By Rebecca Harris
A bar team from a luxury accommodation hotel took out first prize at the inaugural left-of-centre Bar Medley competition at the Chalk Hotel in Brisbane on Monday night (Mar 28).
The brainchild of Marco Nunes, bar training manager at the Chalk Hotel, the competition involves six teams competing in a relay-style event to create a cocktail while performing unrelated tasks, such as reciting Shakespeare.
With bars including Press Club, Zuri, Barsoma, Siana and the Chalk Hotel represented, it was hotel bar Emporium that took out first prize.
“It was a very fun competition to watch,” Nunes said. “Each team came up with some really cool ideas for the play-acting in the second round. The boys from Zuri came all dressed up as Jesus, Caesar and Pellerins.
“But the Emporium team was just too strong on the night, being the only team that scored positive points on the free-pour test while reading Shakespeare.”
Nunes developed the concept because he wanted to switch the focus of competitions on to the importance of teamwork.
“A rock star team will always be better than a team of rock stars,” he said.
Monday’s heat was the first of four to be held this year to determine the ultimate winners of the Bar Medley Team 2009 title.