Campari Group has opened a Campari Academy educational facility in the company’s new regional headquarters in central London.
The hub will serve as an educational platform for the bartending community, taking inspiration from outside of the drinks industry to “teach, connect, and encourage bartenders at all levels of their career, on a global scale”.
“The industry needs educational platforms which can impart knowledge, inspire creativity, and prompt discussions which the bartending community can really engage with,” said Monica Berg, Campari Academy’s creative director.
“By working directly with bartenders as well as leading voices from varied disciplines, we can provide the community with a network and platform which currently doesn’t exist.”
The Campari Academy in the UK will launch with a series of event in different territories including, exploring the Art of Hospitality with Campari Group UK’s Italian Icons brand ambassador, Loris Contro and the team behind the Connaught Bar, and exploring the histories of invention, tradition and evolution in the rum and whisky categories with UK brand ambassador Chris Dennis.
“From the space itself to the programme of content we have curated, the Academy is on course to become the place to be for our industry’s luminaries, which fills me with great pride and excitement,” said Jono Mayes, national trade and bartender advocacy manager for Campari Group UK.
“Bartenders are the beating heart of the industry we love, and the Academy gives us a platform to champion them and their talent, whilst also pushing forward and putting the UK on the map as a leading light in the global drinks industry.
“The Campari Academy is an established success story around the world, which is an ideal platform for collaboration, knowledge sharing and creativity. With the talent of the bartending community in the UK, Campari Group’s investment in the Campari Academy here, and the world-renowned voices and collaborators we have involved, this can only be the start of an impactful – and important – movement for the drinks and hospitality industries in the UK.”
The Campari Academy in Campari House, London, officially opened on 20 February.