Haskins Snowhill Garden Centre, Crawley, is celebrating the success of restaurant supervisor, Adam Kelly, who recently won the regional heats of Costa Coffee UK’s Barista of the Year competition to progress to the UK and Ireland final.

Adam initially came top of Haskins internal competition, before also emerging victorious in the fiercely competitive Costa Coffee franchise heats. He will now compete against the best baristas across Costa Coffee’s UK and Ireland stores for his place in the International Barista of the Year competition.

Praising Haskins’s contribution to his development, Adam said: “I am thrilled to have progressed to the national Costa Coffee competition, and the support Haskins has provided has been brilliant. One of the biggest reasons I love working here is that Snowhill is one tight unit, we love working together and that puts a spring in your step when coming into work every day. It feels like a family.”

The 24-year-old, who has been a part of the Snowhill team for five years, follows in the footsteps of Haskins’s own Michaela Wilson. Michaela finished third in 2023’s International Costa competition and has been supporting Adam in preparing for the next stage of the process.

Adam continued: “I have a passion for coffee, and love to spend my spare time experimenting with different types of coffee beans and methods. I know better than anyone that having an awful or amazing coffee can make a huge difference to your day. I am so excited to have the opportunity to take part in the national competition and have the opportunity to demonstrate the skills I have developed as a barista.”

Jason Froggatt, Group Catering Manager for Haskins, said: “We have been running our in-house Barista of the Year competition for several years, which is a great opportunity to support our colleagues’ personal development and growth.

“The Snowhill team are proud to have Adam representing the wider Haskins brand in 2024. We’ll all be cheering him on and helping where we can so that he receives the recognition he deserves as he progresses through the Costa Coffee competition stages.”

Haskins is proud to have been a Costa Coffee partner business for over 14 years and is the only garden centre brand in the United Kingdom to serve Costa Coffee within its centre restaurants.

For more information on Haskins Garden Centres and the huge variety of plants and gardening advice available, please visit www.haskins.co.uk.