Why Getting To 'Zero' Means Winning Today… And Tomorrow

0:10Hello friends, I'm Ray Latif and you're listening to the number one podcast for anyone building a business in food or beverage, Taste Radio. This episode features a quartet of interviews with key players from the global finals of Taurus Brandy's Zero Challenge, a competition designed to promote a new paradigm in hospitality by aligning mixology with environmental responsibility. What role can bars and mixologists play in protecting Earth's fragile environment? It's a question that Juan Torres Master Distillers, the maker of Torres Brandy, has posed to the global cocktail community in the form of an annual contest that rewards the most sustainable bar project.

0:55A highly regarded family-owned brand based in the Penedes region of Spain, Torres Brandi is the creator of Zero Challenge, an international competition whose aim is to promote, identify, and reward environmentally friendly solutions in the management of bars and crafting of cocktails. The 2024 Zero Challenge finals were held last month in Barcelona and featured 10 bartenders based in countries from around the world, including Finland, Estonia, Spain, Mexico, Italy, Canada, the United States, and the United Arab Emirates. Each presented a project intended to improve sustainability and reduce environmental impact within their bars and included solutions often specific to the impact that climate change is having in their respective regions.

1:47They were also challenged to develop a cocktail using Taurus brandy, one that reflected their commitment to a sustainable future. Juan Taurus Master Distillers invited me to attend the event, which spanned the course of three days and included educational tours of the Taurus brandy solera and Familia Taurus winery, the latter of which has for decades emphasized the importance of addressing climate change with innovative growing methods and production processes. The event culminated in the crowning of Beto del Toro of Mexico's Rufina Mezcaleria, as the winner of the Zero Challenge competition, a title that came with a grand prize of 30 ,000 euro.

2:27The following interviews feature conversations with four of the key participants in the competition, including Beto del Toro, along with Christian Visali, the Global Spirits Director for Juan Tourist Master Distillers, Lonnie Lewis, a finalist representing Ocon, a restaurant in South Carolina, and Giacomo Giannotti, the founder of the world's 50 best number one bar Paradiso, and the winner of the inaugural edition of Zero Challenge.

2:56Hey, folks, it's Ray with Taste Radio. Right now, I am sitting with Christian Visali, who is the Global Director for Spirits for Familia Torres. Christian, great to see you. Nice to meet you. You know, it is not often that I spend a Tuesday afternoon in the Penedes region of Spain, so I am a very lucky person right now. I think I'm even luckier that I get to sit in front of you because you have a pretty significant hand in everything that goes on here where we are. Now, where are we? So we are in Villa Franca del Panadez, very close by Barcelona, around 50 kilometers inside the countryside, surrounded by wineries.

3:39So it's a pretty cool place. It very much is. And we've been sampling some of your wares, so to speak, over the past couple hours. had a wonderful lunch, which included a tradition, eating and otherwise, that I've never experienced before. It involves onions and a bib. Can you explain what we just did? Well, it's a very, very local tradition, which is the kind of the Catalan way of barbecuing, if we can call it like that. So it's about roasting these specific kind of onions, and people are gathering together, especially on the Sundays, Saturdays, over the weekend, really. And they share a glass of wine or brandy while they roast this.

4:20And there is a specific way to eat them. You have to stretch your hands, clean them up, and dip them into the specific sauce, which is the secret recipe of each family. It was amazing. The food was terrific. The onions, the flavor, I asked you, you know, do you add oil or butter? And the roasting of these onions yields a buttery flavor that I think anyone would fall in love with, even if you don't like onions. It was not pungent or spicy or bitter in any kind of way. It was just delicious. And even without the sauce, I think it was delicious. Absolutely. Yeah. How I knew you and I would get along is that we both used gloves.

4:58There were gloves provided. There were like these little, I don't know, food service gloves that were provided so that you didn't want to get your hands too messy. Or you didn't want to burn your hands because the roasted onions get pretty hot. Yes, they are. But I looked over and the only two people at the time, there were more people that used. Yeah, they followed them. Yeah, it was just me and Christian, so I really appreciate that. But the reason that we're here in the Penedes region is because Familia Torres is doing something pretty special via its spirits division. We're very excited to be here right now with all people coming from all over the world.

