Antonio German Venturo Bardales, Peru

Ciclos Cafe & El Cacaotal

Tell us about yourself:

I work at a specialty coffee shop and roastery named Ciclos Cafe and at the same time chocolate shop named El Cacaotal. Both are located in Barranco, Lima, Peru.

I have been competing in Barista National Championships since 2017:

2017: 2nd place
2018: 2nd place
2019: 1st place
2023: 1st place

What makes me want to compete? It's to let people know in the world coffee industry that Peru it´s not only a country where good quality coffee comes from, but also has amazing professionals that can make a change in our industry, and the best way to show it is by wining the WBC this year.

I am a person who likes peace and tranquillity, but also has big ambitions. I love cebiche at all times of the day. Apart from coffee, another goal I have in my life is to open a small but really fancy Cebicheria (that´s what seafood restaurants are called in Peru).

I got into the coffee industry when I came back to Peru in 2015 after working as a cook in a cruise ship. I was looking forward to move from my parent´s house, so I found a job in a coffee shop in which I planned to stay for a couple of months to at least pay my rent, because my goal was to work as a cook in Central Restaurant which is now #1 in The World's 50 Best Restaurants and also the place were we sell our coffee currently. So back then, I didn´t know I was working in a specialty coffee shop, I didn´t even know what specialty coffee was. From then on I started to learn how to prepare and appreciate coffee and really happy to be in this industry with goals to make a change so it get as advanced like disciplines like beer, wines or the world of cocktails.

What are you excited to do while you visit Busan?

Looking forward to visit coffee shops and eat a lot of Korean food! And also visit the various tourist attractions.

What are your interests outside of coffee?

I love seafood, video games, walking really long distances, and always open to try different drink and food over the world.

Is there anyone you would like to thank or recognize or who helped you to prepare for the WBC?

A lot of people, mainly because I think that the reason a competitor achieves the 1st place in a WBC it´s because it has a group of people supporting him as passionate and same goals as him. It's like the coffee value chain were every part it´s important for he final result. So I would like to thank my teammates, my bosses, my family, friends, the other professionals that are not involved necessarily in the coffee industry but also helped me with their knowledge to improve my presentation and also with my coffee knowledge help them in their areas.

Collaboration is the key for success.