Welcome to Drinks at Work by Booth. Be with Sam Byre, That's me.
Bartenders who build a lasting career tend to be of two types.
You have those who love the op side of the business,
and you have those who love the creative side. Neither is better than the other,
of course, and there's usually some overlap between the two. My guest today,
someone who seems to use both sides of the business to build a big career.
My guess on this episode is Lauren Mote.
I caught her early in the morning in Amsterdam,
back from a couple of weeks travel as part of her role as the global Director of
On-Trade Excellence for Viron tequila. It's a unique role,
one that sees her overseeing every aspect of education and advocacy for
petran tequila with bartenders across the world.
She's also charged with delivering their pet patron perfectionist competition,
which began in 2016, and this year has undergone something of a revamp.
She tells us about that,
her advice for entering the competition and how she got into this gig of a
lifetime in today's episode. So my conversation with Lauren Mote in a minute.
But first,
this episode is a little different as it is sponsored by Pet Patron Tequila.
That's because, and here's the word from our sponsor.
The Pet Patron Perfectionist Global Cocktail Competition is back bringing a new
bartender education and engagement program to the heart of this year's edition.
The entry challenge called Hometown Hero.
Ask entrance to develop a cocktail that blends pet patron's silver tequila with
the bartender's local culture using ingredients from a prescribed list,
the pantry, the initial entry submissions will be judged on appeal, appearance,
inspiration, and originality.
Australian bartenders have the opportunity to enter Pet Patron perfectionist
until 1159 Australian Eastern Daylight time on October 7th, 2022.
Head to the entry portal@ww.academy,
pet patron.com/pet patron perfectionists for all the information you need,
and submit your entry today. Okay, now my conversation with Lauren Mo.
Lauren Moe, thanks for joining me on Drinks at Work from Booth Bee.
Excellent to be here. Thanks for having me, Sam.
Uh, it's lovely to talk to you today.
With today we're gonna talk to you a bit about, uh, your career,
but also petro perfectionist, uh, cause that comp has, uh, entries open now.
Uh, but firstly,
can we sort of set the table just sort of what does your role involve?
What do you do day to day? You, the, uh, global director of on-Trade excellence,
What does that mean?
That means anywhere where bartenders exist,
where bars and restaurants exist. I exist as long as there's patron tequila.
And if there isn't yet, we'll work on a way on getting it there. Um, but yes,
uh, my, my role is centered around education, mentorship,
and development for, uh, global on trades. So as mentioned,
that would be bartenders, bars, restaurants, support staff, anybody who is, uh,
passionate about or wants to pick up that bottle of petro tequila and do
something special with it for their careers and for their bars.
Right. And so what does that mean on like a sort of day to day level?
What kind of, what do you find yourself doing, you know,
when you wake up in the morning, I mean,
you just got back on from a flight from Mexico. You told me. I.
Was just gonna say . Yeah,
I was just gonna say that each day is a little bit, bit different.
I was just in Mexico at our brand home at has pla patron,
uh, in, uh,
probably for the last two weeks just doing quite a lot of work related to the
patron perfectionist program for the global final. So, hint, hint, wink, wink,
you know, info coming soon, . But, um, uh,
I suppose the day in the life is, uh, it, it is a lot of program development.
It is constantly working through and evolving our education program, uh,
working with our brand ambassadors of which, you know, in Australia we have, uh,
quite a few brand ambassadors include, including, uh, Joey Chisholm as well.
So the one.
Which.
Is working Yeah, the one and only. So working, working, uh,
quite a lot with all of our touchpoint with bartenders as well around the world,
making their lives, uh,
more enriched and better and making sure they have all of the necessary
resources to inspire and engage.
Cool. And so how long have you been in the industry for? Uh,
I think you started bartending a while back. Probably around the same time.
I do actually.
Yeah. This is like, I normally wouldn't reveal information like this until.
The second. I'm sorry. It's probably rude to ask, right? No, not at all.
No, I, uh, I've been in the industry since 1996. Uh,
but I've been bartending since 2000,
so 22 years as a bartender and 26 in the industry,
which is, which is crazy .