5:31The competition is about transmitting and creating more sensibility with people that work in the bar industry in order how to make the bar business more sustainable. There are a number of initiatives that are connected to the company DNA that are linked to the sustainability. There are a number of projects such as the regenerative viticulture. We have a lot of projects connected to the recovery of ancestral grape varieties. So we really thought that it was within our DNA to make an initiative that is connected to sustainability. So for our spirits part of the business. And that's how the Torres Brandy Zero Challenge was born.

6:06The idea behind is not to have only another cocktail competition, but a challenge in which we can stimulate people working in the industry in order to think better how we can make their business more sustainable and win a prize that can actually allow that and make it happen. The prize is significant. It's 30 ,000 euro. And as you mentioned, there are 10 finalists here coming from all over the world. You have folks from the US, from Finland, from Estonia, from Canada, from Mexico. And of course, from Spain and Italy. In Italy, of course, yes. It is, as you mentioned, not a cocktail competition per se.

6:45In fact, 90 % of the, I guess, evaluation of these presentations has nothing to do with the cocktail itself. So one part is obviously the core idea and the impact that it has on the business in terms of sustainability. then there is the feasibility part and then there is the financial input that it has. So when we combine all these three aspects, we can assess each of them separately and they finally account for this 90 points out of the 100 that they're available to take. So within the feasibility, we also assess the scalability of the project. And I think that the winner of last year project was an example of that because he actually presented a project where he needed to buy a specific machine that could actually convert part of the plastic waste that any bar use to use them as part of the tools that everybody use in a bar.

7:38So it's like some of the glassware, some of the ashtray, some of the straws, some of other common things that you can use in a bar. And the idea behind it is not for him only to use that, but he also wanted to involve all the community of bars that was in the surrounding areas. And they can collect also this from them. and so they can actually use this together. So when you think about it in the future, and we are amplifying that as well, well, there might be a certain number of bars that can actually come get together, put a share of the amount of money that is needed to buy the machine and start doing that in another area of the city or maybe in another city of Spain or maybe in another country.

8:16And the fact that we can amplify that in the rest of the markets, well, it's a great thing because it can help us maybe make this change happen. and it's just an example of last year project. So we are very excited to see what is coming up this year and what impact can have in the industry such as the winner of last year. I had asked you earlier when we were doing a press conference or you were doing a press conference about the competition, whether or not there was an opportunity to give or fund other ideas beyond that of just the winner. And if that is part of the future of the competition, Because again, you want to affect change on a broad scale.

8:57And a single idea is great. Ten great ideas is even better. So how do you think about supporting those who may not have won the competition, but have great ideas nonetheless? Yeah. So we do actually keep in contact with all the participants. That's what we have been doing over the past year. Not only for the winner, which actually has been included also in this edition, because he's going to be one of the judges for the cocktail part, actually, during the night. and that shows the continuity we have the project. But also in each market that we have been like really visiting them, our representatives are going to their places and we are seeing how they are evolving.

9:34I think that it's a good learning from the future in which we can change something for the third edition of this competition. And the good point in that is that we can donate an amount of resources also for the local winners in order that 10 ideas actually have the potential to start. Maybe we can work out on the amounts of the prizes. Right now, the winner wins the possibility to come over to Spain and present their idea. I think it could be a nice change for next year to adjust this and make the competition even bigger. And also for local winners to be able to have an amount that they can use to implement their idea.

10:15One of my favorite parts about this competition is that it includes or features even bartenders. Bartenders are the conduit to new products, new flavors, new ideas. And I got to think that part of this competition, part of the mission behind this competition is to provide bartenders with the tools and resources they need to be able to have those conversations with guests and patrons. to be able to share the impact that climate change is having on winemaking, that climate change is having on beverage alcohol as an industry as a whole. Definitely, bartenders are very good in preparing cocktails, but they're also very good into talking to people.

