A few weeks ago, the name of the new MOF Barman was announced: Jérémy Lauilhé. In this interview, we catch up with him about his journey, but also about his feelings on these 2 extraordinary days of competition, which he details with surgical precision. As a bonus: his good advice for those who would like to try their luck!
How did you get into the world of bartending? What motivated you to enter this industry?
I obtained a Technological Baccalaureate in Hotel and Restaurant Management at the Biarritz hotel school. It was during these three years that I discovered the Complementary Barman Certificate. This training took place mainly in the school's practice bar, and we had the opportunity to observe students in practical sessions. It was at that precise moment that I knew this was the profession I wanted to pursue. Everything about it appealed to me… the contact with the customer, the product knowledge, the technical mastery, the theatrical and staging aspect, as well as the elegance and presence… I obtained my Technological Baccalaureate, and then I made a deal with my principal at the time, who absolutely wanted me to continue with a BTS (Higher National Diploma) while I wanted to pursue the Complementary Barman Certificate. He told me, "Jérémy, do a BTS, and if you get it, I'll let you join the Complementary Certificate." I like that kind of challenge… So, I continued with a BTS in Hotel and Restaurant Management, Option Management-Marketing, which I obtained, and which ultimately brought me a lot in my professional journey. I thank Mr. Grubert, the principal at the time; he was right. Following my two years of BTS, I joined the Complementary Barman Certificate under the guidance of Mr. Jean-François Chirpaz, my mentor, an exceptional teacher whom I was fortunate to cross paths with during my studies, a gentleman of the bar, passionate and fascinating, capable of transmitting his passion, but also his values of work and rigor.
What is your philosophy regarding cocktails?
My philosophy is based on three elements that seem important to me:
The first is the products and their sourcing.
I pay particular attention to the choice of ingredients that make up my cocktails, especially by sourcing as locally as possible and always seasonally. This allows me to meet producers, understand their approach, create a connection, and be able to put a human touch into my cocktails.
The second is taste and balance.
It has to be good, accessible, balanced, and meet the taste expectations and palates of 99% of our customers, from the novice to the most discerning. Taste must be adapted to each person's desires, and one must be willing to sometimes step far away from their personal preferences.
The third is technical mastery and visual appeal.
Depending on the type of cocktail, when it will be consumed, and what is sought in it, I like to play with dilution, serving temperature, and of course, the glassware. Even if it means sometimes breaking the mold and going off the beaten path, if and only if, it brings a gustatory benefit that will enhance the cocktail.
More generally, I just aim to be effective; I avoid frills, I try to offer visually refined and gustatorily good and accessible drinks.
For you, a good bartender is someone who...?
...is versatile and contributes to the quality of the overall customer experience in the establishment.
It's someone who is as good on the floor in welcoming, advising, and relating to customers as they are behind the bar in technical mastery of classics and in the creativity and balance of their signatures. It's someone modest, aware that they are "just" making cocktails and not saving lives, someone capable above all of serving their clients, someone curious, someone hardworking who knows how to question themselves, and someone passionate capable of transmitting to others.
For me, a good bartender must be both a "spirit sommelier" and a "cocktail craftsman".
Do you think the bar world could improve if...?
We spent as much time and energy on welcoming, the quality of service, the overall experience, and customer satisfaction as we do on a Rotavapor, a vacuum machine, or an immersion circulator.
What do you like most about the bar industry?
The encounters, exchanges, discoveries, and all the human values that this profession allows us to maintain and develop daily.
You just won the MOF Barman competition. How long have you been preparing for this competition?
We've been preparing for this for nearly 15 years… I say we, because it's something I built not alone, but collectively through all the encounters I've had, the teams that have accompanied me, and the people around me who have always pushed me to surpass myself and supported me in this project.
This was a goal I set for myself after obtaining my MC Barman in Biarritz in 2008. At the time, there was no UMOF Barman-Barmaid exam, but I had said that if this exam were ever created for our field, I would take it only once, the day I felt ready and equipped for it.
So I prepared myself for it all these years, drawing from professional experiences, encounters, successes, and also failures.
Over the last year, I primarily focused on in-depth revision, accompanied by my friend Pierre Dupouy, a restaurant professor at the Biarritz hotel school, who also taught in the MC Barman program for a few years. When I was a student in the MC program in 2008, he had prepared me for the final of the Trophée Mumm. This is a truly beautiful story that began 15 years ago, and we completed it together with the preparation for this Best Craftsman of France exam.
I also say "we" because this adventure of the UMOF exam is primarily collective, involving all the people I wished to involve in the creation of my final work, and for whom I am grateful.
I'm thinking of all these producers who trust me daily, or Ilda, a local artist with whom we worked on the illustration of my work, as well as Laureline, a ceramist who crafted custom glasses for me… etc.
