Michel’s Patisserie Eastgardens named Espresso Perfecto National Champion
Sofian Loekman from Michel’s Patisserie Eastgardens also took home a state-of-the-art coffee machine and $2,000.
According to a release, after beating competitors from around Australia, Sofian Loekman from Michel’s Patisserie Eastgardens has been named Retail Food Group’s Espresso Perfecto National Champion.
Apart from taking out the title, Sofian also won a state-of-the-art coffee machine and $2,000.
Michel’s Patisserie Eastgardens further proved it is the best place to get a perfect coffee by taking out the team category.
The Espresso Perfecto competition was the first time baristas from across all of Retail Food Group’s brands had competed against each other. Retail Food Group owns the Michel’s Patisserie, Donut King, Brumby’s Bakeries, Esquires Coffee Houses and bb’s cafe brands.
RFG Head of Strategy Gary Alford said he congratulated Sofian and Michel’s Patisserie Eastgardens.
He said Espresso Perfecto formally recognised the group’s best baristas and allowed them to showcase their talent and skills.
“Launching a national RFG barista competition has been a dream of mine for many years.Coffee is important to us and the competition presented a wonderful opportunity to recognise and reward the outstanding calibre of baristas that we have in our brands,” he said.
“Making quality coffee is a serious business and we know that it takes two key ingredients: quality coffee beans and well-trained baristas.
“We’re dedicated to ensuring that each and every one of our coffee-selling stores is put through intense training to ensure consistency and a quality cup of coffee.”
The steam was rising and the milk was frothing as part of the competition, with more than 200 experienced baristas participating. Boasting years of coffee experience, competitors were assessed by a team of four accredited judges on a range of criteria, including technique, presentation and, of course, a quality cup of coffee.
The competition winners were announced at a gala dinner at the Gold Coast’s Mantra Legends Hotel on 31 October.
