Prashant Rawalia of Hotel Trident Gurgaon has been declared the winner of the Indian iteration of the MONIN Cup 2016. The fourth edition of the biennial bartending challenge saw top bartenders across India vying for selection to represent India in the international version of the challenge.
Prashant Rawalia will showcase his talent in the international MONIN Cup scheduled to begin on December 5 in Paris, France. He will compete with 80 other national champions, drawn after a thorough search for young talent in their respective countries.
In a nail-biting finale of the Indian iteration of the MONIN Cup, 12 finalists from four cities (three each from Delhi-NCR, Bangalore, Mumbai and Pune) competed neck to neck at Hard Rock Cafe in Gurgaon on October 7 to emerge as the winner. The finalists were challenged on their full range of skills as hospitality professionals. All the cocktails prepared by them were put through both technical and sensory evaluations. The event was judged by a panel of elite experts from the industry, including Master Mixologist Andrea Fidora, Yandup Lama, Sourish Bhattacharya, Shalini Kumar and Pawan Soni.
Prashant Rawalia led throughout the competition with his outstanding showmanship and innovative cocktail creation, technique and performance under pressure. At the finale, a master class on professional and home bartending was conducted by the master of cocktails, Andrea Fidora. He enlightened the guests about some quick tips for preparing awesome drinks at home using MONIN products. World-class flare champions Pankaj and Sachin also rocked the highly charged crowd with their wizardry and supreme flair to bring the house down!
Ravi Kathuria – Director Business Development, MONIN, SAARC countries, said, “MONIN Cup 2016 is one of the top international competitions in India and provides a prestigious platform to the young upcoming bartending talent in our country to showcase their prowess at the global scale.”
The MONIN Cup is part of the MONIN strategy to train, encourage and groom young talent in India and the 144 countries it operates in.