CLASS magazine has announced its highly anticipated CLASS Bar Awards 2022. The Awards, which debuted in 2003, are the longest-running and most anticipated UK bar industry gongs.
Representatives from the UK’s leading bars attended the Awards on May 24th at Oval Space in Bethnal Green, London. Judged by bar experts from across the country, the CLASS Bar Awards recognises the talent, achievements, and diversity of the UK bar scene.
Manchester’s Schofield’s Bar was the choice of the CLASS collective (the 100 expert judges who voted), winning New Bar of the Year sponsored by Hapusa Gin AND Bar of the Year sponsored by Disaronno. Opened in spring last year, Joe and Daniel Schofield’s debut bar at Sunlight House, has become an instant classic, winning plaudits across the UK. Its period, classy looks – with dark woods and touches of green - and focus on five-star service has the all the hallmarks of world-class venue. It is the first time that a bar has won both the New Bar of the Year and Bar of the Year titles and it beat off stiff competition from bars all over the country.
“We are honoured to receive Bar of the Year and New Bar of the Year at the prestigious CLASS Bar Awards, and be the first bar to ever win both,” Schofield’s Bar said in a statement posted on their social media.
“We would like to take this opportunity to thank our team, for constantly giving 100% to our goal of providing hospitality to our guests. We would like to thank our guests for supporting what we do on a daily basis. We would also like to thank the hospitality community of Manchester for taking us in. We are proud to call Manchester home and proud to be a part of a thriving hospitality scene. To the team who couldn’t join us last night, we collected the awards on your behalf.”
Most of the awards went to celebrated bars based in London (see full list below) but Drinks Menu of the Year, sponsored by Franklin & Sons, was won by Lab 22 in Cardiff while Bar Employer of the Year, sponsored by Master of Malt Trade, was taken by another new launch, Pineapple Club in Birmingham.
Joe & Daniel Schofield from Schofield's Bar / Atomeca, were also nominated in several other categories including Bar Innovator(s) of the Year, sponsored by Tia Maria which was won by Monica Berg & Alex Kratena, from Tayer + Elementary in London. Lyndon Higginson from Manchester’s The Liars Group was also shortlisted.
Emerging Bartender of the Year, sponsored by La Hechicera, went to Elena Wright of Mecanica in the Northern Quarter. Elena is not only an innovative drinks-maker but she also has a background in science, having graduated from The University of Manchester with a first-class degree in 'MChem Chemistry (Hons) with Industrial Experience'.
Elena said: “I’m absolutely speechless. If you’d have told me this is where I’d be within a year of joining the industry, I wouldn’t have believed you, especially with being up against such incredible talent.
“I can’t thank the whole of the Mecanica team (both past and present) enough, for always taking the time to teach me, answer my endless questions and give me opportunities to develop. They all deserve endless credit and recognition for what they’re achieving.
“I’ve been so pleased to see so many other women in the industry getting the recognition they deserve, such as Monica Berg, who was also credited at the CLASS awards, and more locally, Rachel Orange (from Schofield’s Bar). And finally, congratulations to all of the winners - especially to Schofield’s - for bringing two amazing and deserving wins back to Manchester.”
In a sector which is often perceived as a male-dominated industry, Elena hopes to inspire other female bartenders to follow in her footsteps, citing that your environment is integral to your development.
“Having just completed a degree in chemistry, I’m no stranger to paving my own way in male-dominated industries,” she advises. “Your work environment is important as you progress, so my first piece of advice to other women who might want to work in the industry is to surround yourself with people who celebrate you, who educate you, and who hear you.”
Elena also has an ambition to dispel the preconceived notion that bartending is often a career that people find themselves cornered into. She suggests that female bartenders should always do everything with purpose: “My aim in the industry is to end any stigma around both bartending and being a female bartender. It isn’t a career you ‘just fall into’ because there isn’t any other option - it’s a conscious choice - and while it can be hard and physically demanding, it’s a fun and rewarding job."
Full list of finalists and winners
Cocktail of the Year sponsored by Lanique
WINNER - Pastel, A Bar with Shapes for a Name, London
Pineapple | Miso, Silverleaf at Pan Pacific, London
Biscoff Old Fashioned, Present Company, Liverpool
Irish Coffee, Swift, London
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Drinks Menu of the Year sponsored by Franklin & Sons
WINNER - Lab 22, Cardiff
A Bar with Shapes for a Name, London
Schofield’s Bar, Manchester
Couch, Birmingham
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Bar Food Menu of the Year sponsored by Menabrea
WINNER - Tayer + Elementary, London
Bon Vivant, Edinburgh
Little Mercies, London
Homeboy, London
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Specialist Bar of the Year sponsored by Savoia
WINNER - Hacha, London
KOL, London
Hey Palu, Edinburgh
Milroy’s, London
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Hotel Bar of the Year sponsored by Moët & Chandon
WINNER - Connaught Bar, The Connaught, London
Side Hustle, Nomad, London
Artesian, The Langham, London
Lyaness, Sea Containers, London
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New Bar of the Year sponsored by Hapusa Gin
WINNER - A Bar with Shapes for a Name, London
Schofield's Bar, Manchester
Tabula Rasa, Leeds
Silverleaf at Pan Pacific, London
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Bar of the Year sponsored by Disaronno
WINNER - Schofield's Bar, Manchester
Tayer + Elementary, London
A Bar with Shapes for a Name, London
Lab 22, Cardiff
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Bartender of the Year sponsored by The Busker
WINNER - Remy Savage, A Bar with Shapes for a Name, London
Rachel Orange, Schofield’s Bar, Manchester
Monica Berg, Tayer + Elementary, London
Filippos Filippopoulos, Tabula Rasa, Leeds
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Bar Innovator(s) of the Year sponsored by Tia Maria
WINNER - Monica Berg & Alex Kratena, Tayer + Elementary, London
Lyndon Higginson, The Liars Group, Manchester
Joe & Daniel Schofield, Schofield's Bar / Atomeca, Manchester
Remy Savage, A Bar with Shapes for a Name, London
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Social Media Presence of the Year sponsored by Della Vite
WINNER - Nightjar & Oriole, London
Sexy Fish, London
Pineapple Club, Birmingham
Mr Fogg’s, London
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Sustainable Practices Award sponsored by Belvedere
WINNER - Publiq, London
Henrock Bar, Windermere
Ugly Butterfly, St Ives
Rockwell, London
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Front of House Star of the Year sponsored by Horse With No Name
WINNER - Jacopo Correnti, Oriole, London
Dina Gestoso-Mattar, Pineapple Club, Birmingham
Christiana Pirinu, The Donovan Bar, London
Shaneka Mccalla, The Goring Bar, London
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Emerging Bartender of the Year sponsored by La Hechicera
WINNER - Elena Wright, Mecanica, Manchester
Courtney Francis, Ojo Rojo, Bournemouth
Rory Sorrell, Murder Inc, London
La'Mel Clarke, Lyaness, London
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Bar Employer of the Year sponsored by Master of Malt Trade
WINNER - Pineapple Club, Birmingham
Mecanica, Manchester
Speakeasy Entertainment (Nightjar & Oriole), London
Dishoom, London
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Bar Manager of the Year sponsored by Italicus
WINNER - Maura Milia, Connaught Bar, London
Klára Kopčikova, Pineapple Club, Birmingham
James Wheeler, Lyaness, London
Sophie Bratt, Sexy Fish, London