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IBA Meeting in HelsinkiIBA Meeting in Helsinki 27 October, 2005 - By Simon Warburton
After last year’s battle in the Nevada desert, the great and the good
of the bartending world gathered again in Helsinki to find the winners
of the 31st World Cocktail Competition.
And this year was the last time that International Bartenders
Association (IBA) president, Umberto Casselli, presided over the
organisation that has grown so much under his tenure at the helm.
Replacing Casselli is current IBA vice president, Far East, Derrick
Lee, who has a series of ambitions for the organisation to build on the
Italian’s significant contribution, especially the establishment of a
full-time Secretariat.
"I would not say that we need major changes but all the work is done on
a voluntary basis, so we feel that we need full-time body responsible
for organising the yearly meeting and cocktail competition.
"The IBA is traditional but not old-fashioned and the reason that we
retain tradition is because cocktails are very important to us. We are
serious about making good drinks to promote associate producers."
The old-fashioned tag is a familiar one lobbed at the IBA, but as Lee
points out, if that were the case then the body would never have
included the Flair component in its competition. "It took quite a long
time to accept Flair but now it’s here to stay," he said, adding: "The
core however, is the drink and we have to insist that it is properly
created."
Lee’s term of office is three years starting in 2006 and one of his
cherished aims is to set up the Bartenders Academy. Part of the
initiative is based on his view that such an Academy could secure
accreditation for bartenders in the wider hospitality world.
"Some bartenders would perhaps like to go from working in a bar to
becoming a hotel manager," he said. "Perhaps a certain portion of that
[management training] could be exempted - it would help young people."
The transient nature of many bartenders is an issue that Lee would like
the Academy to address and hopefully change. "For younger people, bar
work is often a passing phase that only lasts for a couple of years."
Lee’s presidency will also see new countries such as Ukraine, Cyprus
and Armenia move from observer status to full membership, bringing the
IBA family to 51 countries.
The proliferation of worldwide cocktail competitions, particularly by
brands, is something that Lee welcomed as it acted as a driver for the
IBA to "pull up its socks," although he remained upbeat that his
organisation was still the global powerhouse for cocktail benchmarking.
"We have been established for 54 years," he said. "The tradition speaks for itself."
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