Polokwane barista with big dreams and a lot of talent
John Maredi is happy to have put Limpopo on the map at a national competition and hopes to leave a legacy of his own behind one day.
POLOKWANE – In a competition that is entered by thousands of competitors nationwide, John Maredi who works at Shell Bendor, finished third after entering the Deli by Shell National Barista Competition 2022.
The competition is powered by Ciro Coffee Academy which is a heat one virtual competition where contestants were tasked with taking a video at their respective branches wherein they had to display the various steps to make a delicious cappuccino.
The judging criteria was based on who could prepare the best latte art and Maredi proved that he has some remarkable creativity under his sleeve and won R3 000 and a voucher for future coffee and products sponsored by Ciro.
After the first qualifying round, the remaining contestants moved on to heat two wherein the various regions of Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape competed against each other.
The contestants then submitted a 30-second video each on how to make a cappuccino.
The regional winners were then selected followed by the five finalists for the big day.
Maredi made Limpopo proud when he finished in third place and said he’s proud of the achievement.
“It really feels amazing because the type of espresso machine we were working on was new to me and I had to apply my skills from my workplace, but I was really excited about putting Limpopo on the map. Thank you to my colleagues for the support,” he said.
Maredi is a qualified chef with a diploma in culinary arts and his goal as a barista is to open his own coffee shop to start a legacy for his son Thapelo (7).
“I was left with only a few months to complete my pastry level course, but due to Covid-19 our programme was cancelled. I’m still hoping for the best in life,” he said.
He emphasised that he sharpened his skills when he used to work and brew artisan coffee for The Grind in Polokwane, a mobile coffee Tuk-Tuk owned by Ben Schempers alongside his brother Pieter.
“We would like to thank John for entering the competition because he had also encouraged his colleagues that anything is possible when you’re passionate about something. He’s also very good and professional in his job as well as very friendly with our customers. Congratulations to him once again,” Deli by Shell manager Maggie Dikgale concluded.
