Belgium’s Top Bartenders Earn World Championship Berths With Winning Performances

Claude Remacle and Kristof Vandenabeele celebrate after winning Belgium’s national bartending championships, securing places at the 2026 World Cocktail Championship in Macau. Photo courtesy of Belgian Bartenders’ Union.

Serving up success for Belgium

Belgium crowned Claude Remacle and Kristof Vandenabeele national bartending champions, earning them places at the 2026 World Cocktail Championship in Macau after outstanding performances in classic and flair categories.

Never mind about the football World Cup… Belgium has crowned two champions already.

Claude Remacle and Kristof Vandenabeele have been crowned national champions in a competition organised by the Belgian Bartenders’ Union.

Claude scooped top prize in the “Classic” category while Kristof was voted best in “Flair Bartending.”

Both will now represent their home country at the 2026 World Cocktail Championship which takes place in Macau from October 19 to 24.

Highlights

• Belgium crowned two national bartending champions.
• Claude Remacle won the Classic category.
• Kristof Vandenabeele claimed the Flair Bartending title.
• Both qualified for the 2026 World Cocktail Championship in Macau.
• Claude impressed judges with her tea-based cocktail Yuanfen Threads.
• Kristof was recognized for his exceptional flair, precision, and performance.
• Claude previously won Belgium’s Best Bartender title in 2025.
• Kristof has competed in nearly 100 international contests.
• Kristof holds a Guinness World Record for 108 consecutive bottle bounces off his elbow.
• Belgium will compete at the World Cocktail Championship from October 19–24, 2026.

Claude’s qualification for the world title was achieved with her cocktail *Yuanfen Threads*, a tea-based creation inspired by the Chinese concept of invisible connections between people.

The judges praised Claude for a creation of “botanicals, infusions and flavour construction” while Kristof was hailed for his “mastery of technique, performance and visual impact.”

Claude is no stranger to success: she was crowned Best Bartender of Belgium in 2025 and represented Belgium that same year at the World Cocktail Championship in Colombia with her  “Green Pearls” cocktail.

Already a leading figure in flair bartending, Kristof has participated in nearly 100 international competitions and holds a Guinness World Record with 108 consecutive bottle bounces off his elbow.

His work is, said the event spokesman, based on “discipline, repetition, and precision of movement.”

“In Macau, he will bring this mastery to bear on a complete performance, blending precision, rhythm, and visual impact. For him too, movement becomes language.”

The spokesman added, “The World Cocktail Championship is one of the most demanding events in international bartending. The Belgian selection illustrates the richness and diversity of Belgian bartending. In Macau, Belgium will not only be showcasing cocktails, but also a vision, a way of inhabiting the bar: demanding, free, and profoundly vibrant.”

The World Cocktail Championship, organized by the International Bartenders Association, brings together the world’s best bartenders each year in a format that blends technique, creativity, and identity.