Yuliia wins four golds in prestigious culinary contest

Coleg Llandrillo student Yuliia Batrak won four gold medals in a prestigious culinary contest - after ingeniously using Penderyn whisky to devise a last-minute cocktail recipe.

Earlier this week, Yuliia travelled to London to compete in International Salon Culinaire, which attracts some of the best culinary talent from across the UK and beyond.

The 19-year-old took part in four restaurant service competitions at the ExCeL in London, winning them all.

But it was her mixology win that really stirred the judges, as she created one cocktail evoking her childhood in Ukraine, and another inspired by the welcome she has received since moving to Wales.

Yuliia had spent weeks perfecting her cherry blossom spritz, inspired by her home in Kyiv where her family were growing cherries before the invasion by Russia in 2022.

But just hours before she was due to leave for London, Yuliia discovered she would have to create a second cocktail. She needed inspiration at the double - and that’s where Penderyn came in.

“I was packing my suitcase the night before the competition, and luckily a piece of paper fell out of my notebook with additional information about the mixology task,” said Yuliia.

“I read it through again, and saw the smallprint at the end which said I had to prepare two different cocktails, rather than two portions of one cocktail.

“I’d created the recipe, the history and everything for only one cocktail, and I had all the ingredients measured and ready to go. It was 12am, and I had to leave for London early in the morning.”

Luckily, Yuliia had packed a bottle of Penderyn Madeira Finish to take to the Big Smoke, for use in the flambé competition - in which she would give her Crêpes Suzette a homegrown twist by using the Welsh whisky instead of brandy.

Quick-thinking Yuliia texted her tutor Mike Garner, a hospitality lecturer at Coleg Llandrillo’s Rhos-on-Sea campus, and they both had the same idea.

“I had decided to do a crêpe flambé using Welsh whisky to reflect that Wales is now my second home,” said Yuliia, who lives in Colwyn Bay. “So I had a bottle of Penderyn in my kit, and we decided to do a cherry whisky sour for the second cocktail.”

Yuliia researched her cocktail while being driven down to London, texting for advice from one of the bartenders at the St George’s Hotel in Llandudno, where she works during her free time from college.

She bought extra ingredients from a convenience store on her way to the London hotel where she was staying. Staff at the hotel even let her use the bar facilities for some much-needed practice ahead of the competition.

“It was very lucky that I had the Penderyn whisky with me!” said Yuliia, whose concoctions wowed the judges at the ExCeL.

“It turned out very well to be fair because the judges loved it, and loved the idea. One of the judges wanted to finish the whisky sour because he enjoyed it so much!”

Yuliia’s cocktails won gold, as did her Welsh whisky-inspired flambé. Her success was no flash in the pan, as she also won golds in table-setting and the Caesar’s salad challenge.

With medals awarded based on points scored, Yuliia was the only competitor to attain the gold standard in any of the four competitions, making her achievement all the more remarkable.

“I was thrilled,” she said. “When you hear your name being called out as the winner of a gold medal it’s one of the best feelings ever, because all the hard work you put into it has paid off. You did all this hard work for that moment, and it’s happened.”

Rich Edwards, Penderyn Llandudno Distillery Manager, said: “Congratulations from all of us at the Penderyn Llandudno Lloyd Street Distillery on Yuliia’s success at winning four gold medals.

“We’ve been supporting Coleg Llandrillo’s culinary department since we opened in 2021 and have seen Yuliia put on a real culinary showcase at other events too. This is another great example of the professional talent that we see coming from Coleg Llandrillo each year. Iechyd da!”

Yuliia thanked her tutors at Coleg Llandrillo, where she is studying Level 3 Professional Cookery and Food Service.

She said: “I’m very grateful to all the teachers at Coleg Llandrillo who have helped me prepare for this competition. It took a lot of hours when I should have been in the kitchen and had to come to the front-of-house to practice, so the tutors have been very understanding and supportive.

“Mike Garner has been incredibly helpful, putting in lots of his free time to help me get everything sorted and organised, so I’m very grateful for that as well. It was a big team effort.”

Mike said: “We're really proud of Yuliia, she's an absolute star. She has been training for this competition since before Christmas, putting in lots of hours and hard work. All her effort and determination has paid off, and it's a massive credit to her. She's very talented but in addition to this, she also has the mindset and the attitude to do really well."

Yuliia is now preparing for WorldSkills 2026 in Shanghai, having been named in the UK training squad for the restaurant service competition. The squad are undertaking a series of training sessions, after which just one competitor will be chosen to represent the UK in China, in the event known as ‘The Skills Olympics’.

Do you want to work in the hospitality industry? Grŵp Llandrillo Menai’s Hospitality & Catering programme area offers full and part-time courses from Level 1 to Bachelors Honours Degrees, as well as apprenticeships, NVQs and customised employee training.