Eastern Regional Barista Championship 2010

Hello Bridgehead land!

After a 5 hour white knuckle drive through torrential downpour, we finally made it back from the big city of Toronto. We return with a trunk full of memories, amazing coffee and great friends (we loved the Montreal/Cafe Myriade crew so much, we put them in our trunk and took them home). I can speak for everyone when I say how great of a time we had and how proud we were to represent Bridgehead.

Congratulations to Cliff and Laura for putting together fantastic performances. Be sure to give Cliff a sweet high five when you see him…….our homeboy finished 3rd and is off to the nationals in Mississauga!

We had a tireless team of volunteers who worked so hard and choreographed a great day of competition. Brendan (Golden) was the A/V all-star, if you watched the live stream online you can thank him for the beautiful transitions and awesome camera angles. Creegan (Sparks) was in charge of scheduling start times for the 15 minute prep and 15 minute performance. She ran a tight ship and kept a smile on her face the entire day! Chantal (Golden) kept the espresso machines clean to the highest of standards and acted as a runner for the competitors during their routine. Mia is a lucky lady to have her on her staff! I (Randy from Albert) acted as the performance time keeper. I was the voice reminding the already nervous baristas of how much time they had remaining in their performance. Ian was one of two head judges and had the hardest job of the day. It was great to see him in his element doing what he does best. Although Cliff and Laura competed, they didn’t let it stop them from helping out when they could. Very cool.

A huge thanks to everyone who made it possible for us to attend! It was a great trip and such an amazing experience.

If anyone is passionate about becoming a competition level barista, I strongly recommend attending this type of event. We have a mountain of resources and a serious pedigree of experienced baristas. We are extremely lucky to have access to as much as we do. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT! I know I will.

Here are a few pics I snapped throughout the trip. Enjoy!

Love, Randy

THE PLASTER LID COLLECTIVE: for here, to go

If you’re familiar with Bridgehead, then you are certainly familiar with the question ”Is that for here, or to go?”  As a conscious effort to reduce the amount of unnecessary waste produced by takeout packaging, those words invite the customer to stop and think for a moment – perhaps they do have a few minutes to sit and enjoy their coffee in the shop, with a porcelain mug.  Not only does this cut down on waste, but it also allows a slower and more rewarding appreciation of the coffee, tea, and food served at Bridgehead. 

In order to drive this philosophy home, a new feature wall is being fabricated, using takeout lids as a motif. This design, consisting of over 500 carefully crafted plaster casts of lids, will grace the interior of the future Slater Street location set to open at the end of the summer.  Like the living walls found in a number of our locations, the goal is to bring an eco-friendly aesthetic into the store.  Inspired by a design from the now-defunct Ini Ani coffee shop based in New York, the lids are a stylish reminder of the sheer number of takeout cups mindlessly thrown out on a daily basis.

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 A team is busily working on churning out these forms using hydrocal, a dentist-grade plaster ordinarily used for picking up fine details in teeth.  For the lids with even finer grooves, a bubblegum pink silicone mold is used.  The hydrocal dries harder and whiter than average plaster, allowing the nuanced details in the lids to truly shine.

 The team is also working on a second feature wall, that is composed of narrow strips of corrugated cardboard fitted in steel frames.  The cardboard represents the cup portion of the ‘to go’ coffee experience.

 The members of the Plaster Lid Collective are Clare Brebner, Corianne Coutu, Creggan Daubenny, Robin Clugston, Michelle Poitras and Julie Hong (Team Leader).

 Keep an eye out for updates as the collection of lids expands and eventually finds its way up on the wall!

Celebrate Bridgehead’s 10th Anniversary

Bridgehead Teams Tri for Riverkeeper

Erin Crowell

Three Bridgehead teams competed in the Ottawa Riverkeeper Triathlon this past Saturday, June 12^th.  All three teams competed in the kayak/canoe-cycle-run triathlon relay event, one of several triathlon events that are Riverkeeper’s major fundraiser of the year.

The three teams were: 

Bridgehead FTO Speedsters:

Joey Tavenier and Linda Kruus canoeing, Barry Zeldis biking, and Kyla Ramsey running

Bridgehead Mad Mazzers:

Erin Crowell and Laura Perry Canoeing, Alek Mackie cycling, and Ian Simpson running,

Kyla Ramsey

 

Bridgehead ‘Has-Beans’:

 Tracey Clark kayaking, Jenn Camirand cycling, and Jennifer North running

The Mazzer team turned out Bridgehead’s best effort, with Laura Perry, an avid canoeist, proving her meddle with canoe partner Erin Crowell on the 5km paddle, Alex Mackie cycled the 24 km cycling leg VERY fast on his 1-speed souped up machine, and Ian Simpson, our guest participant (Jen N’s partner) running a sub-20 minute 5 km!

Next up was the Speedsters featuring Joey Tavenier and Linda Kruus on the water, Barry Zeldis on his bald-tired flying (cycling) machine, and the indomitable Kyla Ramsey bringing it home on the run with a fine finish with her parents cheering.

Jennifer North

And last up, although not in spirit, were the Has-Beans.  Tracey, where’s my boat? Clark kayaked hard but managed to handicap her team!  Jenn Camirand cycled until her cheeks turned red, and turned the chip over to Jen North who smiled as she careened across the finish line.

We all had a lot of fun contributing to a very worthy cause, (to learn more visit http://ottawariverkeeper.ca/). 

We refueled with a hot coffee to combat the chill of the drizzly day of competition.

Thanks to all the Bridgehead team members!

Dalhousie staff start a coffee club

Yesterday afternoon, a number of staff from the 224 Dalhousie location got together to taste and discuss coffee. They explored three different kinds of brewing methods in order to further their knowledge and experience. Fun was had by all!

Put your best foot forward…

Bring in your lightly used running shoes to any Bridgehead and support Sole Responsibility, a non-profit organisation formed by a group of runners in Ottawa. Each year, Sole Responsibility consults with the United Nations to send running shoes of all shapes and sizes to places most in need. This year your shoes will be sent to refugees and displaced persons in Ethiopia.

How to help:

• Bring in your lightly used running shoes to Bridgehead before June 6th
• Tie the laces together
• Donate a toonie per pair to help offset shipping costs.

If you would like to find out more about Sole Responsibility, donate to their cause, or join their running club visit: http://www.soleresponsibility.org/index.htm

Thanks for your support.

Fair Trade Photo Contest Winners!

Congratulations to our Fair Trade Weeks Photo Contest winners. Each of them will receive the photojournalistic book “Fair Trade a Human Journey” by Eric St. Pierre. Thank you to everyone for supporting Fair Trade!

Tamar Wolofsky, enjoying a Bridgehead coffee

Sage is the winner of the staff photo contest – here is her sister enjoying a Fair Trade Brownie

A great photo from local photographer Justin Van Leeuwen www.jvlphoto.com

Tara Tosh Kennedy took this photo of her baby Liam enjoying Fair Trade Chocolate.

Bridehead customers since the beginning: Penny Armstrong, Emily Gildner, and Loretta Fleming. Photo taken by Jake Armstrong

A self portrait of Manon Ragonnet

In addition to her photograph Loretta Fleming included some great words as well: “Over the past decade, I have developed solid friendships with several regulars; what began as a routine is now a ritual… A two dollar a day, full-bodied large coffee, with milk served up with laughter, conviviality, irreverence and a lot of love… As three of your most devoted customers who exemplify the spirit of Free Trade coffee – quality, taste, loyalty and fairness – we offer ourselves, gathered today for our sacrosanct early morning coffee…”