Beginning in 2003 we evolved into the regulatory body of the Canadian national and regional barista championships, overseeing the running of the "contests" and the certification of judges in Canada.
We are proud to have been involved with Bob Blumer in this episode. We had been overseeing the Regional and National Competitions in Canada for very short period of time when this aired in 2007, and now the competitions are gaining traction in the public consciousness in a big way with this episode.
Here is the EPISODE DESCRIPTION from the Glutton for Punishment Website:
Barista Championship
You see them plying their trade every day as they provide the weary and red-eyed masses with their drug of choice - caffeine. Their job doesn't appear to be remarkably difficult, and it seems surprising that there could possibly be a coffee subculture complete with its own latte art competitions and barista championships. Bob will enter into this world when he enters into the Canadian National Barista Championships. He'll compete by making four espressos, four cappuccinos, and four signature beverages in fifteen minutes, in front of technical and sensory judges and a large audience. Bob will train with Canadian Champion Barista Sammy Piccolo, who warns that it is not as easy as it looks. However, with hard training, Bob might be able to compete after four weeks. Bob's challenge is to pack the training into just five short days. His reward? Entry into a unique and close circle of people who are passionate about the bean and live for the art of caffeine.
"Glutton for Punishment is unlike any other cooking show on the air. Blumer presents food culture, the whole gory mess of it, with the same blunt, unflinching gaze Sir David Attenborough applies to ravenous wildlife."
The Globe and Mail
Find the DVD https://paperny.ecwid.com/#!/Glutton-for-Punishment-Season-1-DVD-Set/p/2030196 (not available as of April 24,2020) to watch for yourself. And to see more of Bob and his adventures click here .
Here is a small snippet from the episode. In it, Sammy Piccolo is training Bob to become the top barista in Canada
And here are the results of the Competition.
