Nigerian bartender Happiness Cletus is heading to Paris in October after placing among the top three finalists at the Hennessy MyWay Africa Regional Finals in Johannesburg.
Cletus won the Nigerian leg of the competition, then finished second at the regional stage in August. That result earned her one of three global finals spots, alongside Kenya’s Brian Ohadha and South Africa’s Roxanne Read.
The Johannesburg event brought together five national champions: Cletus for Nigeria, Read for South Africa, Ohadha for Kenya, Amoafi Boateng for Ghana, and Nengai Godwin Mollel for Tanzania. Only three advanced.
Cletus built her entry around Nigerian ingredients and cultural storytelling, paired with waste-conscious bartending techniques. That focus matches how Hennessy MyWay scores entries. Sustainability carries 35 of the competition’s total judging points, and competitors must show how their ingredients respond to their own market, including produce that might otherwise go to waste.
Judges are also looking past the drink itself. Entrants explain the ritual behind how a cocktail is served, and why their sustainable practice fits the market it comes from.
Hennessy MyWay runs across three stages: a digital round, a market-level round, and the global finals. This year’s finals take place in October in Paris and Cognac, where market champions from around the world compete for the overall title, plus separate recognition for Most Sustainable Champion and Best Ritual. The overall winner takes home a trophy and a magnum of rare Hennessy Cognac.
Cletus already carries some international recognition. In 2024, The World’s 50 Best included her in its scholarship programme, when she was working at Vogue Resort in Lagos.
Her run through this year’s competition adds to a wider pattern of Nigerian bartenders using international platforms to bring local ingredients and technique to a global audience. Lagos, Nairobi, and Accra have all built increasingly sophisticated cocktail scenes in recent years, and competitions like Hennessy MyWay give that talent a stage most local hospitality workers rarely get.
For now, the next stop is Paris.
Read More:
