Julian Short, spoke on behalf on the team. “The whole industry works just as hard as us, but to be nominated by a group of your peers, and then win, is very cool. It also means that you’re doing the right thing, so just keep going!”

Making their mark in the industry and picking up the award for Best New Cocktail Bar was Cape Town based Hacienda.  Head Bartender, Dalu Dube, found himself overwhelmed by their incredible achievement. “We feel so lucky – the support we’ve received from everyone else in the industry is just incredible. We’re like a family.”

The Best Bartender category saw two incredible innovators from the industry awarded the title: Charne van Heerden from The House of Machines and Julian Short from Sin Tax. When asked for some advice for fledgling bartenders coming into the industry, Short responded, “Do your research, learn your classics, learn the fundamentals of the industry because those are the building blocks for everything. How to make an Old Fashioned, how to work a 7, 12, 15-hour shift, how to work with money and with people, and when you become a great bartender, just keep going. Fall in love with it.”

The awards also recognised four industry pioneers, who have invested years in the industry not just locally but also globally. Their contribution to the industry has been insurmountable and between them, they have innovated, trained, mentored and developed much of the local cocktail landscape as we see it today. Recipients of the Industry Icon Awards were Brent Perremore, Kurt Schlechter, Marson Strydom and Raymond Endean.

“On behalf of the Angostura Bar & Beverage Awards, we extend our heartfelt congratulations to all the winners of 2023. These remarkable individuals, teams, and brands have demonstrated outstanding dedication, innovation, and excellence to keep South Africa a top performing player on the global stage. Their achievements serve as inspiration to us all, and we look forward to watching their continued impact, supporting them and experiencing their cocktails!” concludes Reynell.

For more information about the ANGOSTURA® Bar & Beverage Awards visit www.barandbeverageawards.co.za.

• Follow them on social media for updates: Instagram @bar_beverageawards and Facebook @barbeverageawards.

On Women’s Month ANGOSTURA® celebrates the pioneering women bartenders carving out a groove for themselves in bars throughout South Africa.

Behind every successful bar there’s a strong woman… if that’s not quite true yet of every bar in South Africa it’s getting closer, as more women are finding fulfilling careers in mixology, and challenging the (out-dated) perception that bartending is a boys-only club.

We talk to three women at different stages of their bartending careers about slinging drinks, their favourite ANGOSTURA® cocktails and upcoming cocktail trends to look out for.

Roxanne Read

With a seventeen-year career stretching from the Melville strip to the Caribbean Islands and India, Roxanne Read (aka Rox the Fox) knows a thing or two about cocktails. Now consulting on everything bar-related, her expertise is in demand for designing new cocktail menus, training bar-tenders and sharing her magic touch in South Africa and around the world.

How did you get into bartending?

I was studying at film school in Jozi and my parents told me to get a real job, be an adult.  I was trying to get a waitressing job and it wasn’t going well. I walked into a cocktail bar called Six in Melville and was sitting at the bar with a beer feeling sorry for myself, while the bartender was juggling lemons behind the bar.  I was like, I want to juggle lemons too, and he said, why don’t you become a bartender then you can juggle lemons. He proceeded to tell me how there were no girls in the industry and how no girls ever made it through the six-week training session at Six. It sounded like a huge challenge to me, so I was like cool! Seventeen years later I’m still in the industry. I worked there for four years, one of two females working there at that time. It was amazing.

What are the most popular orders you’re asked for right now?

Fancy gin and tonics are still the name of the game in SA. Overseas I’m finding a lot of champagne based cocktails and fancy champagne serves.

And the strangest cocktail you’ve been asked to make?

Whenever we move into savoury cocktails (one of my favourite things to do) it starts to get a bit weird. We’ve created shrimp cocktail in an actual cocktail, and a lot of meat flavours. So meat-washed liquor. Bacon-washed whisky isn’t that unusual, but we’re talking braised steaks, charred fillets and things like that.

Do you have a special method to remembering all your cocktail recipes?

I’ve always had a weird trick, I talk to ingredients. They have little personalities for me, so it’s about all the elements that make this cocktail who it is. This drink likes to be in a short glass and have a lot of limes, he’s quite a sour guy… and so on.

