when can we take the bar over to WA to see these guys and what can we also do together? That’s always the biggest positive coming out of this.” Months of preparation and effort went into Massie’s entry for this year’s competition, starting with his initial entry through to the meticulous planning for his presentations to the judges in the final. Story telling is part and parcel of competitions like these, and while demanding and time consuming, it is where Massie feels he really thrives. “The difference with this year is they pretty much tripled the workload. Last year was two drinks across two challenges, this year it was six drinks across two challenges with an option for a seventh,” he says. “And then both years had the speed round on top of that as well. So, if you consider every drink will have say two to three elements, or let’s say two elements that you’re prepping, plus glassware and presentation and stuff, so if we’re doing six drinks, then you’ve got somewhere between 12 and 18 elements that you’re trying to get ready. Leading up to it, it’s just manic because they’re not normal cocktails. They’re not something that you’ll throw on a menu, because it involves so much more
prep. One of my drinks involved getting these plastic mirrored coasters done up in an oval shape, and that came with a lollipop stick and a compressed apple on top of that. If you put these on a normal menu, the business would go under in a couple of days. “Very rarely in your career do you get to really push the boat out creatively. And that’s what these competitions are really about. They’re trying to push you creatively, they’re trying to get you to tell a story with your presentation, with your drink. Often that’s about the brand or to do with the brand or what the brand’s trying to do at that time. But they really try to push you in that direction, as opposed to [creating] a normal everyday drink on a menu where you need to “Very rarely in your career do you get to really push the boat out creatively. This is what I love about World Class, that the scope is unlimited. You’re expected to use the best techniques in the world.” - Rohan Massie
11 Tasmanian Hospitality Review June/July Edition
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