Yeah. Yeah. That's, there's quite a lot. In hospital years.
How did you get to be in the role that you were,
How long you've been in the role now and and how did you get there?
So, the role that I'm in right now, I've been in since April. And, uh,
I've been working on the brand side more so in trade advocacy and, uh,
development for global on-trade and bartenders since 2015.
And prior to that I was working in bars full time. Uh,
so when I had originally started in a singing burger shop in, uh,
1996, uh,
that sort of was my love of hospitality coming to life. And of course,
like every country there's the legal purchasing age to deal with.
So as soon as I could start, um,
mixing with spirits and different ingredients in 2000, there was no stopping me.
I was really excited to just, uh, blend flavors together.
I loved the stage of being behind the bar, right.
Of seeing the guest instant reaction as well,
when they would sip a drink rather than when you're, when you're a chef.
Cause I really wanted to be a chef in the beginning.
You'd have to be waiting for someone to come back to the kitchen and tell you
what the guest thought. You wouldn't get that instant reaction,
which I think is what bartenders really love as well. Mm. And so over the,
over the years, I had worked in small dive bars,
neighborhood mom and pop shops, uh,
and then worked into fine dining restaurants, fine dining bars,
really intense, well, uh, uh,
well curated bartender programs, which at the time when it was centered around,
uh, wine, beer,
and really nothing else in Canada was interesting to have philosophies attached
to cocktail lists and spirit programs. Mm. And then, uh, quite a lot of my,
uh, the later part of my, my bartending career,
probably from 2007 to 2015 was spent, uh,
just working on, uh,
multiple units or multiple outlets.
And that would include like the Four Seasons or managing multiple bars from
different owners at the same time. Okay. Um, and then,
and then working into, uh,
into more like globally focused programming that would highlight different
regions and people of those regions,
which felt like a nice fit to just move into more of like the brand side role
where I could do that,
but more be on the side of empowering those bartenders and teams that were
telling those stories rather than, uh, standing behind the bar anymore.
Right. Okay. That's quite the journey there.
We're talking to you today because of Pet Patron perfectionist, and that's,
we've got the entries open at the moment.
You've changed things a little bit this year. My understanding is,
can you tell us what's different this year about Pet Patron perfectionist?
Definitely, and you will hear sirens in the background. They're not for me,
but just in case there's an interruption in that, uh, sound.
That's all right. A real . Yeah, it makes it real. It's like,
if I bust through the door, I should be worried, Right?
? Yeah. I'd be like, Guys can, Hold on a second.
I'm just finishing a podcast. Um, yeah. So traditionally, uh,
Patron perfectionist has been a cocktail contest with, uh,
with a single round that empowered bartenders to choose any expression of the
patron range of tequilas from the silver Rapto and in ye and
create something that inspired their version of perfection.
And it was a,
a great contest that was started by a few colleagues of mine in Patron that are
still with the company. And that was since 2016. And the,
the vision to sort of bring that, that contest to life, uh,
was also a way to, uh,
reward bartenders with a trip to our brand home, to the Huci El Petron,
which is, uh, so incredibly beautiful. And as Joey and Harrison,
our current winner can attest to, it is a, a place unlike any other.
And so that was the, the thinking in the very beginning.
And I think just like any, like any program, uh,
patrol and perfectionist was evolving year after year to include different
things. And then of course, we had the pandemic to deal with, uh,
for that two year period.
And so what was interesting coming out of the pandemic, uh,
when I came on board, it was more of a,
a blank slate of Lauren. We have, we know you have a lot of, uh, you know,
background in, in contest development and bartender engagement around the world.
If we were gonna change patron perfection and evolve it into where we are now
post pandemic, what do we think this looks like? And of course, the,
the big thing missing was education.
But no two brands can be treated the same way. And I think Patron has, uh,
an authenticity and a heart and soul to it that is connected to our,
our place people and process that needs to be woven into the way that we do a
contest. Should we continue to do something of a competition format?
So the contest itself, well, I I can reveal bits of it.
