The Vancouver Foodster Mojito Challenge was a great success featuring unique creations at restaurants around Metro Vancouver. Each restaurant featured their creation on their menu from July 8-31, 2022 and their customers voted for their favourites daily throughout the challenge for their People’s Choice favourites. Our media judging panel determined the ultimate winners of the challenge, and this was quite the task as each judge who tasted each creation with a rigorous process based on taste, originality/uniqueness and presentation/appearance.
The Winners are:
1st Place:
{113 points}
Odd Society Spirits collab with Hai Tea
Green Dream Mojito Slushy
Price: $12
Created by: Mia Glanz
Description: A fruit and citrus minty melony lime green slushy! Odd Society Wallflower Gin and seasonal elderflower liqueur team up with Hai Tea Mojito to create an unforgettable, unbelievably thirst-quenching mojito slushy experience.
Ingredients: Odd Society Elderflower Liqueur, Wallflower Gin, Midori Melon Liqueur, Hai Tea Mojito, Arugula + Mint syrup, Lime
Odd Society Spirits
1725 Powell St,, Vancouver
Tel: (604) 559-6745
Web: https://www.oddsocietyspirits.com/
Instagram @oddsocietyspirits and @haiteabeverages
2nd Place (TIE):
{101 points}
Diva at the Met
Gardener’s Mojito
Price: $16
Created by: Thomas Goodine – Bartender
Description: A little bit of everything – sweet, savory, and citrusy. The perfect summer cocktail mix.
Ingredients: Bacardi White Rum, Aperol, Dubonnet, House made cherry tomato juice, Grapefruit, Lime, No Sugar Added, Mint Garnish
Diva at the Met
(inside the Metropolitan Hotel)
645 Howe St, Vancouver
Tel: (604) 602-7788
Web: https://www.opentable.ca/r/diva-at-the-met-metropolitan-hotel-vancouver
Instagram @diva_met
2nd Place (TIE):
{101 points}
Food by Fanta
Mojito SunRise
Price $13
Created by: Parinya Loptson
Description: Brighten up this year’s cool grey Summer with the golden hue of Peach and Apricot ice with a touch of Thai & French herbs while still keeping the traditional flavours of Cuba with Havana Club Rum.
The experience is elevated with house-made clarified Thai lemongrass, Pandan leaves, mint, lime cordial, garnished with mint sprigs and a spritz of French herb liqueur.
Ingredients: Clarified herbal lime cordial: Mint, lime juice, lime zest, lemongrass & Pandan leaves water, citric acid, agar agar.
Drink:Rum, Clarified herbal lime cordial, club soda, mint leaves, small diced peach & apricot ice.
Food by Fanta
20542 Fraser Hwy, Langley
Tel; (604) 530-6803
Instagram @foodbyfanta
3rd Place:
{99 points}
1927 Lobby Lounge
Bajan Mojito
Price: $19
Created by: The team
Description: Keeping Vancouver summer in mint rejuvenate with Bajan Mojito, which is made using premium rum and a twist.
Ingredients: Mount Hay Eclipse, Palm Sugar, mint, Charred lime
1927 Lobby Lounge (inside the Rosewood Hotel Georgia)
801 West Georgia Street, Vancouver
Tel:(604) 682-5566
Web:https://www.rosewoodhotels.com/en/hotel-georgia-vancouver/dining/1927-lobby-lounge
Instagram @rosewoodhotelgeorgia
In the People’s Choice Awards category, the public who tried the Mojito Creations were the ones who had the opportunity to cast their vote throughout the challenge.
The Winners are:
1st Place People’s Choice:
Odd Society Spirits collab with Hai Tea
Green Dream Mojito Slushy
Price: $12
Created by: Mia Glanz
Description: A fruit and citrus minty melony lime green slushy! Odd Society Wallflower Gin and seasonal elderflower liqueur team up with Hai Tea Mojito to create an unforgettable, unbelievably thirst-quenching mojito slushy experience.
Ingredients: Odd Society Elderflower Liqueur, Wallflower Gin, Midori Melon Liqueur, Hai Tea Mojito, Arugula + Mint syrup, Lime
Odd Society Spirits
1725 Powell St,, Vancouver
Tel: (604) 559-6745
Web: https://www.oddsocietyspirits.com/
Instagram @oddsocietyspirits and @haiteabeverages
2nd Place People’s Choice:
Moltaqa Restaurant
Sunset in Marrakesh
Price: $13.50
Created by: Anastasiia Goncharova
Description: We infused apricots and Moroccan spices inside the rum bottle, creating a new twist on the classic mojito. Then we mix spiced rum with traditionally made Moroccan mint tea, add some freshly squeezed lemon juice and Moroccan vanilla cherry jam as a sweetener. The combination of colours (red, yellow and green) symbolises the sunset sky in Marrakesh.
Ingredients: 2 oz spiced dark rum, 2 oz lemon juice, 5 oz traditional Moroccan mint tea, Moroccan cherry jam and Moroccan spices as garnish (all spice mix)
Moltaqa Restaurant
51 W Hastings Street, Vancouver
Tel: (604) 696-4055
Web: https://www.moltaqarestaurant.ca/
Instagram: @moltaqa.vancouver
3rd Place People’s Choice:
Diva at the Met
Gardener’s Mojito
Price: $16
Created by: Thomas Goodine – Bartender
Description: A little bit of everything – sweet, savory, and citrusy. The perfect summer cocktail mix.
Ingredients: Bacardi White Rum, Aperol, Dubonnet, House made cherry tomato juice, Grapefruit, Lime, No Sugar Added, Mint Garnish
Diva at the Met
(inside the Metropolitan Hotel)
645 Howe St, Vancouver
Tel: (604) 602-7788
Web: https://www.opentable.ca/r/diva-at-the-met-metropolitan-hotel-vancouver
Instagram @diva_met
Each media judge scored each creation with a maximum of 40 points as follows: Overall Taste 20 points, Originality and Uniqueness 10 points, Presentation and Appearance 10 points. The highest number of points a challenge creation could have been awarded is 120 points.
Our Media judges for this challenge were: Emma Clark, Jessica Chan and Tara Lee.
Thank you to all the chefs, bartenders and restaurants that accepted my invitation and featured the Mojito Challenge creations on the menu for the past few weeks during this challenge.
I encourage you to visit the winning restaurants to try their Mojito creations!
By: Richard Wolak