Shirley Yeung on Mix Haus, working with Rhubi, and more
Entries into the Just Add Rhubi cocktail competition are open now — here’s what you need to know.
The second instalment of Rhubi’s national cocktail competition is open now for registrations. This year, they’ve partnered with Mix Haus, a platform to support and promote women in hospitality, to open the competition to female and non-binary bartenders around Australia, with four finalists being flown to Sydney and put up overnight, to compete in the national final and the top prize of $1,000 cash. For more information and to register now, hit the link here.
It’s fair to say that Shirley Yeung is busy. Not only is she a talented and award-winning bartender, as well as the group operations manager for some of Perth’s best venues — Foxtrot Unicorn in the CBD, Edward & Ida’s in Northbridge, and Nieuw Ruin in Fremantle — she’s also the co-founder of Mix Haus, a WA-based non-profit working to support women in hospitality around Australia.
And this month, Mix Haus has teamed up with Rhubi on the next iteration of their Just Add Rhubi cocktail competition. They’re inviting women and non-binary folks around Australia to enter, with registrations open now, and as Shirley details in the chat here, they’re doing things a little different.
“Instead of having an open competition, it will be a bit more of closed competition where the four finalists will get to present to a closed room with judges and other professionals,” Shirley says. And the second half of the final will involve a bar takeover of sorts at Burrow Bar in Sydney. “All four finalists get an hour each to showcase their talent and what they do in their drink for the finals,” Shirley says.
It’s all of a piece with Mix Haus’ aim of empowering women in the industry. I’ve organised and been involved with many cocktail competitions over the last decade, and I think it’s fair to say that women in the bar world have been underrepresented not just in the final rounds of competitions, but, as Shirley says in this chat, it’s all the way through the process. “It’s more asking the question why women aren’t entering these competitions,” says Shirley.
“When I talk to my female staff or even just other female bartenders in the industry and even non-binary, a lot of the times it comes down to them not feeling confident or not feeling comfortable. And so that comes back to the conversation [about] creating safe spaces and platforms to allow women to be comfortable, express themselves and also show what they can do.”
That’s the thinking behind why Rhubi and Mix Haus have limited the entries to women and non-binary folks, and will have the traditional cocktail comp judging done in a closed door session. After that’s done, however, they’re throwing the doors of Burrow Bar open to everyone to come down and support the finalists, and see what they can do during the bar takeover.
I’ve saved the date — Monday 25 November at Burrow Bar in Sydney, just FYI — and hope to see you there. You can learn more and register to enter the competition here.