The education program is really,
really at the heart of what we do now because it's,
it really is about the development both personally and professionally for
bartenders to really try to start to understand what their version of
perfection could be. And that is in the eye of the beholder. It's every,
everyone has a different version of that.
But what what's great for bartenders is we now have this brilliant
education program called Academy Patron Perfectionists,
which is connected to our contest.
And the trends and topics that we focus on are, are,
you know, equipped to, to deal with any bartender journey, uh,
with any focus on any type of menu, any type of venue.
And so each bartender can pick and choose how they want to,
to utilize the information they're they're receiving.
It just happens to be topics that it makes sense for Patron to have the license
to talk about,
because they are rooted in the way we bloom and develop Mexican culture and
flavors.
So it's not just talking about, uh, you know, agave and,
and agave spirits and how tequila's man and how pet patron's made.
It's going a bit deeper than that.
Yes. And a.
Bit broader than that, I should say.
Probably. Yeah, exactly. So the topics, uh, Listo, for example,
is the name of one of our three modules, which focuses on the ritual serve,
how we can transform, uh, a simplistic way of handing a guest a,
a really d Delicious Paloma as an example. And how we amplify it to, you know,
to the next level with, uh, a really, uh,
interesting side serve garnish, uh, ritual, large format,
something where the guest in a little bit of theater is,
is in mind to create that 10 to 15 minute experience rather than
just sipping the drink until it's finished and deciding what you're having next.
So you really are immersed in the experience. Um.
And that's something that people take away and talk about the next day. And.
Yeah, definitely. And it, it really helps to empower, uh, some of our,
you know, bar operators as well,
that are looking for ways to create new types of, serves, new formats of,
serves new rituals for their guests as well. Australia, as you know, has, uh,
an incredibly advanced and really interesting and,
and super cool beverage culture, food and beverage culture already.
So being able to,
to add a little something else where they can elevate the experiences is really
great. But you touched on something earlier. You know, we have three modules.
Lisa was one of them. I'll, I'll share what the other two are in just a moment.
But agave training is still part of each of the sessions.
We just weave it in in a different way. It doesn't feel like it just exists.
Like we end one section on large format serves and in really cool, you know,
grapefruit garnishes, and now it's, let's now talk about, you know,
a GABA process. it is woven in, in the right way to,
to really bring our people process in place to life as it relates to
that specific module topic. Okay. Um, and did you, and the other two topics,
I'll just, I'll just show quickly. Um,
discovering deliciousness is all about how we take the, you know,
indigenous ingredients to Mexico and bring them to life, uh,
in a way that, uh, really does them justice from the,
the research standpoint and from, uh,
I guess from the ideas that are set forth by those that are from Mexico.
So we have, uh, two contributors on, on that particular module,
Chef Anna and also, uh, Roberto and both of them, uh,
do great work with, uh, with Patron with us. But it's great to have,
from their perspective what these ingredients are, like Chile, corn, black sapo,
any of these interesting ingredients, how they're traditionally used in Mexico,
and food and drink,
and how we would continue to use them in a food and drink format now.
And so this was meant as an inspirational guide for bartenders to
start developing their own ingredient encyclopedia where they live so they could
search a showcase and amplify flavors in the same way,
which in Australia would be an incredible way to do that.
So we have this big ingredient encyclopedia that we are building currently that
will come out sometime next year,
just focusing on Mexican ingredients with the, um,
the input from global bartenders on how they work with individual ingredients.
That's pretty cool. And what, so what was the third one? And the.
Third one? I'm like, , I'm.
Like, But wait, there's more for someone who has, I know, but.
Wait, there's more For someone who has had no sleep in the last two days,
I am just going for it. You can see my, my little mug gear, my, you know,
national Tequila Day headquarters mug. So.
It's filled with You're killing it. You're doing good. Yeah. .
Okay. The third one is called Mastering the Elements. Um,
I think as, as all bartenders listening in, we'll know that, uh,
sometimes we look longingly through the windows, you know,
rubbing the fog off the windows, staring into bars that have a road of app.
