UK Bartender Crowned World Champ!
T.G.I. Friday's World Bartending Championships is the biggest bar training session in the world!
Friday's employs more bartenders than anyone in the world and 8,000 of our bartenders from 59 countries
competed to get to the February 2008 finals in Las Vegas where London bartender Tony Adams was crowned
the world's number one bartender!
The 25 year old - who works in T.G.I. Friday's, Haymarket, London - won both the T.G.I. Friday's UK
Championship and the T.G.I. Friday's European Championship in 2007 qualifying him for the February
2008 Las Vegas final. Tony beat 7 other finalists from around the world and with his Liverpudlian
gift of the gab was the only contestant to complete his routine without music – his music is his
bar banter!
Bartending and flairing is an important part of T.G.I. Friday's and bartenders have to complete a
three-tier rigorous training programme with an element of the training programme specifically
dedicated to flairing.
With his new accolade, Tony now has the opportunity to travel the Friday's globe, training bar staff
and nurturing future ‘flairing' talent. He is proud to have turned his passion into a career and says
"It's not often you get these amazing opportunities through a job. Being World Champion makes all the
time, practice and studying worthwhile. Bartending is not just about theatrics and flairing, but it's
about being on the ball mentally. You have to learn hundreds of recipes, know what they are called in
different countries, know your free pour measurements - and all this while you are flairing and keeping
the customer entertained".
Congratulations Tony!
