Success is brewing for Ace

Bahrain’s favourite barista Ace Valino is gearing up to claim the ‘Champion of Champions’ grand title... and he says it’s all thanks to GulfWeekly for boosting his confidence!

The Costa Coffee top bean brewer will become the first representative from the Middle East and North Africa region to compete in the influential brand’s ‘Champion of Champions’ contest in London next week.

He will be joined 11 other contestants – nine from the UK, one from India and one from China.

Ace, 29, a Filipino expat, said: “This is very important for me as I’m really looking forward to the challenge and waving the flag of Bahrain in England.”

The maestro was featured in GulfWeekly in June for the ‘Love Bahrain, Love Costa’ campaign staged at the Bahrain City Centre where he taught mall vistors how to make the perfect cup of coffee.

Ace, who lives in Gudaibiya, said: “The story was a real morale booster and I was determined to do well in the regional competition.

The article also put me under some pressure to succeed because I knew customers in Bahrain would be cheering me on and hoping that I performed well. Fortunately, I won the competition!”

In August Ace competed in Dubai against delegates form Costa Coffee Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE. At the event, each participant was asked to create a signature dish and Ace won the hearts of the judges with his concoction

called ‘Midnight Snatcher’. He said: “I used nutmeg and chilli to flavour the coffee. The drink signifies embracing the spirit of life. To me it symbolises celebrating life and living it to the full.”

Ace, manager of the Costa Coffee Andalucia, says he has been perfecting his performance for the upcoming event. “I believe I have a really good chance of further success in the UK and practice makes perfect. I am practicing every single day by preparing a range of different coffee concoctions.”

The London final takes place on October 18 and 19 and the winner will win a 10-day dream trip-for-two, with spending money, to a coffeeproducing country of their choice. He said: “If I win the title, I would definitely love to go to Brazil as I find the culture of the nation very interesting.”

If successful he plans to ask his half-sister, Joan Barios, 34, to accompany him. She lives in Manila and he only recently made contact with her after years of thinking he was an only child.

The Costa Barista of the Year competition was first launched in the UK in 2006.

It operates on a global scale where contestants from all its markets can compete for the Champion of Champions title.

Ace has been working with the brand for four years, which is part of the Jawad Business Group in the region. Prior to Bahrain he worked in the fast food industry in Manila before moving to Kuwait.

He said: “With the experience I have in the coffee industry as well as my management background, I hope to someday launch my own coffee shop back home in Manila.”