I think i’ve been pretty fortunate this year,  having a month off in between my UKBC heats and the (semi) finals. A month gives you just enough time to prepare yourself, without giving you so much time that you switch off or allow yourself a moment to remember life without competition.

So, what have I been doing? Without score sheets it is tricky to analyze every aspect of my set, so really i’m currently working off my own gut feelings and the judges verbal feedback. I know for example that my cappuccinos weren’t that great, a combination of lacking foam and average pours. I also know that I ran over time by about three or four seconds, a silly mistake. On a more positive note I know that my espresso tasted pretty good and that technically I performed very well. I can say that my signature drink was popular amongst the judges, but  visually it needs improvement. The same can be said about my (too fresh) espresso which had bubbly crema, lesson learnt and de-gas period duly adjusted.

Looking back at past performances (performance? Presentation.) is a brilliant tool for improving and developing future ones, every time you complete a fifteen minute set, regardless of how good it goes, those niggly faux pas become experiences in the memory bank to exploit next time.

This week I will mostly be practicing (obviously), nailing my ‘Chafing dish baking cake experience’ (more on that later) and finalising my music.

What is everyone else up to?

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