The winner may be the one representing Malaysia at the Heineken® Global Bartender Final in Amsterdam later this year.
29 August 2018, KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia has a new ‘star’ bartender, as the Heineken® Star Serve 2018 winner was crowned today at Blackbox, Publika. In a tightly-contested finale, eight of Malaysia’s finest bartenders went head-to-head to bag the title of the best Heineken® bartender in Malaysia, with Edilon C. Cauilan from The Beer Factory, Raja Uda emerging victorious.
Heineken® Star Serve is a programme under HEINEKEN Malaysia’s Star Academy, aimed at training bartenders to deliver the perfect serve of Heineken® every time. This year’s winner has won an all-expense-paid trip to Amsterdam, the home of Heineken®, where he will stand a chance to represent Malaysia at the Heineken® Global Bartender Final in October.
Now in its fifth year, Heineken® Star Serve 2018 saw draught masters Jonathan Chong and Thomas Ling teaching the Heineken® 5-step Pouring Ritual to more than 600 bartenders across eight cities in Malaysia. The top bartender from each city was then invited to Kuala Lumpur for the Heineken® Star Serve National Final.
The Heineken® Star Serve pouring ritual involves five steps: rinse, pour, skim, check and serve. These 5 steps are the secret to delivering the perfect serve of Heineken®. Mastery of the ritual, however, is not enough to guarantee the top spot. Personality and charisma form the Star Factor that plays an important role to stand out from the crowd.
Excited supporters at the finale cheered on their friends and colleagues as they demonstrated their skills live in a series of head-to-head contests, before the top two contenders faced off for the title and the chance to represent Malaysia at the Heineken® Global Bartender Final.“The perfect Heineken® serve is an art in itself, and HEINEKEN® Malaysia Star Academy takes great pride in ensuring that our consumers get the full Heineken® quality and experience, from brewing to consumption. Through this training programme, we can ensure that fans of Heineken® beer will receive the same high quality serve at world-class standard, no matter where they are”, said Andrew Woon, Sales Director of HEINEKEN® Malaysia.
The Heineken® Star Serve 2018 winner will join 2017 winner Daimler Kenn Cagas, in a face off during the pre-finals in Amsterdam. The winner will then represent Malaysia at the Heineken® Global Bartender 2018 finals the next day. They hope to emulate the success of Sabahan, Eddy Jay Jaimin, who was crowned the Heineken® Global Bartender of the year in 2016.
“It’s been great to be part of Heineken® Star Serve, and winning is a dream come true. I’m looking forward to the next challenge and hopefully the chance to represent Malaysia in the Heineken® Global Bartender Final!” said Edilon.
HEINEKEN Malaysia’s Star Academy aims to provide a better drinking experience to fans of HEINEKEN Malaysia’s brews all across the country. This training provides knowledge and helps bartenders hone the art of perfect serve, delivering world-class beers and ciders at a world-class standard.
The eight finalists who represented their cities are as follows:
- Chris Arandela, The Beer Factory Express, Sunway Geo, representing Kuala Lumpur region;
- Edilon C. Cauilan from The Beer Factory, Raja Uda, representing Penang region;
- Vickson Leong from Speakeasy Bar and Kitchen representing Ipoh region;
- Chan Mei Yee from Midnight, Austin, representing Johor Bahru region;
- Ong Poh Wee from The Beer Factory, Malacca, representing Malacca region;
- Christopher Dela Cruz Malgapo from The Beer Factory, Sunway Giza, representing Petaling Jaya region;
- Richard Jugie from Sarawak Club representing Kuching region;
- Jeffrey Maniego Liban from The Shamrock Irish Bar, representing Kota Kinabalu region.
For more information on Heineken®, log on to www.heineken.com/my or follow Heineken® on Instagram @HeinekenMY or Facebook/HeinekenMYS.
