Michael Harrold is mixing it with champions
Forget Adam Małysz. A nation of winter sports fanatics is bound to turn out a world champion from time to time. All Małysz has developed is a knack for jumping a little bit further than all the rest.
Now take Eugeniusz Dytko, a true world champion if ever there was one. Not for him the soft option of the ski slopes. Like Małysz he has spent years training to reach the pinnacle of success in his field. But the true greatness of Dytko's achievement, and what sets him apart from the likes of Małysz, lies in his defiance of, and ultimate triumph over, centuries of tradition.
Eugeniusz Dytko was the 2001 freestyle world champion in bartending. What this means is that, in preparing a cocktail that will appeal to your eyes and taste buds, he can send bottles into orbit, cocktail shakers into glittering arcs and half-filled glasses into gravity-defying mid-air spins like no-one else in the world.
He took the crown at the International Best Bartender Contest in Rio de Janeiro. And through his success he single-handedly transformed the image of Poles in the eyes of the world, from the vodka-swilling klientela of darkened, smoke-filled spelunas, into sophisticated tipplers of fancy cocktails in chic, brightly-lit clubs.
Well, perhaps that's going a bit too far. But it's certainly part of the thinking of the event's sponsor, Wyborowa. The makers of the country's leading vodka brand claim that "more and more people are willing to make a journey to the world of drinks rather than to participate in a 'traditional' drinking party." What cocktails give this new generation of drinkers is "a way to play with one's imagination" and "virtually endless possibilities of composing original cocktails, searching for one's own style." All made with Wyborowa vodka, of course.
It may take some time before this social transformation has swept across the whole of the country, but Dytko and his colleagues have succeeded in establishing Poland firmly among the ranks of the world's bartending elite, up there with the likes of the US, the UK, Germany, Italy and France.
Bartending here is overseen by the Polish Bartenders Association, a co-sponsor with Wyborowa of the national championships. The association was established in 1990 in Gdańsk, as an organisation managed "by bartenders for bartenders." It lists its primary objectives as raising the level of creativity and the qualifications of bartenders, and the promotion of the highest quality standards of work.
A young hopeful generally takes up his duties behind the bar after a two-week introductory course. But it can take many years of practice and training before he joins the elite of the profession. Becoming a champion demands that little bit extra - an ability to develop both original cocktail recipes and uniquely inventive and spectacular routines.
This year the world championship is coming to Poland, to the evocative setting of the Wieliczka salt mines near Kraków. Carrying the weight of his country's expectations will be Da-riusz Sobczak, a 33-year-old from Sulechów near Zielona Góra.
He has an impressive track record in competition. He has been an ever-present contender in the six years that the Polish Best Bartender Contest has been held. A veteran also of international competition, he competed in the World Championship in 1999 at Warsaw's Marriott Hotel, and last year he took the international bartenders' Baltic Cup in Germany.
Sobczak qualified to represent his country in this year's world championship by taking the title in the freestyle category at the Wyborowa Drinks Festival's Polish Bartender Contest with a drink called Cactus Cocktail. He impressed the judges not only with the cocktail itself, but also with the "specularity of the show." Factors taken into consideration included his skill, the level of safety and the overall impression.
Come to think of it, these are all essential attributes of a successful ski-jumper. Perhaps when Adam Małysz finally hangs up his skis, a career might beckon for him behind bars.
The Final of the Polish Best Bartender Contest, Long Drink category, will be held on a ferry from Gdynia to Karlskrona on March 29. The International Final of the Best Bartender Contest will be held in Wieliczka on May 16.
Now take Eugeniusz Dytko, a true world champion if ever there was one. Not for him the soft option of the ski slopes. Like Małysz he has spent years training to reach the pinnacle of success in his field. But the true greatness of Dytko's achievement, and what sets him apart from the likes of Małysz, lies in his defiance of, and ultimate triumph over, centuries of tradition.
Eugeniusz Dytko was the 2001 freestyle world champion in bartending. What this means is that, in preparing a cocktail that will appeal to your eyes and taste buds, he can send bottles into orbit, cocktail shakers into glittering arcs and half-filled glasses into gravity-defying mid-air spins like no-one else in the world.
He took the crown at the International Best Bartender Contest in Rio de Janeiro. And through his success he single-handedly transformed the image of Poles in the eyes of the world, from the vodka-swilling klientela of darkened, smoke-filled spelunas, into sophisticated tipplers of fancy cocktails in chic, brightly-lit clubs.
Well, perhaps that's going a bit too far. But it's certainly part of the thinking of the event's sponsor, Wyborowa. The makers of the country's leading vodka brand claim that "more and more people are willing to make a journey to the world of drinks rather than to participate in a 'traditional' drinking party." What cocktails give this new generation of drinkers is "a way to play with one's imagination" and "virtually endless possibilities of composing original cocktails, searching for one's own style." All made with Wyborowa vodka, of course.
It may take some time before this social transformation has swept across the whole of the country, but Dytko and his colleagues have succeeded in establishing Poland firmly among the ranks of the world's bartending elite, up there with the likes of the US, the UK, Germany, Italy and France.
Bartending here is overseen by the Polish Bartenders Association, a co-sponsor with Wyborowa of the national championships. The association was established in 1990 in Gdańsk, as an organisation managed "by bartenders for bartenders." It lists its primary objectives as raising the level of creativity and the qualifications of bartenders, and the promotion of the highest quality standards of work.
A young hopeful generally takes up his duties behind the bar after a two-week introductory course. But it can take many years of practice and training before he joins the elite of the profession. Becoming a champion demands that little bit extra - an ability to develop both original cocktail recipes and uniquely inventive and spectacular routines.
This year the world championship is coming to Poland, to the evocative setting of the Wieliczka salt mines near Kraków. Carrying the weight of his country's expectations will be Da-riusz Sobczak, a 33-year-old from Sulechów near Zielona Góra.
He has an impressive track record in competition. He has been an ever-present contender in the six years that the Polish Best Bartender Contest has been held. A veteran also of international competition, he competed in the World Championship in 1999 at Warsaw's Marriott Hotel, and last year he took the international bartenders' Baltic Cup in Germany.
Sobczak qualified to represent his country in this year's world championship by taking the title in the freestyle category at the Wyborowa Drinks Festival's Polish Bartender Contest with a drink called Cactus Cocktail. He impressed the judges not only with the cocktail itself, but also with the "specularity of the show." Factors taken into consideration included his skill, the level of safety and the overall impression.
Come to think of it, these are all essential attributes of a successful ski-jumper. Perhaps when Adam Małysz finally hangs up his skis, a career might beckon for him behind bars.
The Final of the Polish Best Bartender Contest, Long Drink category, will be held on a ferry from Gdynia to Karlskrona on March 29. The International Final of the Best Bartender Contest will be held in Wieliczka on May 16.
