Hospitality Secrets
By Paul Sfirlea
Hospitality SecretsJul 14, 2021
30. Dima Shovkoplyas: "Hospitality is a Journey, Not a Destination"
Today's surprise guest is my good friend Dima Shovkoplyas from Kyiv, Ukraine.
Dima is the Bar Manager and the Co-Owner of Parovoz SpeakEasy Bar. He is the founder of the Parovoz Mixology Course and Committee Member in Spirited awards.
Among many things that he is doing during this period, Dima gave an amazing interview where he shared some of his hospitality secrets.
If you want to find out more, follow:
Parovoz Spreakeasy: https://www.instagram.com/parovozspeakeasy/
Parovoz Mixology Course: https://www.facebook.com/parovozmixologycourse
Parovoz Chips - parovozchips.com
29. Steve Schneider: "Reliable - Always Myself Unapologetically"
Steve Schneider has earned a reputation as one of the most respected and successful bartenders in the industry. Of his seventeen years professionally crafting cocktails, he has spent the last twelve building his career at one of the most highly esteemed NYC cocktail bars, Employees Only, which in 2011 won the coveted “World’s Best Cocktail Bar” award at Tales of the Cocktail. In June of 2016, he became a partner in Employees Only Singapore, the company’s first expansion outside of NYC. During his time in Singapore, Employees Only has been listed as one of Asia’s 50 Best Bars each year of its existence, and Steve was in the top ten amongst nominees for “International Bartender of the Year” at Tales of the Cocktail.
Find more of Steve’s work:
Insta: https://www.instagram.com/mightyschneidey/
Employees only https://www.instagram.com/employeesonlysg/
Elysian Café: https://www.instagram.com/elysiancafehoboken/
28. Vasilis Kyritsis: “Keep my passion and the senses always open”
Vasilis was born in Piraeus, Athens’ hectic and industrial port area. An area once described as rough and ready, it’s undergoing a transformation. After finishing school, he moved to the centre of Athens, where he studied nursing and begun working in clubs, for the dual purpose of meeting people and making extra cash.
Bartenders aren’t always the club types, but Kyritsis claims working in a club came in mighty handy later on. “You had to work quickly, serving a lot of people whilst smiling,” he says. “Without the extra positive of serving cocktails, all we had was our good mood to convince people to drink more and more. In short, working in clubs makes you more humble and polite.” After working at Athens Island Club in 2006, he moved over to the famous Gin Joint, before opening up The Clumsies in late 2014.
Just before he opened his own bar, there’s two major formative experiences worth noting. In 2012 Vasilis was crowned national World Class champion, before going on to compete in the global finals in Rio de Janeiro. Diageo’s annual mass-bartender bout was an experience he savoured – both for making industry connections and learning about himself as a bartender. Another defining event was going to Tony Conigliaro’s Drink Factory in London, where he learnt how “bartenders can combine classic bartending with modern bartending.”
“The Clumsies is a traditional type of Greek place,” he explains, moving onto his current bar he opened up in 2014 with Nikos Bakoulis – a fellow bartender and the Greek World Class Winner in 2011 – and Lefteris Georgopoulos, Thanos Tsounakas and Giorgos Kaissaris. Open early with specialty coffee and breakfast food curated by Michelin Star chef Nikos Karathanos. Two floors encompass both a high volume bar and the 10 tabled “Room” upstairs where attendees can receive personalized drinks. There’s a lab too for innovation.
“One of the reasons we named the bar The Clumsies is that I have always had a touch of clumsiness. I drop things sometimes,” he laughs. “Clumsies means something more comfortable for our guests. It makes you feel more comfortable again. Nobody likes perfect people.”
