Cheers to drinking excellence

It is rare in business that you get the chance to go head-to-head, eyeball-to-eyeball, as it were, with your competitors. That is, unless you happen to be going along to an industry awards event.


This week Harpers Wine & Spirit hosted the first Drinking Out Excellence Awards (DOEAs) at London's St Martin's Lane Hotel. An event dedicated to celebrating the drinks offer in our restaurants, bars and pubs in the UK.


There are plenty of pats on backs for those working behind the scenes in the kitchen, but surprisingly few occasions that honour the front-of-house teams, wine buyers, sommeliers and bar staff.


The DOEAs are different. They are not down to who has the time to enter, but are based on the views of people who drink and eat in the outlets they are assessing. Decisions were taken not on what restaurants would like us to think they are doing, but on what our judges know they are.


The evening brought competing outlets together from across the country and it was noticeable that even those who did not win were happy to stay and talk to rivals about what they are up to.
Take the new Italian hero of the London restaurant scene, L'Anima. The team there was genuinely delighted that their category, Italian Wine Restaurant of the Year, went to the long-standing Enoteca Turi in Putney. Rather than curse their luck, they were all off to peruse its wine list for ideas.


But that is the spirit of friendly rivalry that is shared at both front and back of house within the on-trade.


Final word must go to drinks legend Salvatore Calabrese, who spoke of the need for people to go back to what they do best - the basics. It is all very well, he said, being able to mix the most fancy drink in the world, but not if no one wants to drink it. Being able to focus on what customers want is still, he said, the most important skill of anyone in the drinks on-trade.


And that is what all our shortlisted outlets in this week's DOEAs are doing so well.
Richard Siddle, Editor

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