Intense competition
Jennifer Le Nechet created a steampunk-themed bar as part of the World Class competition.
Held at the 1 Hotel South Beach in Miami, the international championship was a four-day series of intense challenges to winnow down the contestants to just six finalists.
When asked to dream up three "cocktails of tomorrow," Le Nechet focused on environmental sustainability: one concocted without ice or water to highlight the alarming state of the oceans; the second, made with hot gin and water vapor in a French press, referred to global warming; the third, sounding the alarm about soil pollution, recreated the scent of the forest after a rainstorm.
The six finalists had 24 hours to open their own pop-up bar, working with the same limited budget to envision the décor and ambiance.
While the other finalists rented equipment from a shop specializing in film sets, Jennifer and her team hit Target and Home Depot to source materials for her steampunk-themed bar.
"I wanted to recreate an old Paris metro station, and we picked up some household hardware materials to make 'train tracks' on the floor of the bar."
On the plane from Paris, she also lugged homemade syrups, bitters and colas -- painstakingly padded with bubblewrap. (Her three-person team helped with the 14 pieces of luggage.)