Focus on Dennis Kalogerias, organizer of the Zante Flair Open
This week we talk to Dennis Kalogerias, who has organised the Zante Flair Open since 2012. This article coincides perfectly with the Zante Flair Open, on June 25 & 26, 2021, and Sharlafied will be there!
Find out how the competition came to be back in 2005 on the Zante Flair Open history page.
My interview with Dennis
Hi Dennis, thanks for talking to us! I am excited to actually go to your competition this year… finally an event in person! I know you have been a Flair competitor and you competed for Greece at the IBA competition for 3 years. Can you take us back to your experience in those years?
It was an amazing journey and an honour to compete for my own country. It allowed me to make new friends and colleagues, learn new techniques from the best of the best in flair bartending, and allowed me to experience many different countries and cultures around the world. Every competition and every new colleague helped me improve my skills and get better at the job.
The 2018 and 2019 editions were held at the famous Navajo Shipwreck beach, what were some of the challenges holding the competition there?
Yes, it was a very big challenge. No one had ever done anything like that on Navajo before, we were the pioneers, so it definitely had its difficulties.
First of all, there was the travel. Navajo is a small beach on an isolated part of the island and is only reachable by boat. Each day we had to arrange for all of our staff, contestants and spectators to arrive on the beach on boats from the other side of the island, whilst our V.I.Ps had to arrive via helicopter!
Furthermore, there's no shade on Navajo, and with the Greek summer sun this made conditions extremely hot. Some of our competitors struggled with their routine flips and tricks because they had sweaty hands! I think there was pride in overcoming the obstacles though, because even though it was more difficult, everyone persevered and tried their hardest to put on a good show, and it was!
Oh, and there was also an issue with the lack of toilets, but we won't get into that...
This year, after a forced year off, you are celebrating your 17th edition at Infinity Beach Club in Laganas. Can you tell us about the venue?
Infinity Beach Club is a brand new venue right in the centre of Laganas and opens straight out onto the sandy beach. It's got room for lots of spectators, a fantastic modern bar with a great vibe, live music in the evenings and its location means it's a lot easier to get there! Infinity Beach Club is the place to be seen on the beach. It’s an Insta must.
How has the Zante Flair Open changed since the first competitions?
Massively, it started on a little table on the beach between local bartenders. It was an informal gathering at first but steadily grew in popularity and the event has got bigger and bigger each year.
When I took over I wanted to bring the same experience I'd had travelling around the world to our own competition. I wanted the competition to have international status to showcase talent from all over the world and to offer our competitors and guests exclusive packages including traditional Greek cuisine nights, boat tours and other activities so that they could experience Zante’s wonderful natural beauty and local culture.
During the early years of the competition the scoring was simply for who could achieve the most impressive flicks and land the highest throws; the drink itself didn't matter. But since then flair bartending has become far more sophisticated with the emergence of what we call 'working flair'. This is where the competitor not only has to pull off acrobatic tricks, but has to produce a good quality cocktail whilst doing it. The routine has to flow smoothly and you lose points for spillages and dropping things too. The result is more challenging and makes for a more entertaining event!
Flair has had its ups and downs in its perception by the public and the bar community. How do you think opinions of flair bartending have changed?
Flair bartending as a sport has come a long way. Like I mentioned above, flair has gone from being a simple fascination for customers in bars and friends challenging each other to throw the shakers higher, to large international competitions with strict rules and a lot of spectacle. 'Working flair' has brought a new level of sophistication to the sport and it's getting more popular every year!
Many eastern European countries put forward fierce competitors. Why do you think that is?
There are great competitors from all over the world. We certainly have a diverse history of winners in the ZFO.
I think many eastern European and Mediterranean countries have larger hospitality industries and more bar schools for training. It's hotter so people from other countries go there for holidays, and hospitality is a big part of the culture.
The competitors get a package that includes tours around Zante, what does that include?
