Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/513060
Events 48 maltatoday, Sunday, 17 May 2015 Settle for Star when served a Heineken There's something cool about drinking Heineken on draught. The brand rolled out a global draught quality programme, called Star Serve, to ensure cus- tomers get the high lev- el of experience associ- ated with Heineken's long-standing image. With a legacy that dates back to 1864, Heineken has always been associated with quality, a result of its finest ingredients and traditional brew- ing process. But the Heineken experience goes beyond the prod- uct; it is the whole ritual of serving it the way it should be that makes it stand out on its peers. "Having a great prod- uct is only the first step; there are so many other factors that can unfortunately spoil the beer until it reaches the taste buds of consumers," says Laurens Rauen, a Heineken Draught Master who was recently in Malta to train bar staff on the proper Heineken Star Serve. This is his third time in Malta and so far he has been to 40 outlets to share his art of serv- ing Heineken with the passion it demands, training over 400 bar staff. Heineken draught is imported by Charles Grech Limited and distributed by GSD Marketing Ltd. Once a bartender is awarded a Star Serve certificate they get mystery visits ensuring that their skills are maintained with every glass of Heineken served. During his recent visit, Laurens also gave people from the media a first-hand experience to pour their own Heineken at the Grand Hotel Excelsior's newly launched Tiki Village. "It breaks my heart when I see a Heineken that is not given the treatment it deserves after hav- ing been prepared with so much love and dedication," says Lau- rens. "The last few seconds when the beer leaves the draught tap to reach the consumer are crucial – that is the time where things can go wrong and the whole process can make the beer taste com- pletely different from its original intention." The most common pitfalls to spoil a beer are too much foam, dirty glasses, the tap touching the beer while pouring and serv- ing it warm. When there are any of these mishaps, the uniqueness of Heineken cannot be appreci- ated and consumers may experi- ence bitterness or even a hango- ver which shouldn't be there if the serving process is adhered to. Through the training pro- gramme delivered by Heineken's certified Draught Masters, the brand is ensuring that its serv- ing standards are kept through- out the world through a five-step pouring ritual. This highly suc- cessful Dutch initiative trains some 10,000 bartenders annually in more than 2,000 outlets all over the world. Laurens is confident that as consumers become more de- manding, there will come a time when drinkers refuse a beer be- cause there's no foam, or too much of it, or it has not been skimmed. Heineken is empow- ering customers by encouraging them to carry their own skim- mers." It's fun for a customer to bring out their skimmer and skim off the extra foam before this spoils the beer with a bitter taste," says Laurens. When Diet Coke cans are used as hair rollers in a Lady Gaga video, you know that the soft drink has a steady place in the fashion scene. Despite only being in its early 30s, the calorie-free soda has spent al- most all its life working hand-in- hand with the crème-de-la-crème of the fashion industry. In 1983, only one year after Diet Coke entered the world, The Co- ca-Cola Company cleverly pur- chased Columbia Pictures, rolling out the red carpet of opportunity for the brand to be in the hands of all of Hollywood - a place where everyone would surely see it. In the 90s, fuelled by the emer- gence of paparazzi culture, the relationship between fashion and Diet Coke was splashed across the newly-emerging celebrity maga- zines, where the drink was almost stealing the place of clutch bags in the hands of models. Indeed, Diet Coke became perhaps the most readily-available fashion accessory. Throughout the years, the company has always collabo- rated with designers, plac- ing the drink further in the spotlight for all that is fash- ion. In 2013, Rob Bayne, one of Diet Coke's senior brand managers, said: "Fashion is a top interest of our fans, so we stated designer collaborations to create something new and exciting for our drinkers." Over the years, Diet Coke has been associated with top designers like Chantal Tho- mass, Blumarine, Comme Des Garcons, Diane Von Fursten- berg, Matthew Williamson, Manolo Blahnik, Marc Jacobs and Zac Posen. In 2009, Diet Coke also worked alongside iconic designers such as Moschino, Ver- sace and Alberto Ferretti, asking them to design bottles to raise money for the victims who sur- vived the earthquake in Abruzzo, Italy. The soda has also collabo- rated with beauty giants Benefit and Nail Inc. Then comes a voice as a soundtrack to the already- firmly-formed bond, where re- nowned German designer Karl Lagerfeld shamelessly admit- ted: "I drink Diet Coke from the minute I get up to the minute I go to bed. I can even drink it in the middle of the night, and I can sleep. I don't drink coffee, I don't drink tea, I drink noth- ing else." Diet Coke and fashion's ex- clusive relationship comes to light in Malta once again this year during the Malta Fashion Awards on May 16, of which Di- et Coke is a sponsor for the sev- enth year running, furthering its support for the fashion scene and Maltese designers. Zest Flavours Asian Stations and Sushi will now be available at all Island Caterers weddings and events. The two companies have signed an agreement whereby Zest will be exclusively supply- ing Island Caterers with all its Sushi and Asian Stations when this is requested by their clients. Over the last ten years, Zest Flavours has earned a reputation for professional, boutique out- side catering. Known for their high quality food, innovative tailored menus and impeccable eye for detail, Zest today has an established clientele of both pri- vate and commercial clients. "We are very pleased to have signed this exclusive agreement with one of Malta's most suc- cessful catering companies" said Erika Cassar Rouvelas, Director at Heritage Hotels, operators of the Hotel Juliani, Zest Restau- rant and Zest Flavours Outside Catering. "Island Caterers' focus on qual- ity food and service perfectly complements Zest's approach to catering and allows us to extend our offering to clients and much larger events we would not oth- erwise not be able to service on our own." Tonio Aquilina, General man- ager of Island Caterers added, "We are pleased to continue the collaboration we have had with Zest for a number of years. The Zest Sushi and Asian Station products perfectly complement our overall product and enable us to offer tailor made delicacies to our clients at the level of qual- ity at which they have become accustomed to over the years". Amongst the list of Asian Sta- tions available such as Dim Sum stations, Sushi stations, Seafood Teppanyaki and noodle bar, Zest has also created a new station designed for and exclusive to Is- land Caterers. Diet Coke couture for Malta Fashion Awards Zest Flavours Outside Catering and Island Caterers Collaboration