What was the most difficult part of this preparation?
The wait with COVID which disrupted the initial schedule until the qualifying rounds... and the almost six months that separated the qualifying rounds and the final rounds. This wait forces you to stay under pressure on a daily basis. You live for six months with this competition in a big corner of your mind.
What was your reaction upon discovering the subject?
I found it to be a subject that perfectly reflected the very essence of our profession. So frankly, a big bravo and a big thank you to the people who worked on writing this subject.
To explain to those who may not know, the subject of the final was the creation of a work composed of five signature cocktails created beforehand during the month preceding the final with certain technical constraints. One cocktail had to be made with a shaker, one cocktail had to be made with a blender, one cocktail had to contain a homemade syrup, only one cocktail could be pre-batched, and finally, one cocktail had to be a non-alcoholic mirror of one of the alcoholic cocktails. A sixth signature cocktail of the moment also had to be created on the D-day within a given time from a basket and an imposed technique known only on the day of the competition. The defined theme was "A Taste of France" with a notion of environmentally friendly approach. We also had to write the detailed technical sheets of each of our products and each of our five signature cocktails, as well as a sales pitch for each of them.
This work was to materialize in the form of a physical sales medium.
Each candidate had to bring all their equipment, glassware, and necessary ingredients for the complete realization of their work.
Next, how did the two days of competition unfold?
Upon reading the subject, we had four major challenges:
A 2-hour office preparation challenge during which we had to make all our homemade preparations.
A 1-hour office challenge during which we had to create a signature cocktail of the moment from a basket and a technique imposed on the day, then write its technical sheet and sales pitch.
A 1 hour and 3 minute challenge divided as follows: 30 minutes of office work to finalize decorations and any setups, 15 minutes to set up the bar and our workstation, and 18 minutes for preparation to make 18 cocktails (three copies of each of the six cocktails in our work).
A 30-minute challenge to present our work in French and English. This challenge was divided as follows: 15 minutes for presentation and 15 minutes for jury questions.
This final took place over two days in Ifs, near Caen, at the Lycée François Rabelais, in magnificent facilities with a great team of teachers, under the leadership of Mary Boisgontier and Aline Van Laeys. We were welcomed and pampered for these two days, everything was done to put us in the best possible conditions. This is an opportunity to warmly thank the teams of Lycée François Rabelais.
On the first day, we all arrived at 8 am and were assigned to our shared lodge. The atmosphere among us, the candidates, was very warm, even though we could already feel some pressure.
We handed over our phones for the day, presented our summons and our identification before proceeding to draw lots for our number (from one to eight) and our assistant.
For my part, the draw assigned me number 8 and my assistant was Jhon, a student in the Complementary Barman Mention at Lycée François Rabelais, whom I thank for accompanying me during these two days and for being so attentive, meticulous, and efficient.
Around 10 am, we went with our assistants to the kitchen, divided into two kitchens according to our numbers drawn earlier.
We set up all the necessary equipment for making all our homemade products and decorations. Then, the jury checked all our ingredients based on the technical sheets for our homemade products and our five signature cocktails.
The general jury then arrived to announce the title of the first challenge.
We had 1 hour (including cleaning) to create a signature cocktail of the moment from a mandatory basket, write its technical sheet, and its sales pitch. In this cocktail, the mandatory technique was Fatwash.
During this challenge, I had thought about a strategy by building my menu and my five signature cocktails. I had deliberately kept two or three cocktail styles that I hadn't included in my creations, such as a very bitter and powerful cocktail. Upon hearing the subject, I leaned towards this type of cocktail, striving to stay within the theme "a taste of France". I chose to make a fatwash with almond oil in a Norman whisky, then added a French red vermouth and a famous brown bitter that we usually consume with beer. I built this cocktail directly in the glass in an old-fashioned style on a clear ice sphere before expressing an orange zest and using a second one as garnish.
I took the time to explain my overall reflection and my choices to Jhon, my assistant. It was an opportunity for him to discover a technique he doesn't know yet: fatwash. A truly beautiful moment of exchange, sharing, and transmission.
Then we had lunch before returning to the kitchen in the early afternoon for the second challenge of the day.
We had 2 hours (including cleaning) to complete all our homemade preparations necessary for making the five signature cocktails of our work.
For my part, I had five preparations to make: a kumquat and saffron syrup, a prune and black tea syrup, a bell pepper-infused apple juice, a honey and kiwi shrub, and pear crisps.
For this challenge, I had listed and planned the timing for the organization of my assistant's and my tasks. I took a few minutes at the beginning of the challenge to explain to Jhon what I expected from him and gave him his roadmap.
