By Darren Atwater

The NY Times covers London’s pop-up restaurant scene. “Some [diners] have no idea where they’re going, what they’re going to eat or who they’re going to sit next to. You have to step up and give them something really special. It’s not just a transaction. It’s emotional.”

By Darren Atwater

Last week we had the distinct pleasure of being schooled in the art of beer pouring by the fine folks at Stella Artois. Something called the World Draught Masters competition is happening in a few days, so they took us to the Cookoo Club in Mayfair in order to prove that when you drink an expertly poured pint of Stella, you can tell the difference.

Apparently pouring the perfect pint of Stella happens in nine steps, which at the time seemed crazy. For us, drinking usually involves about one step — swallowing. So needless to say, we went into this outing a bit skeptical. Lo and behold, once our Master Beer Somelier Marc Stroonbandt got to teaching and pouring, our opinions changed. He mentioned Tai Chi Beer Pouring, which sounded weird and non-Belgian, but once we got past the idea that pouring beer is not simply a means to getting beer into a glass (which is basically a means to getting beer into a stomach) our eyes were opened, and the Masterclass got a lot more interesting.

We derived a pretty unfathomable amount of satisfaction from learning to pour such a good looking pint. It even made the beer taste better. Seriously! Nine steps seems like a lot, but trust us, the process is worth it. At the UK Draught Masters on the 13th of October, 20 of the UK’s best bar staff will compete to enter the World Draught Masters completion in London. The World Draught Masters will see 32 countries from across the globe compete in front of 12 judges to become the World Draught Master which includes being Stella Artois’s Ambassador for the coming year, taking over from the incumbent World Draught Master, Avril Maxwell.

By Darren Atwater

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