They have a centrifuge, They got all the bells and whistles. They're like,
How did they spend, How are they able to spend, you know,
10 grand on all this cool equipment? Um, and I'm sat here with my plastic bags.
Uh, so mastering the elements is,
is about understanding how we bloom and extract flavors,
how we do that traditionally,
using those really expensive pieces of equipment,
but then how we find the discount version of that to still create that same
level of flavor. And so I think we have about 15 different recommendations,
and then building a bar lab for under a hundred bucks ,
which is pretty cool. So it's a, it is an awesome, uh,
it's an awesome module,
and bartenders are really getting a lot out of it because I think it's
appreciating the fact that you might have somebody with these amazing
pieces of equipment or a central location in, you know,
one of the big cities where a bar is offering that for bartenders to come in
and, and train or check it out or use the equipment. But you can still,
you know, get some of the same effects by, by this under a hundred dollars bar,
bar.
Lab. Yeah. Well, it's all about the result at the end of the day. Right.
It's about how things taste and, and making it doesn't necessarily matter.
It's all about, Yeah. Yeah. The,
the equipment you user get there is not the big main point. Um, so, so with,
with the competition part of it, how is that different do you think,
to some other comps going around? I mean, I know you're,
you're focusing on a hometown hero ingredient here in Australia. I'm not sure.
Is that global as well?
It's global. We wanted to make sure that every person, uh, joining the,
the program globally would be joining with the same rules, the same,
uh, level of, Yeah. Uh, I guess scoring criteria,
the same access to ingredients, more or less. So we have a sure,
what we're calling the patron pantry, which is, uh, a list of ingredients that,
a hundreds of ingredients that can be found in all markets around the world. Uh,
just to ensure that as bartenders are starting to build just this,
this first entry round,
that they would have a lot of ingredients to pull from that wouldn't, uh,
take away from their creativity, but it would allow them, uh, you know,
enough variety that they could make something different. Uh,
everyone will have the same starting point with Patron Silver.
It is the expression that we, we carry around the world. Uh,
so it's much easier for, for bartenders to gain access to.
And with Hometown Hero, we,
we want the bartenders to develop a serve and also a story that is
connected to the neighborhood or the city, or the town that they live now. Yeah.
And I, you know,
this is an opportunity for them to use one homemade ingredient as well that is
not featured as a pantry item.
So it gives them like this unique opportunity to bring something to life that is
an expression unique to where they live. And there's no,
there's no other parameters around that. Um, there, I mean,
limited to a number of ingredients, of course, but there is no,
you have to make something like a margarita. You have to do this,
you have to do that. We, we wanted to keep it quite open, but also, uh,
quite, uh,
contained to make sure that every bartender had the same start and the same
advantage.
Yeah.
What do you think's a big thing that bartenders can pull from this experience,
from entering the comp and hopefully getting through to the next round and,
and all that sort of thing? What's, what's the big takeaway from them? What's,
why's the benefit?
Well, Patron, Patron is different than a lot of other brands.
We really focus on the Grand Familia, and if you've ever heard that,
that term being thrown around definitely by Bacardi, who's, uh, yeah. Uh,
who our parent company is now. But it was, it was true even prior to, uh,
to joining Bacardi in 2018,
there is a major focus on celebrating and taking care of bartenders.
And so I think while Patron is, is, uh, you know, is a big brand,
we, we like to have the opportunity, of course,
to showcase with bartenders that we are still small batch and craft at the
heart. It's important that we're sharing that with bartenders,
that we're bringing bartenders to the Aieta to see what our processes and how we
do things. Um, but I,
I think it's really important that bartenders know that when they join,
the moment they fill out a bartender profile, they're part of our family.
And more info on, on what that means, coming soon, even as an applicant.
But traditionally in the past, competitions have taken care of,
of only those who have won, which is the opposite, in my opinion,
of what a contest should do. Right?
