I have been with Cruisen Cocktails since the start (around 7 years ago), which gave me the skills to work with a Cocktail Catering company in London for 2 years, Liquid Chefs. If you want to be famous and adored by the masses become an actor.Next up in our Bartender Profile series is Greg, our resident cocktail expert who has been with Cruisen Cocktails from the start!īartending Experience – Started as a glassie at The Botanica about 7 years ago and worked my way onto the bar and then experimenting with different drinks and combinations. Find mentors that give you great advice and don’t listen to everyone. Relax, serve your time and enjoy your work. What advice would you give young bartenders coming through today? Bartenders who steal- you know who you are! Brands that are only interested in volume…īartenders who don’t like you, yet have never met or had a conversation with you. Know it alls! People whom only talk about cocktails. Always hire and keep the good ones, remove bad ones quickly, just like a band-aid.ĭo you have a pet hate about the industry that you can share, or is there something that really gets under your skin you’d like to have a quick rant about? Time starts… now! How important are staff in operating a successful business? ![]() Just be yourself and don’t let this industry push you around as it can be a cruel temptress. I’m quite easy going and hate confrontation (someone has family issues!) I was also trying to be something I’m not. I didn’t stand up for myself and I let myself get pushed around. I went through some serious problems a couple of years ago. What mistakes have taught you the most important lessons? I used to worry about it in the past, but now I’m not looking for awards, I can focus on improving an already great little bar (Bar Americano) and put energy in creating an amazing experience for our loyal customers. After winning an award such as Tales, you will always find you have increased sales, but generally this comes through the media awareness of these internationally acclaimed awards.įor me, all my awards mean nothing without PR and media support that has followed it. There are loads of great bars, which don’t have any awards, so I think there are shades of grey. You’ve won awards yourself, and the Merchant Hotel has also won awards - how important do you think these are for a bar’s success and for the individual bartender? And the heat really changes the choice of drinks the people of Melbourne order.įriendship! Cronyism, egotism and brand controlled relationships. There are a lot more high quality a cocktail bars in Australia compared to Ireland. It’s up and coming! There are some great bartenders over here and it seems after a week at Bar Americano I’ve realised how much Aussies love their cocktails. What excites you about the Australian bar industry - how is it different from Ireland? ![]() I browse food blogs and various cocktails blogs to see how others would approach similar drinks. I used to read a lot (I mean a lot) of cocktail books, but these days I only read children stories to my three year old. I look at drinks and see how I can put simple twists on them. It’s hard to be creative in an industry that borrows so heavily from the past. How do you continually develop your creative ideas? ![]() Oh! And most importantly I’ll be making drinks in one of the most beautiful cocktail bars I’ve ever seen. I manage the bar, implement new menus and train staff, but lucky for me, the team is pretty well-schooled and sadly much brighter than me. My role is what you would expect of a head bartender. Tell us a little about your role at Bar Americano? We were hand cracking ice and doing some pretty cool things before it become trendy, we showed the world that hotel bars could be cool without being too pretentious. ![]() We were in Belfast not Mayfair which I think also contributed to our success. We had solid menus, great glassware and a ‘can do’ attitude. What is great about The Merchant Hotel was its atmosphere, the staff and of course the surroundings were awesome! We worked extremely hard to gain and establish an international reputation as an outstanding cocktail bar. It’s no secret that I have worked in one of the worlds most awarded bars.
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