What is your favourite cocktail using ANGOSTURA® aromatic bitters?

Ango is an integral part of one of my signature cocktails that I’ve won a couple of awards with. It’s called the Secret Garden: it’s basically a beautiful spiced rum, fresh fresh beetroot juice, cherry liqueur, ANGOSTURA® aromatic bitters, wasabi paste, served with dry ice and an edible garland.

What cocktail trends are making waves now?

We’re finally moving into the rum-trend, which is super cool. More local rums are starting to come onto the market, I think SA is finally ready for rum. I’m so excited because we have the perfect climate, the perfect raw ingredients, the right space, the right flavour profiles. I think we’re going to start creating a very unique rum flavour profile here, if we can pay attention and drop money into the industry.

Cassandra Eichhoff

Cassandra Eichhoff found her niche in bartending education, where she is director of the European Bartender School in Cape Town. She stays active in the industry, not necessarily behind the bar slinging drinks, but building bartender programmes, competing in cocktail competitions and managing community platforms.

How did you get into the bartending trade?

It started in 2010 when I moved from Namibia to Stellenbosch to pursue a career in event management. I had always imagined being on the “All Access” operations team, putting together the biggest and best events and festivals, however when I interned in various departments within events, I found my special place to be in the lucrative world of drinks. I joined a mobile bar company that taught me the ins and outs of bar operations and mixology, then in 2017 joined the globally acclaimed European Bartender School and opened the branch in Cape Town. I realized my true passion lies in education and mentorship, as well as being an advocate for women by leading our ladies into becoming their best possible selves.

What are the most popular orders right now?

With the current tequila trend making major waves, you’ll easily find a Paloma or Mezcal Negroni on most cocktail menus – even the classic Margarita is still staying strong (shaken, not blended please!). But apart from that, classics like the Old Fashioned, Whisky Sours and even Pornstar Martinis are still dominating most cocktail menus.

And the strangest cocktail request?

A recurring matter that most bartenders face is when customers want bartenders to justify the amount of liquid in a cocktail once the craft ice is removed. The dynamics of a cocktail are more complex than just its flavour pairing, and the overall design entails so much more than just the liquid components.  Putting that information across to consumers is important for them to understand value for money.

Do you have a special method to remembering all your cocktail recipes?

My personal favourite is reading up about the drinks history to make a connection with the place, ingredients and occasion of the cocktail. It also helps when making small talk or selling cocktails to consumers.

What is your favourite cocktail using ANGOSTURA® aromatic bitters?

One of my favourite drinks using ANGOSTURA® in an unconventional way is how George Hunter from Copper Monkey makes his Cuba Libres: ANGOSTURA® flavoured ice cubes with a mix of a spiced rum, coca cola and a squeeze of fresh lime juice. It may seem extremely simple, but that hint of ANGOSTURA® adds that extra essence to the balance of the drink – definitely gets my groove on!

Top tip:  use a smaller ice cube tray with filtered water and 5ml of ANGOSTURA® per cube – this way you can use more ice in a drink and allow the cubes to gently dilute into the drink without overpowering the rum. 

Charne van Heerden

Head bar-tender at Cape Town’s iconic House of the Machines, Charne van Heerden has been deftly slinging drinks behind the bar since 2018. During the pandemic she added food and drinks writing to her repertoire and while bars and restaurants were closed launched a hospitality-driven car-washing service (with Cassandra Eichoff, among others) aptly named Cartenders.

How did you get into the bartending trade?

In 2017 I attended the European Bartending School, and basically got sucked into bartending ever since. I started working at Orphanage Cocktail Emporium, where I started to fall in love with the craft. It’s the high volume, high pressure service, and the opportunity to bring people together in a comfortable space where you get to enjoy the company of like-minded people. That’s what I love to do, and that’s what bartending has opened up for me.

What are the most popular orders you’re asked for right now?

The House is known for its Oldfashioned. Besides the Oldfashioned, our Espresso Martinis are another House favourite.

And the strangest cocktail you’ve been asked to make?

This was a new one to me, but apparently a usual request across the borders: a margarita, over ice, topped up with a lager.

Do you have a special method to remembering all your cocktail recipes?