Find Vasilis work:
Fb ► https://www.facebook.com/kiritsis.vasilis1
Insta ► https://www.instagram.com/bkyritsis/
The Clumsies:
► https://www.instagram.com/the_clumsies/
Hustler:
► https://www.instagram.com/hustler.greece/
Otto’s Vermouth:
27. Martin Hudak: “Everyday Try To Be Better Than Yesterday And Worst Than Tomorrow ”
Martin Hudák was born in Prešov, Slovakia and began his career behind the bar immediately after graduating from secondary school. He quickly discovered a passion for both coffee and cocktails, and for combining the two, and through determination and hard work moved to London five years later to join one of the world’s best bar teams at The Savoy’s and legendary the best bar in the world American Bar, where he held the position of senior bartender for nearly for years.
Not only does Martin hone his bartending skills behind this famous bar but he continues to showcase his expertise by participating in prestigious industry competitions. He has shaken and stirred at the world finals for various global competitions. As well he has made it to the world finals of Coffee in Good Spirit several times. Martin was a double runner up in Melbourne (2014) and Shanghai (2016) with his signature coffee beverage program and his Irish Coffee respectively.
And after so many years all his effort result into the title of World Coffee in Good Spirit Champion from Budapest (2017).
With this title over one year he travelled more than 50 countries and trained around 3000 passionate coffee and cocktail aficionados during his training programs and cocktail demonstrations touching topics of coffee cocktail future.
Likewise, his company Spiritual Coffee is responsible for many coffee cocktail programs during events to be mentioned – London Coffee Festival, London Fashion Week and Bar Shows or personalized coffee cocktail concepts for bars and coffee shops around the globe.
Martin is also Global coffee ambassador for Australian craft coffee liquor – Mr. Black Spirits which he represents around the world.
Currently based in Sydney where he opened with his team new concept Maybe Sammy as a “swing” on a classic hotel cocktail bar, minus the hotel. Inspired by 1950s Hollywood glamour. And lately won at TOTC – Best New International Cocktail Bar 2019 and also got ranked as Best Australasian Bar and no 11th within 50 World’s Best Bars 2020.
Lastly during Drink Magazine Bar Awards ceremony in Shanghai, he was announced by peers as new International bartender of the year 2019. And in March 2020 was recognized by Forbes magazine Slovakia as one of 30 under 30 most talented and inspirational young personalities. And in September 2020 recognized as 49th most influential industry icon in the globe by Drinks International.
Martin’s Insagram ► https://www.instagram.com/martin_hudak/
Maybe Sammy ► https://www.instagram.com/maybe_sammy_sydney/
Sammy Junior ► https://www.instagram.com/sammy_junior_sydney/
Spiritual Coffee ► https://www.spiritualcoffee.co
26. Stephanie Jordan: “Connection & Community”
Born in London to a British mother and Colombian father and raised in the Burgundy wine region of France, Stephanie had a unique cultural upbringing that sparked her passion for the drinks & #HospitalityIndustry. It also gave her the added bonus of having not one, but three native languages: English, Spanish and French.
Business developer, marketer and trade advocacy specialist who thrives in an entrepreneurial dynamic environment with over 15 years’ experience in the wine & spirits industry, Stephanie is also an accomplished keynote speaker, leading seminars across global drink trade conferences on future drinking trend and various spirits category deep dives. More recently she co-founded award-winning Avallen Spirits, a pioneering new Calvados brand bringing a modern face to a traditional French classic. Avallen has a mission to be the most sustainable spirit on the market, and save bee populations along the way.
Find Stephanie's work:
► https://www.instagram.com/drinkingoutloud/
► https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPNvt41750NuM-4adRAE9Ow
► https://www.instagram.com/avallenspirits/
25. TESS POSTHUMUS: “Excited Journey Full of Life Lessons”
Tess Posthumus is a multi-awarded bartender & bar owner based in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Next to being the (co-)owner of Flying Dutchmen Cocktails, Perfect Serve Barshow, Amsterdam Cocktail Week, Difford’s Guide Netherlands and The Collection by Tess Posthumus bar tools, as a hospitality consultant she is responsible for NH Collection The Tailor & VANE Skybar, and the author of Cocktails met Tess and Masterclass: Cocktails. Tess writes monthly for Delicious and More Than Drinks magazine, and is working on her third book ‘Dutch Courage’.