A contest should celebrate every person that took the time to fill out a
bartender profile, to submit a recipe to even print out,
or even just save a PDF of what the criteria for the competition is,
and really think about it and put their efforts in those,
those bartenders should be celebrated. So I am a big fan of, uh,
of awarding great work. Of course, our whole team is,
And so there will be winners, of course,
but there will also be major participation ribbons,
which is always my favorite thing, participation group .
So we want bartenders to join our family and just be part of our world,
and we will stop at nothing until we can get there. .
Well, that sounds promising. So more information on that coming soon. Is it?
Definitely. We have, um, I.
Mean, feel free to break some news here if you like, you know, Yeah.
I mean, it, it exists right now already. You know, the, even the way that, uh,
our brain aos take care of bartenders in market that will just continue
to evolve and continue to amplify what we want is, you know,
bartenders to be able to think of us when they've got a really great idea of
something they, they wanna do as a, perhaps as a bar, a brand manager, or sorry,
a bar manager or an operator.
They've got a great idea of something they wanna put in place.
We would like to be, you know,
their first call so we can work through with them on how we can help bring it to
life for their guests and for their teams.
We're all about celebrating team experiences, you know,
just how can we be part of your world? So I think we'll come out and, and say,
these are the things that we can offer, which, uh,
the local brand ambassadors are doing already. So for anyone listening,
call Joey immediately so he can help you with, with those things. But just as a,
as a a way of moving forward when we,
we start to launch some of the other initiatives that we will have, uh,
connected to Patron and Perfectionists in, in, uh, 2023,
it would just be great for bartenders to just keep us in mind so we can work
together on lots of different things.
Happy days. Uh, in terms of the global finals, you know,
very few people get to these things each year. What can you say about the,
the experience this year? I mean,
Harrison Kenny was the winner from canteen Okay. Is the global winner.
What can you tell us about the experience that you get when you're there at the
Sie ender, uh, and what, you know, maybe a little bit about what,
what Harrison had, uh, to do there as well.
So Harrison is part of, he, he's incredible.
And also part of the last batch of bartenders that went through, uh, the,
the different style of patron perfectionist program. Yeah.
And it's not to say that it's easier or harder, anything is just different.
We're adding, you know,
a few more activities this year for bartenders to get involved with at a
national final level,
which you'll see in Australia as it comes to to life in October, November,
and then also at the Global Finals. Um,
I think what has been interesting with,
with Harrison is that he's, he's got such an amazing personality,
a way of looking at flavors and hospitality and service,
which I think echoes through the bars that he works in. And the,
the people that he works with echoes through the way he brings flavors to life
and his drink. He's getting a chance to,
to deliver that to an amazing in person audience,
to folks that are working, you know, day in and day out. Just working on Patron,
for example, David Rodriguez, who is our master distiller,
is just really amazing to see how like Harrison,
along with all of the other finalists from the other, uh,
15 countries have their own style, their way of delivering their stories,
the way of creating cocktails, their own vision of how Patron comes to life.
And they are just the through line of that of,
of just celebrating that to, to this audience was really, really cool to see.
And I think there were a lot of really brilliant aha moments from our guests in
the crowd as well. And, you know,
from brand ambassadors around the world from the other bartenders.
So for Harrison, for example,
being able to deliver his really authentic and unique style and the flavors of
his drink inspired everybody else in the room,
just in the same way as all of the other, uh,
folks from the different countries did the same for him. Mm-hmm. .
Um, so it's just, and their little family has sort of bloomed from that.
So they will always be the class of 2022 and they're still connected. Now.
The WhatsApp, I had to mute it cuz it's just as like too much. They're ,
they're on there 24 7 talking about different things they're into.
So it's great to see everyone remains connected and um, uh,
you know, when you're, when you're at Patron and you're right, it is, uh,
you know, it's a once in a lifetime experience for a bartender,
but we're trying to make it, um, so it's, uh,
accessible for bartenders, uh, to get to. So yes, you know,
winning term perfectionist in your country is one way to get there. But, uh,
you know, call Joey cuz there's other ways that, that you can get there.
And I think, uh, what's.
It's gonna get a tell your phone calls, right? Listen.
