On Monday, 26 October, Alma in Prague will host The Ada Coleman Project, an international initiative that brings together professionals from the bar and hospitality sectors. The programme will feature an afternoon presentation focusing on community, career development and collaboration in the hospitality industry, followed in the evening by a guest shift led by bartenders Nora Koufou and Alina Lucia. The project’s co-founders, Kaitlin Wilkes and Kristine Bocchino, and journalist Alia Akkam will also be visiting Prague.
The Ada Coleman Project at Alma
Monday, 26 October 2026
Alma, Prague
13:00–14:30 — Specialist presentation
Community, Career, Collaboration: Worth It, or Just Words?
20:00–22:00 — Sip Social
Evening guest shift: Nora Koufou and Alina Lucia
The Ada Coleman Project is based on the idea that the development of bar culture relies not only on new cocktails, techniques or drink concepts, but also on the people shaping the industry together. The initiative connects more than 200 professionals and, through educational programmes, supports the sharing of experiences, professional growth and collaboration across the gastronomy and drinks scene.
The Prague event will bring this philosophy to life at Alma. The programme will focus on topics relating to the day-to-day running of the hospitality industry – from working behind the bar and managing drinks programmes, through mentoring and training, to food and drink journalism. Alongside the professional programme itself, an important part of the event will be the opportunity to meet in person with leading figures active in various markets and different areas of the industry.
Community, career and collaboration as part of bar culture
The afternoon programme, entitled ‘Community, Career, Collaboration: Worth It, or Just Words?’, will explore the question of what real benefits professional communities, collaboration and career development bring to the hospitality industry. The discussion will focus not only on the significance of these concepts, but above all on their practical application and the ways in which they can benefit both individuals and the sector as a whole.
The project is led by Kaitlin Wilkes and Kristine Bocchino, two professionals with different career backgrounds who share a passion for education and the development of the hospitality community.
Kaitlin Wilkes is an award-winning mixologist and brand consultant with over a decade of experience. During her career, she has worked at prestigious London establishments, including The Savoy and The Berkeley, and has collaborated with leading drinks brands. Her experience combines day-to-day work behind the bar with a broader perspective on the drinks industry and how it operates.
Kristine Bocchino brings experience from the American gastronomic scene. She worked as a pastry chef and beverage director at Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts, where she encountered various forms of hotel gastronomy and beverage programmes. She currently focuses on education, workshops, and gastronomy and lifestyle journalism. Her professional scope thus combines operational experience with knowledge-sharing and communication about gastronomy.
From gastronomic journalism to Europe’s best bars
The Prague event will also feature Alia Akkam, a journalist and author originally from New York who now lives in Budapest. Her work has long focused on bars, design, travel and gastronomy. She is the author of the ‘Behind the Bar’ book series, which focuses on hotel bars, gin and tequila.
Her work extends beyond journalism itself. Akkam is one of the chairs of the World’s 50 Best Bars Academy and co-chairs the Writing & Media section of the Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards. She brings to the discussion the perspective of someone who observes the bar scene not only from an operational standpoint, but also in terms of its presentation, evaluation and cultural context.
It is precisely this interconnection of different professions that is one of the key aspects of the entire project. Bar culture is shaped not only behind the bar, but also through education, the media, collaboration with brands and the sharing of experiences between different generations of professionals.
The evening guest shift will bring both Athens and Amsterdam to the venue
The professional gathering will be followed at 8.00 pm by the Sip Social evening programme, during which Nora Koufou and Alina Lucia will take their places behind the bar. The two bartenders, who work in different European cities, will present their work directly to Alma’s guests and bring their experiences of the current bar scenes in Athens and Amsterdam to Prague.
Nora Koufou works as head bartender at the Line bar in Athens. She has over a decade of experience and combines creativity, precision and a focus on sustainability in her work. In 2025, she was named Bartender of the Year in the World Class Greece competition. Alongside her day-to-day work behind the bar, she is also involved in professional seminars and training. As part of the Wine Tellers group, she leads programmes focused on sustainable drink menu design and mentoring.
Bar Line, with which her professional career is closely linked, was ranked first in the Europe’s 50 Best Bars list in 2026, according to the information provided, and was also named the best bar in Greece. Koufou thus brings to Prague experience from an establishment that ranks among the leading names on the contemporary European bar scene.
The second guest bartender will be Alina Lucia, co-owner of Amsterdam’s Flying Dutchmen Cocktails. She is originally from Berlin and began her bartending career after graduating from bartending school in Amsterdam in 2020. A year later, she began working at Flying Dutchmen Cocktails, where she subsequently became a co-owner alongside Tess Posthumus and Rosa Moolenaar.
In 2023, she was named Bartender of the Year by Entree Magazine and also took part in the Cocktail Apprenticeship Programme organised by Tales of the Cocktail. In her work, she emphasises creating an open and inclusive environment for both guests and colleagues. Her approach thus naturally aligns with the core philosophy of The Ada Coleman Project, which, alongside professional development, also highlights the importance of collaboration and mutual support within the industry.
More than just an evening behind the bar
The Prague leg of The Ada Coleman Project will combine education, professional networking and contemporary bar culture in a single day. The afternoon presentations will offer an opportunity to reflect on how to build a career and foster productive professional relationships in the hospitality industry, while the evening guest shift will allow attendees to observe the work of two international bartenders directly behind the bar.
For one day, Alma will become a meeting place for figures who shape the bar scene in various ways – from operations and education to the media. The common thread will be not only cocktail culture, but also the question of how more open collaboration and the sharing of experiences can benefit the entire industry.
