Students and staff spend many hours after class to prepare for Monin Cup 2013.
If you see students juggling bottles and cocktail shakers in the air on the lawn outside Nilai University’s Flamme restaurant, give them a shout of encouragement. They are students from the School of Hospitality and Tourism who have been practising hard for the upcoming Monin Cup 2013. A dozen students have been entered into three categories – mocktail and cocktail mixology, and flair tending. Under the watchful eye of lecturer Aliya Marnina Amirudin, the students have been busy perfecting their drinks and flair tending moves for well over three months.
Team Nilai U in good spirits before the heat of battle in the Monin Cup 2013.
“Even though its semester break, these students have turned up diligently for practice every day,” says Aliya. “They spend up to seven hours daily after class to ensure they are ready for this competition.” Their dedication is only matched by the lecturers who spend many hours coaching their charges and instilling in them a winning mentality. A measure of the lecturer’s commitment and enthusiasm is the fact that Nilai U contestants have won various categories in past competitions.
Nilai U lecturer Aliya Marnina Amirudin counsels Caryn Goh Khai Reen (Diploma in Hotel Management) on the quality of her cocktail.
One of the hopeful contestants this year is Caryn Goh Khai Reen (Diploma in Hotel Management) who is presenting a spiky concoction called Beautiful Treacherous Affair for the cocktail category. The Klang native says she was inspired by her hometown’s famous Bak Kut Teh dish to infuse her drink with a mixture of Oolong tea. Keeping her cards close to her chest prior to the competition, all Caryn will say is that the kick in her cocktail is from a generous dose of Bombay Sapphire gin.
Aliya says the process for coming up with original drink recipes starts with a brainstorming session where students are asked to think about their favourite fruit followed by their preferred taste and colour. “From there, the experimentation will continue until they have a concoction that we believe will win over the judges,” she explains.
Wong Wee Siong (BA (Hons) in Business and Hospitality Management) has twice reached the finals of the Monin Cup in the flair tending category.
Flair tending contestant Wong Wee Siong (BA (hons) in Business and Hospitality Management) is already a veteran having made the finals in the last two editions of the Monin Cup. Aliya is confident Wong can bring home a medal though the student himself is modest. He says much credit goes to the lecturers who sacrifice their time to guide the students in their endeavours. “The lecturers encourage us to take part in as many competitions as possible as it gives us vital experience. The heat of battle certainly builds character and it also gives a chance to impress potential employers. We can only hope we can repay the lecturers’ dedication by bringing home some medals,” says Wong.
The premilinary round of the Monin Cup 2013 will be held at Inti International University’s campus in Subang Jaya Sat, 1 June 2013, 10am-430pm. Come support your university mates and cheer them onto the finals on 2 July!