That's what he wants. I mean, you know, I, I mean he's not,
because it isn't necessarily live. He's not texting me right now to say,
Why are you doing this? But, uh,
I'm very excited for all the calls and emails that he's gonna get. Absolutely.
I, Yeah, but the,
but I think the activities and the itinerary looks different depending on what
type of trip you're on. Sure. And the one for perfectionist is,
is pretty amazing. I mean, you, you do have this, you know,
supernatural experience when you start, you know,
in the agave fields with ours. And, you know,
you head back to NDA and you're going through the process. You see, you know,
how, uh, you know, even how we select and cut the agaves,
how we load them into clay ovens, you know, how long we cook them for 79 hours.
And then, you know, watching the TOS in action with our, uh,
distillery extension now said De Castilla,
because we are all about replication, not automation.
We keep the same small batch craft feel throughout our distillery and our
footprint is huge. So it's a lot of tonas. We have a lot of roller mills,
we have a lot of ovens, we have a lot of small copper pot stills.
We have a lot of fun wood fermentors. So it's, um,
it's just really amazing for bartenders to see, because I think it's,
the one thing they don't expect coming in is just to see how,
how craft and small batch everything is. So once they learn that,
then they deliver their presentation after that, it's,
it's just they're going a million miles an hour just trying to figure out how
they fold in all of this information and knowledge. Yeah.
And that's part of what's inspired, you know,
this next layer of patron and perfection is to make sure that we have
additional activities to make sure that we're giving bartenders enough
opportunities to sort of think on their feet in the moment or be inspired by
what they've seen in the Agat fields and do something exciting with that in the
moment. So it's,
it is about infusing and bringing their local culture to life from where they're
coming from and infusing it into Mexico,
but it's equally about what are the most inspiring and interesting things you're
learning about the tequila making process, about Patron,
about the people place and process.
And how are you sort of developing that in the moment into a,
a new interesting ritual serve.
In terms of preparing for this comp,
the bartenders who are preparing for the comp, um,
especially with this first challenge with the hometown hero ingredient sort of
thing. What's the kind of thing that you guys,
you think will be making a great entry there?
What's the hallmarks of a great drink for this sort of thing?
So we have, uh, our education is still going strong right now. Um, you know,
Harrison and Joey we're both traveling across Australia for the last, you know,
three weeks delivering all the education modules.
And also Harrison was delivering a bit of his winner's journey about, you know,
what he felt going through the challenge from the very beginning and then going
through, uh, the pandemic with consumer voting and different things,
and then coming to the final, his experience. Yeah.
And I'm sure he's shared a bit about where he's going now.
He's coming to Europe for almost the entire month of November after the,
uh, November finals for, uh, for Australia.
And he'll be in six different countries either judging the finals
or training bartenders or doing a combination of both, which is really,
really cool. Uh, that's in the Middle East and also also in Europe.
And so we do have some great, you know, prizes for bartenders as well.
And that's, that's from, from Global. Um, but I would say that with, you know,
just over a week to go in the program,
if you haven't attended one of the educational modules, not to worry, we have,
uh, some pre-recorded sessions that we are launching, uh,
this Friday on September 30th. And you can find those on our YouTube page, uh,
at, um, Academy Patron or on our Facebook page, Academy of Patron.
And if you can't find them, call Joey . Call.
Joey . Just call Joey.
Yeah, exactly. Call Joey. But they're, they,
they'll be globally available for everyone. So all three modules. Cool.
And then the, the second thing is that we have a town hall.
The town hall will be on Monday, October 3rd, uh, time to be determined.
But again, just visit our Instagram, uh, or Facebook page on Academy of Patron,
and you'll have all the details there. Or call Joey , but the town hall.
Yeah, Yeah.
But the town hall is each bartender's opportunity to join a live session,
uh, to ask questions to, uh, to the time zone.
Doesn't work for Harrison, unfortunately, but, uh, to Julia Kuk,
who is our 2020 global winner, uh,
as the head bartender at the Artesian in London. Awesome. As well as, uh,
myself and, uh, to, let's see, uh, two other winners,
uh,
Stephen Gonzalez from the US who won the National Final cause it's always great
to get some info from, uh,
someone that attends the global finals but doesn't win the global,
but still has such an incredible experience and is still doing work with us.