10:57Of course, yeah. It's really part of their job. And with sustainability, I think there is a very important risk for people when they receive information, maybe relevant information, but they can turn it to be very technical and people can start actually to, you know, be less interested and less involved, despite the fact that it's very important information. So if we manage through this initiative to transmit the right message to the bartenders, I'm sure that there will be the right voices in order to share this with the final consumer, with people and in a very much more friendly atmosphere, which is a bar and where people are more relaxed and I'm very open to hear about, you know, A lot of things.

11:38And if we manage to put this in the top of mind of the bartenders and they be taking this responsibility, we as a brand and as a company, we wanted to take this responsibility. That's why we are doing this kind of initiatives. And we thought that by having them leaving here a couple of days, transmitting this message, having them the opportunity to make their voice listen, then it's easier for them to amplify this message with the consumers and the people. Oftentimes, I think messages about sustainability are similar. People talk about, you know, using less water or adding solar panels or, you know, recycling or using less plastic or less waste.

12:17I think one of the most interesting aspects of this visit to me has been the emphasis on Torres, Familia Torres, using ancestral varietals in their wine and in their spirits. if you could talk about this notion of ancestral varietals and the story behind it. Yeah. So the ancestral grape varieties recovery project, it's something that has a long history within the company. It started around 40, 45 years ago. And the idea starts from the fact that, as you all probably know, you know, the Philoxera came to Europe. When the plague arrived and basically arrived with all the varieties of grapes that were in Europe, obviously it took a lot of time to recover from that.

13:04But right now, I mean, the production of wineries, the varieties of grapes, it's continuing growing and it's normalized, let's say. But still, we realized that there were certain places, especially here in Catalonia, where a certain different kind of grape would grow and would sprung. And so the family realized that there might be an interesting opportunity into that. And they start publishing in the local newspaper some advertising say or some message or say to the grain grape grower if you find a different kind of grape from the one that you're used to see in your in your land please call us and we will send somebody to pick up the grape and actually you know a CSI you know officer we have some of the technical department from from our company coming to the land picking up the grape and bring it back to the laboratory and making a DNA analysis of that.

14:00And then once we have the DNA, they will match it with the encyclopedia of grape that is in France. And if this variety was not registered, this DNA was not registered, then it can classify as a pre-phylloxera variety, so an ancestral variety. And then we would take the responsibility to plant this, take a portion of land, plant this variety and wait and see if it grows and see if then it makes good wines. And sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't. But over these years, we have recovered more than 40, 45, 45 different grape varieties. We made some very nice wines with them. You think you tried some of them over these days?

14:39The Foncata, yes, it was delicious. And also we started using some of them in a certain other project. We recently launched Vermouth, Casals Vermouth, which actually is the first ever made Vermouth with ancestral varieties. It's the Selma varieties, which is another kind. And it's a project that actually talks about the vision that the family-owned company can have, because to wait for somebody to call you, send the people to pick up the grape, analyze it, then plant it, then wait it to grow, and then make the wine and test it if it's good or not. Well, all this process that I said in a very, very short time, it takes years.

15:12And that's something that we think it's worth, because these grape varieties, some of them are more resistant to climate change right now, and maybe more useful in the future. It seems like you have a pretty good job, given that you're with a family-owned company that is doing well financially, but is also very much believes in its responsibility for the future of global health and the future of the environmental health. Christian, thank you so much for taking the time to be with me. This has been a lot of fun. Just quickly, who's going to win tomorrow? Oh, well, you know, it's tough to say. I mean, but I'm sure that we're going to have like a lot of fantastic projects.

15:52I wish you the best to watch all the participants. I cannot say more. I'm really excited to wait for tomorrow's presentation. Absolutely. Now, in all seriousness, I think you're going to have 10 amazing presentations tomorrow and a tough decision to make. I've already seen basically the short notes about each presentation and they all seem like they're very promising. So good luck with everything tomorrow. Thank you. Looking forward to it. Fantastic. Thank you. Right now, I'm honored to be sitting down with Lonnie Lewis of Ocon. Lonnie, great to see you. Hi, good to see you. We're up here on a patio.

