An Italian coffee maestro showed a group of trainee chefs how to brew the perfect cup in a class organised by the island’s Little Venice Group of restaurants.

Juliano Batticari, a veteran barista and café owner from Venice, Italy, demonstrated his skills to the Bermuda College students at the upmarket Fourways Inn in Paget.

He showed the trainees the way to make the perfect cappuccino and different brewing techniques.

Mr Batticari, the owner of two cafés in Venice, said that he was invited to Bermuda to run coffee-making workshops at Café Four in Hamilton, also owned by the restaurant group.

He added that Café Four customers could watch him make coffee on televisions inside the restaurant.

Mr Batticari said: “I’ve taught classes like this many times before. But it’s not as much fun as teaching here in Bermuda.”

Bermuda College student Elisha Smith, 26, said she enjoyed learning the skills behind the perfect coffee and had picked up new information, despite second-hand experience with the craft.

She explained: “I’ve seen it done before because I’ve had a family member work as a barista for a good few years.

“Still, I didn’t realise there were various brewing styles for coffee, like Italian and French styles.”

Ms Smith, from Southampton, said that she attended the class, held on Thursday, to expand her knowledge of culinary skills. She added that events like the coffee master class helped her better judge the quality of restaurants.

Ms Smith said: “Some people try to sidestep something, so now that I know the proper method I can say ‘they’re not doing that right, I’m not going there any more’.”

Tremayne Bailey, 27, said that he appreciated a good coffee and signed up for the class to learn the proper techniques.

He added that the course was a good way to acquire knowledge that could be applied throughout his career.

Mr Bailey said: “It’s always good to have those kinds of knowledge on the back-burner because when you’re in the kitchen you have to be creative, so it opens up a whole new creative aspect.”

He added the course had made him want to experiment more with coffee. Mr Bailey said: “There’s a whole new world open to me now.”

Andreas Detzer, the general manager at Fourways, said events like Mr Batticari’s classes were a vital learning experience for Bermuda students.

He added: “Coffee has a big role in the culinary experience, so I thought that it might be very interesting for the culinary newcomers to get a little more exposure.

“It’s very, very important for the students to come in here, see a real kitchen and see how people actually work in the hospitality industry.”