Martin Meade, Food & Beverage Manager at the stylish Dylan Hotel in Dublin 4, won the National Cocktail Competition organised by the Bartenders Association of Ireland recently as part of HospitalityExpo in Dublin’s RDS.
This year competition sponsor Edward Dillon & Company put its entire portfolio of premium brands at the disposal of all 44 competitors. The competition was open to all bartenders working in the Republic of Ireland and was divided into four categories: Pre-dinner, Long drink, After-dinner and Fancy cocktail. Bartenders had to create an original recipe using at least one product from Dillon’s drinks portfolio and submit it in advance to their chosen category online at http://www.bartender.ie/.
Martin's winning pre-dinner cocktail, 'Apple Jack', means that Martin will represent Ireland at this year's World Cocktail Competition to be held in Singapore in November. This is the biggest cocktail competition on the planet organised by the International Bartenders Association. Over 50 countries will compete.
Martin developed his passion for making cocktails while working in the 5-Star Steigenberger Europaiser Hotel in Baden Baden, Germany. He returned to Ireland in 1990 and began working at the Bon Appetit restaurant in Malahide. While there he won the Irish final of Martini Grand Prix (later to be renamed the Bacardi Martini Grand Prix). He placed second at the International Martini Grand Prix Final in Budapest, Hungary, in 1993 and was World Irish Coffee Champion in 1999. Afterwards, he was invited to the US to prepare his winning Irish Coffee in front of select clientele to celebrate St Patrick's Day.