16:30I guess we could call this a patio. Yeah, very nice patio. In a building in the center of Barcelona. It is a beautiful day. Got too many clouds in the sky. I'm getting a good, good sun vibes here. Yeah. Anyway, you just presented as part of the Taurus Zero Challenge competition, which was phenomenal. You did such a great job. You brought a ton of excitement, energy and passion to this competition. And I'm really happy that you did because, you know, as fellow Americans, you know, we always got to come strong for these competitions. Right. Talk a bit about your background in the industry and talk a bit about Ocon.

17:09So I'll start with Okon first. Okon is a newer restaurant in Bluffton, South Carolina. It's about eight months old. It is a West African, Caribbean-inspired southern food restaurant. We explore a lot of pathways from Africa to the south. And it's just an exciting restaurant in Bluffton where there's really not that many ethnic restaurants or like tasty food. Not tasty food, but, you know. I hear you. I get what you're saying. You know, different spices and everybody there is not used to it, but it's been so well embraced. Yeah. And here you are in Barcelona. Yeah. I would say that of the five presentations we saw already, I thought yours, again, was really passionate and amazing and exciting.

17:55And I think the details that you shared with the audience about the importance of not just the project itself, but educating people about the importance of sustainability and not just patrons, bar patrons either. but those of your community. I'm giving away a little bit too much here. No, you're fine. No, but your presentation, if you could share a few details with your audience, please do. Right. Okay, so my idea is called the iCoco Room, which would essentially be a secret bar inside the apartment complex where Ocon is located. It's located on the ground floor of an area called the Bridge Collective.

18:32And so in one of the Airbnbs that's a studio, We would turn that into a secret bar slash event space and then take all the conventional landscaping up from around the building and put in edible landscaping to be used in that bar. And the bar will also use the food waste from Ocon and then collaborate with local farmers and a Montessori school across the street. So just to be clear, the landscaping right now features non-edible plants and foods. There's only one edible plant, and it's a magnolia tree. A lot of people don't know that magnolias, the leaves can be used for tea, and you can eat the flowers.

19:12And so when I was originally entering the competition, my cocktail was called Secret Life of Magnolias, and it was a magnolia tea-based cocktail. The other plants, or some of the other plants that you talked about in your presentation, two stood out for me. Moringa, which is really cool, and okra. Yeah. How does okra feature into cocktails? Oh, my gosh. So you can make okra water and it's like kind of like slimy. Yeah, okra is smoky. But it's really good in like a martini, like using okra water to like dilute an actual martini and use the okra water for that. It's really good and it's supposed to be very healthy for you.

19:51I almost feel like, you know, aquafaba, am I saying that right? You know, it's the water left over from dry chickpeas that are reconstituted. Anyway, people use that as a substitute for egg whites. I wonder if they could use okra water as a substitute as well, because it is a little bit more slimy, to use your word. I don't know. That's a good question. I did see some research on okra where they're using it to clear microplastics from water. Wow. Yeah. It's a superfood. Yeah. In all aspects of the world. Yeah. So delicious. Yeah. Preparation is so tough for these things sometimes. I host a bunch of our competitions for BevNet.

20:27I host our New Beverage Showdown, which is a competition that features 12 early stage beverage founders all in the non-alcoholic space. Also our food, Pitch Lamb, we do a cocktail one as well. And I see a lot of people do pretty well. And I see a lot of people do exceptionally well. I, again, thought you did an exceptional job. How do you prepare for these things? How do you get your message across? Think about your PowerPoint presentation. How do you try to get everything together such that you're delivering not only the message you want to deliver in terms of the information, but something that's going to move and excite the audience?

21:05I think that it's your job to excite the audience. I think that you definitely have to get out of your head a little bit and not think about the other competitors to be exciting and have that kind of like carefree spirit. I also do a lot of praying beforehand. I also do a lot of praying. I like that. Yeah, I pray for success, you know, and then I try not to have my PowerPoint be too cluttered with words because nobody's going to read everything and then have like kind of just like PowerPoint bullets to where you can like expand on what you already wrote. I start this speech off with something that people are going to remember.

