Britain’s new cocktail king was crowned just outside Edinburgh at the recent GB final of Diageo’s World Class cocktail competition.
Emanuele ‘Lele’ Mensah of The Connaught Bar in London took the top prize after a gruelling two-day competition at Rosebery Steading in East Lothian.
On the first day the ten finalists faced off against each other to create drinks using Tanqueray Ten and Johnnie Walker Blue Label, respectively, before the second day saw them split into pairs and challenged to create drinks and a musical playlist for a half-hour bar takeover.
Each pair received a different theme for their takeover, with Lele and teammate Lottie Barnard (of Below Stairs in Leeds) tasked with creating new takes on an El Diablo cocktail using Don Julio tequila.
To make matters worse, Lele and Lottie were the first team in front of the judges and attendees.
However, Lele – born and raised in Italy with Ghanaian heritage – was already a veteran of the prestigious competition, having reached the UK finals in both 2023 and 2024.
And although he told SLTN that the 2025 final was the toughest yet, it was far from the most stressful.
That’s because when Lele first reached the finals of the competition, in 2023, his daughter had been born just four days before the event.
“In 2023 I was here with Matt Arnold, because that year the (entry) challenge was a paired challenge so it was me and him,” Lele recalled.
“He came to my kitchen and my partner was in the hospital. It was like, ‘Matt, any time I might have to run. I don’t know what’s going to happen, but let’s try’. It was the quickest cocktail I have ever made. But it was delicious!”
Compared to that, 2025 was a much calmer affair.
“The pressure I felt this year was way less than before,” he said.
“There was still pressure, but it was way more controlled than the previous years.”
Though he was new to World Class in 2023, Lele was far from new to bartending. His CV already included stints behind the stick at bars such as Eau De Vie in Sydney, Australia, as well as London bars such as Disrepute, the Baccarat Bar and Lyaness.
And this year’s competition had allowed Lele to flex his creative muscles well ahead of the final.
The initial challenges had tasked entrants with creating a drink using Don Julio that connected the bartender’s home area to Mexico.
Lele’s answer, the Sun & Silk, made use of fermented roses (representing Mayfair) and marigolds (for Mexico).
That was followed by a second challenge that revolved around the five senses.
For that one, Lele tapped into memories of growing up around his cousins and grandparents; the drink itself – the Sunday Echo – was based on the West African dish fufu, with Singleton fat washed with peanut butter as the base.
Playing with flavours is one of the main things Lele enjoys about the bartending life, with the GB champ saying that – like that second World Class entry cocktail – it takes him back to his roots.
“For me, what really excites me is the endless possibilities we have with the ingredients,” he said.
“And also I really love the way we can tell stories and connect to people. It’s something I really love.
“And I love being around people. I love to meet people.
“It’s almost a nostalgic thing, because when I was a kid I lived in Ghana for five years and I remember after school I used to play football in my grandma’s restaurant. And basically all the chefs were in the back yard with this open fire cooking, and I was playing football around them.
“It’s nostalgic for me because they were very passionate about making the best that they could for the guests. For me, it’s home, when I think about that.
“So I wanted to build a life or career that had that feeling of home, of love. That’s why, for me, this has been something that I really love doing.”
Next month, Lele will bring that passion to bear when he represents the British bar scene at the World Class global finals in Toronto.
“I feel very excited. I cannot wait,” he said.
“I think I’m in a good place, I just need to keep going, keep the motivation, keep the calm, because there’s a lot of pressure and a lot of things happening. So just getting my mindset in the right place, trying to breathe, relax, and just go and do the best I can.
“I’m very happy. I can’t wait to meet people from the 54 countries around the world. I’ll be trying to see everyone, what they’re doing, following them, talking to them.
“But I’m very excited and I cannot wait to represent GB on the global stage.”