Practice, practice, practice, there’s no shortcut.

What is your favourite cocktail using ANGOSTURA® aromatic bitters?

An Oldfashioned without Ango will not go down the way we like it. 4-6 dashes per serving to pop the aromatics in the cocktail is all you need.

What cocktail trends are making waves at the moment?

Low and no-alcohol cocktails have been hovering on the trend mark. I think it’s not far away. Spicy and umami cocktails have been picked up around various cocktail bars, and something I noticed in cocktail competitions. More of the experimental cocktails are also making their rounds. Bartenders have access to free education on different techniques and styles and are starting to put it to use.

ANGOSTURA® celebrates all the female bartenders slinging drinks and putting their power behind the bar this Women’s Month.

• For more information on the Angostura range and delicious food and cocktail recipes please visit www.angosturabitters.com. Follow Angostura South Africa on Facebook /Angostura South Africa and Instagram @AngosturaZA for fun facts, recipes and brand updates.

Meet dynamic young chef, Mythrayie Iyer, from India who will be representing the region of Africa, Middle East and South Asia at the Grand Finale of the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy competition 2022-23.

Since January this year, when she wowed the local jury with her signature dish, Mythrayie has been busy.

Not just cheffing back home at restaurant Farmlore in Bengaluru, India, but also travelling, researching, practising, and learning, to deepen her knowledge. Mythrayie will be cooking her dish to present to the grand jury “Seven Sages” composed of some illustrious names in international gastronomy: Pía León, Hélène Darroze, Vicky Lau, Nancy Silverton, Eneko Atxa, Riccardo Camanini and Julien Royer.

Mythrayie’s signature dish, entitled Barter, celebrates the evolution of Indian cuisine through the age of exploration, from the 15^th century onwards. “Since the regional final, I’ve travelled to Lisbon, Portugal to gain more insights for the finale and to get an understanding about the world exchange of ingredients, which is the inspiration behind my dish. Lisbon is the port origin from where Vasco da Gama’s ships sailed to India.”

She explores the concept as a culinary meditation as well as a journey through history. “It provides food for thought as to what we mean by the cuisine of a country,” she says.  The dish is presented in two parts. One half uses only indigenous ingredients and shows what Indian cuisine looked like before the establishment of the trade routes and the arrival of ingredients from overseas. The second demonstrates what Indian cuisine has become today with the introduction of spices and vegetables from other parts of the world.”

In essence her dish is a continuation of the philosophy behind Farmlore, where she is head chef, working alongside chef patron Johnson Ebenezer, who is also her mentor for the competition. The restaurant is located on a 37-acre farm. “We grow most of our produce and the menu is ever-changing with seasonal ingredients from the farm.  We are discovering and rediscovering locavore traditions, cultures, and connection to our Mother Earth. It starts with sourcing produce from the nearest sustainable vendors. We’re trying one step at a time to become completely self-sustainable, completely powered by solar panels and cooking on a wood fire that we source from the farm.”

In the lead up to the final chapter of the competition she will continue working on her dish and refining a few techniques. “It’s been a constant process since the regional final. From talking to plate artists, reading more around the concept, traveling to Portugal, and of course the kitchen trials.” All of this with the ongoing support of her mentor.

“Working together with chef Johnson over the last 4 years for the restaurant, naturally led me to admire him as a mentor. We discussed the topic a few years ago during a conversation and are happy to see it taking shape on a plate. He always keeps such a cool head, constantly reminds me to have fun, put my best foot forward, and see it as a bigger opportunity leading to many more things along the way.”

Mythrayie is one of two female chefs from the 15 finalists competing for the global title of S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy winner. Asked how it feels to be leading the way for young female chefs, she says, “Well of course it feels great to get that extra spotlight, but honestly I believe there is no gender bifurcation when it comes to the profession of chefs. The ability of a chef to excel professionally is up to their personal determination and grit, regardless of gender.”

Her advice to young female chefs starting out on their journey and considering entering next year’s competition, “Stay focused on getting better in the kitchen and remove yourself from the idea that your skills and abilities are limited by your gender.”

The team in South Africa and Sanpellegrino wish her the best of luck with preparations for the final chapter of the competition.