21:46So this one was, damn, I don't even remember. dang what did i say oh unwavering something unwavering confidence is what is oh unwavering determination determination yes i recall that unwavering determination i like that you said though a lot of prayer because i've never heard that before even though people probably pray right yeah i noticed in the map that you shared on one of your slides talking about the green space and the path to our local river and a Montessori school as all being part of this sustainability project that you've envisioned. I also noticed that there were at least two or three churches.

22:24Yeah. And they all come for brunch at Ocon. Oh, really? Well, it's a trust thing, too. If the community trusts your restaurant, if the community trusts you, then I think it would seem like this isn't like a shill to sell more food or beverages. is here's something where we want to be an inherent and important part of the community that educates people about what we're doing on a sustainability level. I loved the, I think it was the first or second line that you shared in your presentation, which is, waste is a lack of imagination. You know what? We went to the Paradiso Bar Lab, the Paradiso won last year, the competition.

23:06and as they were showing us around, there was a computer screen with the name of the company that makes the machinery that breaks down the plastic and he makes coasters out of it. And there was a presentation going on and it said, waste is a lack of imagination. Then somebody else sent me a sustainability presentation and it said, waste is a lack of imagination. And I was like, oh, this is like a theme. I'm putting that in my speech. Okay. I wasn't sure if that was your line or if that was somebody else's. No, it's definitely somebody else's. Yeah, well, it's a great one. It is. It's a great one.

23:39And I think it's also something that we should teach our kids, right? It's, you know, you don't have to think about garbage or ingredients that you don't use or that you toss in preparation of a meal or a beverage as something that is normal. Right. You know, you should think about it as something that you can either not do or incorporate into another thing, for lack of a better word. Yeah. Use your creative juices to just think up new things and new ideas. And the possibilities are endless if you're, you know, utilizing your imagination. Yeah. And I think in particular places where water is a little less available.

24:16I mean, that's a big issue in our country is particularly in the West, where saving water and reducing water usage is really important. And I can't recall the exact details, but if you could share them about how you are planning to capture rainwater. Right. I mean, I thought that part was really great as well. Right. So I put on the budget rain barrels because we do get a lot of rain in South Carolina. And the vertical gardens themselves would not have a source of water automatically, where the drip irrigation that's existing already does have, you know, our city water. And we have like a regulator to not use so much water.

24:54But the rain barrels are something that I've been researching a lot. I actually have one in my backyard and my grandma had one as we were growing up. So I think that it's very important. And it's just nostalgic for me because my grandma had this big barrel sitting on her porch. And she'd just go and like dunk her bucket and water all her plants. And she had beautiful plants. And I don't know why more people don't do that. You know, instead of just being like, let me turn the water hose on. Yeah, it's strange. It definitely feels like a very easy thing to do. Yeah. I think in some states, though, it's illegal to collect.

25:28Oh, is it really? Yeah, I think in California. It's illegal to collect your own rainwater. Yeah. Oh, geez. I have to look into that because I'm not sure what. Because it's going into the ground, I guess. And it will like, I don't know. I don't know either. Look it up. I don't know. I think it's a good idea. And I think, yeah, ideas from the past and things that, you know, your grandparents may have done are things that you can easily educate your children about. And again, I think that is really the thing that stood out in your presentation. I think the thing that stood out for the judges as well is don't just think about this project as singular to your bar or even singular to the industry.

26:02You know, we as a whole planet need to contribute here and work together to address some of the systemic issues that we've been facing as it relates to climate change. Yeah, I think that humans don't see themselves as locusts, but sometimes they go into the area and they just, you know, consume all the resources and then they're like, oh, where else should I move? You know, it's sad. And I think that the people who are moving to our area are moving there for the beauty of it. But then they're not making sustainable changes themselves. But I think that they will be excited to learn how to do that.