Yeah. And as well, um, some of our agency partners that are developing, uh,
the competition. So it's great to, to join for a session like that. Cool.
That will be recorded and shared across for all bartenders to find out,
but I'd say in these last, uh, these last few days,
do not leave everything until the last minute.
if you have questions related to the challenge brief. Now,
if you head to academy of patron.com/patron perfectionist,
start your bartender profile, you'll see there,
you can download the entire challenge, brief and scoring criteria,
all the rules and regulations for, uh, Australia,
if you're interested to know what else there is. Um, and as well, you know,
the Patron Pantry is there. We,
we just want bartenders to be able to give themselves enough time to really go
through and maximize their entry. And a couple of tips.
I I would say, just going in towards the end,
keep in mind that this is paper entry.
So the judges will not be making your drink, but they will be judging blind.
So there will be no reference to the bartender's name, uh,
to the bar that they work at or any other, you know, distinct information.
Uh,
so this is judged purely on the fact that this cocktail is George
judged against scoring criteria, which would involve like the, uh,
the appearance. It would involve the story, the innovation of it,
the creativity. There are no points awarded for taste, obviously. But as we,
as we get past that phase,
most markets will have an opportunity to put in the hometown hero live as
one of their challenges. Hint, hint.
So you might have an opportunity to actually make this drink.
So I would say for, for bartenders,
make this a really great expression of you that reads well on paper,
that's not so overly complex.
That is difficult for the judges to understand how you got to that answer,
that you read the brief and fully understand the rules,
because you don't wanna get disqualified, you know,
for not reading the brief properly. Um.
You gotta read the brief. We've, it's the first thing, read.
The brief, oh my God,
always as I read the brief and then read it like five times and then have
someone else read it and then tell you what they think it means, . Um,
but on, you know what, But all that aside asking, Joey,
if you have any questions, uh, jumping into, uh, any of our academy Epi,
patron social channels and asking questions when you, uh,
sign up with your bartender profile on the website,
there is also an email there, uh, that you can ask questions.
So don't leave everything until the last minute.
Just get in now and start thinking about it and consider how you would,
how you would bring this serve to life if given the opportunity to present it
live in front of judges or being able to put on your menu or do anything with it
for the future. So it's more, it takes more thought than just a haphazard,
I'm just gonna submit this,
this fits the brief versus this really is an expression of me that could,
we can build over time.
Gotcha. That sounds fantastic. Okay, Well thank you so much for your time,
Lauren. Um, I hope everything goes well. Uh,
we gonna see you out in Australia anytime soon.
Yes, I will be there probably in February at some point.
I won't be there unfortunately, uh, before the end of the year, but, um, I,
I will be there in February because, uh, I,
I've also got a book coming out and that's launching in Australia in the spring,
and so be, will be there for that. Um,
and it's called The Bartenders Guide to the World, uh,
Stories and Recipes about 75 places over the last, uh, 20 years.
Just pretty f but I, but I'm also just missing my, my Ozzie family, you know,
I'm from Vancouver and so that's like little Australia.
That's it. Right? Yeah.
I'm, uh, yeah, I'm, so, I'm seriously, seriously missing the,
the land and the people and, you know, I look forward to having a,
having a drink with all the amazing bartenders, uh, tuning in at, at their bars.
And Sam, of course, uh, maybe getting to see you and have a chat in person. But,
uh, yeah,
I really appreciate you having me on the show today and I'm excited to see,
always excited to see the entries coming in from Australia,
some of the most creative and innovative bartenders on this planet.
And don't forget it. So please, please,
please submit cuz we'd love to see your interpretation.
Fantastic. We'll get you back on the show when the book comes out as well. Okay.
Thanks very much for joining me again.
. Thanks so much, Sam. Have a great day.
Thanks to Lauren again for the chat, and thank you to you for listening.
If you're enjoying these podcasts,
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this has been Drinks At Work from Booth Beer.