Winner of best alcohol free cocktail in Horsham to be crowned in July

The Mocktail Apprentice Project will finish in spectacular style with a grand finale at South Lodge Hotel near Horsham.

Winning teams from schools across the Horsham district will compete in an inter-school final competition where the teams will get the chance to become the Mocktail Apprentice Grand Finalist 2012/13.

This interactive and innovative project is being delivered by Horsham District Council, Sussex Central YMCA’s Young Person’s Alcohol Initiative, and Horsham Matters, after they successfully bid for £9,000 of an ‘Alcohol fund’ from the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) in early 2012.

The fund was announced by Baroness Newlove in her latest report, Building Safe, Active Communities, to help local neighbourhoods address alcohol related issues such as underage drinking and associated anti-social behaviour.

The project team has been visiting secondary schools across the Horsham district giving teams of students the chance to come up with their own ‘Mocktail’ (non-alcoholic cocktail) recipes before pitching them to a panel of judges, made up of local business, health and youth work representatives.

The winning teams will compete at South Lodge Hotel in July and there will be some exciting prizes for the winning team, including the winning ‘Mocktail’ being made available for sale on the drinks menu at South Lodge Hotel as well as others’ drinks menus.

The project has been designed to empower young people in the Horsham district to explore safe and responsible alternatives to alcohol, while developing key employability skills.

Baroness Newlove will be attending the finale event along with a number of other VIP guests.

Sue Rogers (Con, Steyning), HDC cabinet member for a safer and healthier district, said: “I am excited to finally see the end result of this exciting competition.

“Whilst young people’s binge drinking is not a significant issue within the Horsham District community, the Mocktail Apprentice Project has been an important and innovative educational project for the District and for our young people.”

For more information on the Mocktail Apprentice Project, email [email protected] or call 01403 215137.