How Leeds' Lottie Barnard Became a UK Top 10 Bartender
A finalist in the Diageo World Class GB cocktail competition, Lottie Barnard of Below Stairs in Leeds is now one of the UK's top 10 bartenders
Tucked away (unsurprisingly) down a set of stairs in the centre of Leeds, Below Stairs is known for its fabulous and fantastical cocktail creations that keep locality and sustainability at the heart of every drink. Though every person behind the bar is undeniably talented, if you’re lucky you might just get the chance to be served by Lottie Barnard – currently one of the top 10 bartenders in the UK and a finalist in the Diageo World Class GB cocktail competition.
Tell us about your background.
My first job was behind a bar. I couldn’t believe that I was getting paid to make drinks for people and have a laugh. I came to Leeds for university and was a bartender throughout the entire time I was at university. I made the decision that this is definitely going to be the career for me and I’ve gone from there. I’ve been in Leeds for a decade now, and love it so I stuck with it.
Was World Class GB your first competition?
I’ve done a few other competitions. Last year I won the Diplomático Artisans of Taste and was on a streak of doing quite well in competitions. World Class is a really prestigious competition and I really wanted to be ready for it before I entered it for the first time. I’ve worked really hard to develop my understanding of things like process and when to use different techniques, and diversifying my palate in cocktails, and I just got to this point where I felt quite confident in my own skillset.
Tell us about the drinks you made.
In the first stage I just did one drink, and this one had to be based around a multi-sensory experience. I wanted an experience that’s universally understood and I realised that tomatoes were a fairly universal experience – they’re in most cuisines across the world and everyone has that shared experience of biting into a ripe tomato and usually there’s a memory there of a picnic blanket in the summer or something like that.
[We had to use] Singleton which is a Scottish whisky. I made a closed-loop tomato drink and by closed-loop I mean I used every part of every ingredient (and that’s how we do it at Below Stairs as well). It was a tomato-based drink with some Champagne, sugar and whisky. Out of the tomato pulp I made a cracker to give a bit of textural difference, and then I made little clarified tomatoes to go over the top, using a process called reverse spherification. Often when I’m making cocktails I draw what I want the cocktail to look like. I thought it would be cool if my tomato was clear, but how do I do that? I knew the process would be a faff but sometimes you just have to do the silly, faffy thing. It was worth it and it was a learning experience as well.
What did you create for the non-alcoholic Seedlip challenge?
That drink had to be based on minimalism and maximalism in nature – if it was minimalism it had to be three ingredients and if it was maximalism it was allowed to be more. I really wanted to play with a few more flavours so I chose maximalism and my inspiration for that was the concept of scorched earth and regrowth. I made a cordial from charred yellow pepper and Thai basil – Thai basil is the fresh thing and then you’re still getting that smokey note from the pepper. You end up having jammy pepper solids and I didn’t want to just chuck them away. I wanted to make something that visually looked like earth so I made little dark chocolate rounds to go over the top of the cocktail that had that charred yellow pepper running through them as a garnish.
Talk us through your Don Julio tequila serve.
I really liked the concept which was hyper locality and I think that’s definitely been a theme throughout my entire cocktail career. Yorkshire’s class and there’s so many good plants, vegetables and fruit that grows here. It also had to be hyper local to Mexico, which is where Don Julio comes from.
I was looking at some shared flavour experiences and I realised that horchata (which is a spiced milk drink really common in Mexico), has a really similar flavour profile to carrot cake. I distilled some carrots in some Don Julio and then turned that into a liqueur. I spiced some coconut milk with cinnamon buds, and then I made a toasted rice vanilla syrup and then added some acid. It’s called milk punching when you heat up the milk and put the rest of your cocktail that’s got the acid into the milk – it creates a curdling effect. Then you leave it to infuse and the next day you strain it and you’ll get a clear liquid which will keep the body and mouthfeel of the coconut. It’s a really good way to marry all the flavours together.
Where did you learn all these techniques?
I’ve been really lucky to have worked with great kitchen teams in my career, and talented bartenders who are more than willing to share their knowledge. I tend to just ask! Honestly, that is the best part of my job, the opportunity to constantly learn new things and expand my skill set.
How did it feel to make it into the final?
I swore I think! I was really surprised actually. We have some incredible hospitality people [in Leeds] but also competition bar tenders and people that are just so creative and talented. I didn’t make any of these drinks in isolation – I had people tasting stuff, trying stuff, asking questions about methodology and we had a group chat with all of the other competitors who were from Leeds and we really leaned on each other. I was so impressed with the things that they were coming up with, and I was surprised because the standards were really high.
What’s your favourite drink?
Martinis, but the way that you’re not meant to drink martinis – 60/40 with a great simple gin, cocchi Americano, a little saline and Regan’s orange bitters.
Give us some local recommendations.
You have to absolutely shout out the Brain Jar in Hull. My favourite bar to sit at in Leeds is 100 percent Empire Cafe, closely followed by Farrands – excellent service, great vibes and incredible drinks in both. If I’m fancying a little glass of wine, it’s Eat Your Greens which often spirals into small plates!
What ingredient are you loving right now?
From making that carrot cake drink I realised how many things you can do with a carrot and vegetables.