I really enjoyed this challenge, which required technique, but also real pedagogical skills, exchange, and transmission with our assistant. I felt that Jhon was taking great pleasure in carrying out his tasks, in discovering the construction of his homemade products, and also in tasting them, and that, for me, was the most important thing.
This first day ended in the mid-afternoon. Jhon and I formed a very good partnership, we did a very good job, and we finished within the imposed time limit.
And regarding the second day?
The next morning we were summoned to the collective lodge at 9 am. The general jury welcomed us, just like the day before. We handed over our phones for the day, proceeded with identity checks, and then drew lots to determine our order of appearance for all the remaining tests, which were to follow one after another within a total timeframe of 1 hour and 33 minutes. Like the day before, I was assigned number 8! So I would go last... Upon hearing this, my initial reaction was quite negative. For a few seconds, I grumbled internally about this draw, thinking that the wait would be endless all day, that I would be judged last after a grueling day for the jury as well... etc. But very quickly, my mind took over, and I finally saw this draw as a real opportunity, the chance to perform last and leave the jury with the final impression of the day. Around 4 pm, after long hours of waiting during which I saw my fellow candidates leave the collective lodge one by one, it was finally my turn. When my candidate number was called, I was led to the kitchen with Jhon, my assistant for 30 minutes of preparation. During this test, we had to finish preparing our homemade products and decorations. Then we had an additional 5 minutes to prepare on a trolley everything needed to make our six signature cocktails, three copies of each. Like the day before, to be as efficient as possible and avoid any unnecessary stress for Jhon, I had listed his tasks and mine. We had to filter the fatwash, finish preparing decorations, especially the pear crystallines that had just spent almost 24 hours in my dehydrator, prepare some fresh fruit for my blender cocktail, take out the clear ice... etc. This test went very well; we were comfortable in terms of time, which allowed us to prepare and check our trolley several times. Then, we moved to the technical execution room where a jury and a mobile bar awaited us. Here too, it is worth highlighting the quality of the work tools selected and set up by Ecce Gusto, whom I thank. A small detail that wasn't so small, this test, like the next one, was open to the public by invitation. We had 15 minutes to set up our bar. As with the other tests, we took the time to discuss together; I explained my choices and my organization to him, and then he left the stage. The jury announced the instructions: 18 minutes to prepare my 6 signature cocktails in three copies, taking into account the order slips that would be given to me throughout the test. For this test, I decided to explain each of my cocktails to the jury and the public as I made them. I hadn't planned it, but seeing this room full and all these people in front of me made it seem important and especially obvious to engage the audience and the jury with me. I managed to prepare my 18 cocktails within the allotted time, then I left the stage and quickly met Jhon's sparkling eyes. He slipped in, patting my hand, "Well done Jérémy, that was incredible..." I felt a lot of emotion seeing this "kid" whom I had known for just over 24 hours so proud, so involved, and so invested alongside me. It gave me enormous strength before tackling the last test. The jury led me to the defense of my work test. This test was also held in public and in front of three jury members. It was divided into two 15-minute parts. The first part was where we had to present our entire work, defending our concept, our philosophy, and our choices. Then, a second part where we were subjected to questions from the jury in French and English. An exercise during which I took great pleasure, and I strived to convey to the audience my vision of what a bartender should be today and my passion for this beautiful profession.
À un bartender who would like to enter this competition, what would you advise them?
To not hesitate and to go for it, but to do it wholeheartedly by taking the necessary time and perspective on each qualifying or final test, to properly analyze and understand what the jury might expect from us through the tests they have designed.
Of course, I would also advise them to work hard, be curious, show great adaptability, manage stress well, have mental strength, and finally, to approach this exam with a lot of humility…
Now, how do you imagine the rest of your career following this prestigious title?
When this title is truly official, meaning next May, I will obviously be very proud of it, but above all, I want to embody what it represents on a daily basis. The rest of my career will of course go through my company "BONBUVANT" Mixology & Spirits.
I imagine it as I have always built it until today, by simply remaining myself, by continuing to work hard, to defend my convictions, and to pass on my passion to individuals, professionals, and of course, future generations so that our beautiful profession endures for a long time to come.
I think that on this last point, it is high time to engage in joint work with all the players in the bar world in France (APEB, ABF, and all other barman associations in France) to finally speak with one voice, to make young people want to choose this path and to offer them all the necessary tools that will allow them to succeed, to flourish and to continue to defend a true know-how, that of being a barman.
A final word?
The period is perfectly suited for wishes. I extend all my wishes for health, happiness, and success to the readers of ForGeorges.
And I take this opportunity to thank all the people who congratulated me and sent me their testimonies of affection in recent weeks.
Thank you to ForGeorges for requesting this interview.
