After entering the South African Diageo World Class Bartender of the Year six times, Jody Rahme promised his girlfriend 2024 would be his last attempt. And the seventh time proved the charm, as the 35-year-old finally made it to first place.
Rahme was crowned the national champion after three days of challenges in Johannesburg, and will now represent South Africa in the World Class global finals in China in September, competing with the best bartenders from more than 60 countries.
Cape Town’s Liam Jukes, of VUE Shortmarket, came second and also received the Bartenders’ Choice Award, and Devon Andreka, general manager of Obscura in Rosebank, Johannesburg, finished third.
After reaching the top 10 on every occasion and coming third twice, Rahme, 35, said he was overjoyed to win.
“It’s been my biggest dream to take this title one day, be the best bartender in the country and go overseas to represent South Africa and meet other bartenders who’ve worked so hard for this,” he said.
Rahme’s first World Class foray was in 2017, when he started working at Sin + Tax in Rosebank and was instructed to enter. “I was thrown into the deep end and I had two weeks to prepare,” he said. “On that occasion, it was more about learning and seeing what the community was about.”
Seven years later, his approach to the competition couldn’t be more different.
“I’m very structured,” says Rahme, who lives in Morningside, Sandton, and looks after wholesale clients for the Kramerville roastery Father Coffee.
“I conceptualise my drinks on a spreadsheet, coming up with a bunch of different ways to use an ingredient and ensuring I tick all the boxes for a cocktail competition. Then I get to work in the kitchen. Once I have the drink flavours down, I start working on the verbal delivery and the presentation, he said.
Making his own ingredients is a key part of Rahme’s approach.
“It’s not just because I’m a bit fickle about wanting to know what’s going into my drinks, but I love cooking, learning the techniques and understanding flavour,” he said.
His meticulous preparation stood Rahme in good stead as he tackled the five challenges in the World Class national finals, starting with reimagining two classic cocktails based on Tanqueray No 10 gin.
“That was a challenge that spoke to my soul because I’m all about classic bartending, classic cocktails and simple, clean ingredients,” he said.
Next, he had to reinvent himself as a disco character, complete with glittering clothing and high-energy background music, to create an innovative cocktail that elevated a single malt whisky and showcased flavour in an unexpected but fun way. “I find it challenging to get into character and deliver a theatrical performance because I’m very much about being authentic and talking from the heart, but it turned out to be a lovely experience,” said Rahme.
The first two challenges reduced the field of nine finalists to six, and their next task was to show off their knowledge of Diageo products in a multiple-choice test and by identifying spirits from written descriptions and in a tasting session.
“It’s testing your nose, your palate, your understanding of brands. It’s probably one of my favourite challenges just because I’ve been working with Diageo for so long,” Rahme said.
In the mystery box challenge, competitors spun a wheel to select an ingredient, and after ending up with basil, Rahme had to incorporate the herb into two cocktails based on a Don Julio tequila variant. “This is all about thinking on your feet, and that makes it a true test of creative skills,” he said.
Finally, the contestants had to create a pop-up bar depicting the future of the bar industry and bring it to life with four cocktails.
“I enjoyed that one the most because it’s all about hosting, which is what we all love to do. Rather than looking at future trends or anything over-technical, my bar was timeless – a place that doesn’t take anything too seriously and where you can come in and enjoy a good drink in the company of great people on both sides of the counter,” he said.
Rahme’s concept also prioritised lower-alcohol drinks.
“I’m very big on drinking responsibly. It’s important for us to promote a cocktail culture, not necessarily drinking cocktails to get drunk,” he said.
Having won the national final, Rahme’s next task is to absorb the 45-page brief for the global finals in Shanghai and start conceptualising drinks, preparing ingredients and testing everything on family and friends.
“I’ve had an outpouring of messages from the industry and my community, congratulating me and offering their help,” he says. “The camaraderie in bartending is incredible, and whoever the World Class national champion is, everyone else just wants to see them do as well as possible for South Africa.”
Rahme said he was looking forward to the responsibilities that came with his title. “It’s a chance for me to inspire and educate future bartenders, and being able to do that makes my heart happy beyond anything,” he said.
He paid tribute to his girlfriend, attorney Prianka Soni, and his mother, Kerry Gordon, for supporting his World Class dream.
“The first thing I said to them was that it was their victory over mine, because they’ve been incredible and resilient. They pushed me in the right direction, tasted many cocktails and stayed up with me doing things they really didn’t want to do.
“Now I have a responsibility to do a really good job in Shanghai for them, for myself and for South Africa. I want to make sure I go over there and come back without any regrets,” he said.
Diageo SA’s national on-trade key account manager, Bradley Jacobs, said Rahme had “dedicated himself to conquering the World Class hill” and was a deserving winner.
“He’s always been a massive advocate of World Class for what it can do for a bartender’s career,” said Jacobs, who was a guest member of the judging panel on the last day of the competition. “Winning puts you on a pedestal from a publicity and media perspective, and of course it’s such an honour to represent your country. Now a lot of people in the bartending community will band together to support him as he prepares for Shanghai.”
Diageo will host the 15th edition of the World Class global finals in Shanghai, China, from September 9 – 24.