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“My speciality drink is a café brûllée
– it’s espresso topped with crème anglaise
and sugar. You blast the top of the crème anglaise
with the blowtorch, creating a thin, crunchy disk. I
then cover it with another shot of espresso, so you
don’t know exactly what’s hiding in your cup
until you drink it.
“Or that’s how it’s
meant to turn out. Without a blowtorch, it’s more
like a coffee custard. Which is exactly what happened
when my blowtorch packed in – and the other contestants
weren’t exactly queuing up to lend me theirs. It’s
serious stuff. The bloke who won even made chocolate
cups on the spot – with all sorts of shenanigans
involving ice-filled balloons.”
But all that’s behind him now.
Pete won the Scottish heat of the Barista competition
– after sailing through the technical quiz, as
well as preparing regular drinks and a café brûllée.
And he’s not taking any chances with the £5,000
top prize, packing three backup blowtorches for the
final in London.
It’s being hosted by Stuart
Hall from ‘It’s a Knockout’, so Pete’s
already had a few gags about turning up dressed as a
giant chicken. With that blowtorch, it could be a scary
combination.
This article originally appeared
in Fresh 14
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