We like to take good care of our competitors and guests and want them to experience Zante and what it has to offer. We pick up all of our competitors/guests from the airport/ferry the day before the qualifiers and there is a briefing for all the competitors at The Mansion Pool Club. In the evening they have a traditional Greek meal at a local restaurant, and after that there is an evening group bar crawl around Laganas.
The next day is the qualifiers where we discover who our finalists are going to be!
The day after is the finals where the winners will be decided. The finals are followed by an after-party for everyone to celebrate at Infinity, with VIP table and drinks.
Then, on the final day everyone goes on a wonderful sightseeing boat cruise around Zante, a chance to relax (or celebrate some more) and experience the beauty of our Island's beautiful coastline.
How does someone sign up for next year’s competition?
The competitor packages (and guest packages) are all available on our website, zanteflairopen.com. We post on all of our social media when ticket sales open, so if you want to come along then keep an eye on our twitter, facebook, instagram etc.
Would you recommend someone go to a flair bartending school to learn the skill?
Yes, big time! It's a great way to learn the skill, whether you just want to learn some tricks to impress your friends or you want to become a professional and compete in international competitions like ZFO!
It's a perfect opportunity to meet new people and make friends and connections within the industry too. We have our own 'Bar Flair School' here in Laganas, so if you're visiting Zante then you should definitely check out our group and bespoke training!
How many women are in this year’s competition?
Hopefully we shall have six immensely talented women competing in the Zante Flair Open this year; however, travel restrictions as a result of Covid-19 have disrupted arrangements for some of our contestants. But of course, we're still optimistic everyone will be able to make it.
How many contestants are there this year, and from how many countries?
This year we hope to have a total of 25 contestants from 15 countries! Like I said above, travel disruptions have interfered with some of our contestants' travel plans this year, but we're still hopeful our full roster will be able to make it and show off their skills.
How are the judges in this competition different from other cocktail competition judges?
Our judges bring some of the best experience flair bartending has to offer. Amongst them are national and world champions, expert mixologists and major brand ambassadors.
Judging flair bartending is far more complex than you might think. You need to be an expert in the mixology of combining flavours to complement each other to create a good quality cocktail, not just that it tastes good or bad. You need to have a keen eye for flair technique and observing even the most minute mistakes, something which only comes with the experience of having practiced it yourself for many years.
Thankfully, with careers that have taken them all over the world participating in and adjudicating many of the most high-profile flair events in the industry, we can be sure that our judges know what they're talking about.
In the past, the top three in your competition went to the Roadhouse in London for their big challenge. I heard that Roadhouse has closed permanently. Will there be a new Roadhouse, or another venue in London that will collaborate with Zante Flair Open?
Roadhouse was legendary and their closure was devastating for the flair bartending community. But there is a plan to bring it back (or something very similar). We're looking forward to resuming our partnership with them should things be successful.
What direction do you hope to take the competition in future years?
I want to lean into the mixology aspect of 'working flair' even more. At the moment our scoring system favours flair (60%) over mixology (40%), but I want to make the scoring 50/50.
I also want to put greater emphasis on local Zante ingredients and eventually move towards using more products and companies which are based here on the Island.
I'd also like to add more to the itinerary of activities offered to our competitors and guests. In particular, getting to know Zante cuisine more, through tours of local wine distilleries and workshops to learn how to make traditional Zante dishes. I hope this will inspire them with ideas for ingredients to use in cocktails and give them a greater appreciation of Zante culture.
Four questions for Dennis
Shaken or stirred?
Shaken.
Your favorite beach cocktail?
A heatwave: vodka, peach schnapps, malibu, ground orange juice, pineapple juice, passion fruit puree, dash of grenadine.
Your flair move that always made people go OOOH!
From having the bottle in the tin, flick the bottle from behind back and bounce on elbow, then bounce on arm, one flick from the hand, pour into the shaker.
Your hangover cure:
Coffee! I haven't had a hangover in years!
Where you can find Dennis and Zante Flair Open
Zante Flair Open:
Website: zanteflairopen.com
Instagram: @zanteflairopen
Dennis:
Instagram: @denniskalogerias
Twitter: @sakiszante