Award-winning Mocktail Electric Ginger Breeze at Seven Degrees North

Amongst Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo’s many victories at the World Spice Food Festival 2011, was bartender Viraj Ashmantha’s EGB Mocktail Champion of the Year Award.  

The 22 year old bartender impressed the judges with his mocktail ‘Electric Ginger Breeze’ at a competition held by Ceylon Cold Stores.  
Participants were required to create a mocktail using their product Elephant Ginger Beer or EGB which was developed over 100 years ago in Sri Lanka and remains the only natural ginger beer in the local market.
Sixteen bartenders from participating hotels competed at The EGB Mocktail Championship for the coveted EGB Mocktail Trophy and cash prizes.  
The panel of judges consisting of reputed personalities from the Hospitality and Food and Beverage arenas, included Allan Palmer, Eraj Abeywardene and Hiran Serasinghe.  They were overwhelmed not just by the winning mocktails but by the enthusiasm displayed by the competitors when presenting their ideas.
The Champion, Viraj Ashmantha of Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo, has previously won gold and bronze medals at the Culinary Arts Competition 2010 organised by the Chef’s Guild of Sri Lanka.  
His aspiration to enter the hospitality field was sparked by his passion to be a pastry chef, but subsequently fell in love with the bar and has never looked back.  
A student of St. Joseph’s College, Viraj has been a part of the Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo family for four years, with a six month stint at the Royal Mirage in Dubai.  Viraj aims to put in every effort to become a Food and Beverage Manager.
The Electric Ginger Breeze is created with a mix of Nelli cordial, fresh mint leaves, lime wedges and green apple cubes topped with EGB.  
The innovative cocktail is now available at Seven Degrees North, the alfresco restaurant and bar at Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo.  Seven Degrees North is a chic gathering place that is unique in its ability to connect with a cross section of age groups.  
With carefully selected live bands performing every evening, and a captivating view of the Beira Lake and the hotel’s infinity pool, Seven Degrees North is undoubtedly the preferred night spot in Colombo for pre party drinks, dinner or a chilled out evening.
Aside from the EGB Mocktail Champion award, Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo was also victorious in the Chicken Curry Challenge and the Best Theme Stall Competition at the Hawker Street leg of the World Spice Food Festival 2011.