She is tiny, but mighty, and boy can she mix a drink!

This week, Duddell’s bar team member Heather Cheng will  head to Milan to compete in Campari’s inaugural Asia Bartender Competition. An event conceived to see upcoming talents from the region invent new creations and showcase evolved skills, in honour of the negroni – an iconic aperitif set to celebrate its 1,000th year in 2019.

At the end of 2018, Heather competed against other Hong Kong finalists, but emerged triumphant with her cocktail, ‘Raise the Curtain’, a winning composition of Campari, Rye vodka, artichoke liqueur and other delights.

Once in Italy, Heather will spend a day training at the Campari academy, before heading to the semi-finals at Bar Storico. Along with the other finalists, she’ll present her winning cocktail to a panel of judges, where it will be assessed on design, aroma, taste, appearance and the story behind the creation.

Then, on January 22, the top three will each be paired up with a tutor who will help them create their cocktail for the final that night. Armed with €150 they’ll set off to markets to shop for ingredients before transforming them into creations for the evening’s big event.

We wish Heather all the best for her travels and will be following closely the results.

Like to try the cocktail that saw Heather win Hong Kong’s Campari title? It’s on the menu at Duddell’s for all of February.