Follow Tess and her work on:
https://www.flyingdutchmencocktails.shop
24. Ariel Leizgold: “Born From Dreams and Then Following Those Dreams to Bring Them to Life”
Ariel focuses on the creative process and brings up philosophical questions regarding people’s needs, desires and motivating elements in the Hospitality Industry.
He seeks to redefine the Experience of Hospitality and tries to challenge his guests about the way they experience their free time offering them “Overwhelming Hospitality Experiences”
In 2008 he opened the very first and, what is today, the oldest running Cocktail Bar in Israel, "223". Since then he has opened several other venues leading up to his recent creation, BELLBOY (soon Bellboy will open in Berlin also 🤭). Both 223 and BELLBOY have been awarded "best bar" by Time Out magazine and in 2012. He has competed in nine national and two global competitions, making Ariel the most awarded bartender in Israel's history.
If you want to follow Ariel’s work, follow the links:
https://www.instagram.com/arielleizgold/
https://www.facebook.com/arielleizgold
https://www.instagram.com/bellboycocktails/
https://www.instagram.com/fantastic_tlv/
23. Salvatore Calabrese: "Incredible Journey I Still Love to Carry"
Salvatore Calabrese, The Maestro, has been making drinks for more than 50 years.
From humble beginnings on the Amalfi Coast in Italy, where he made his first cocktail aged just 12, to a succession of top hotel bars, private members clubs and exclusive cocktail bars around the world.
As one of the world’s most well known and respected bartenders, Salvatore has made drinks for the rich and famous, from presidents to royalty and is regarded as one of the most influential figures in the modern drinks industry.
He has received the Tales of the Cocktail Lifetime Achievement Award and the Imbibe Industry Legend Award and he holds the record of creating the oldest cocktail in history (there were 730 years worth of history in one drink) and the world’s most expensive cocktail.
If you want to find some of Salvatore’s #HospitalitySecrets, click play and enjoy one hour of engaging stories from Maestro.
Cheers!
P.S.
Follow Maestro:
► https://www.facebook.com/maestrocalabrese
► https://www.instagram.com/cocktailmaestro/
► https://salvatore-calabrese.co.uk
► https://www.acqua-bianca.com
22. Max La Rocca: "Service is JOY"
Max La Rocca worked as Bartender and Bar Manager in some of the world’s finest venues, including the luxurious Claridge’s Hotel in London and various Rocco Forte, Relais & Chateaux and Mandarin Oriental establishments worldwide.
He has been quoted as an award winning master and an expert by International magazines and his recipes are published on the menus of the best bars in the world and on relevant Cocktail books.
After reaching the 3° place in the world amongst 9000 Bartenders at the World Class Global Competition, he has covered for 8 years the prestigious role of World Class Ambassador for Europe.
Today he travels the world inspiring not only the Bartender Community as a Bar Trainer, Public Speaker and Cocktail Competitions Mentor & Judge, but also Consumer & Corporate audiences by creating inspiring content and activities, both online and offline, that combine fun, education and great energy with a mindful approach.
👉 https://www.instagram.com/MaxLaRoccaTribe
👉 https://maxlarocca.com/social
📚 COURSES & CONSULTING
Max truly believes that “knowledge is power” and that a great way to inspire Hospitality Professionals is by supporting them with “smart and efficient” education that includes elements that spark their curiosity and valuable info that they can use on a day to day basis in their workplace to become better professionals.
Having travelled the world, he speaks English, Spanish and Italian, which is extremely important when inspiring a worldwide audience.
His Trainings and Seminars are based on techniques and information that professionals can implement immediately, with practical exercises to allow better memorization of the concepts the have been covered.
Alongside professional growth, great attention is given to the personal growth as Max truly believes that this is the aspect that will help Professionals excel in what they do when combined with the knowledge about ingredients, techniques, management and leaderships skills.
In this view, these are the Courses that he’s delivering globally:
👉 https://maxlarocca.com/courses
21. Angus Winchester: "Learning About Drinks, Drinkers and Those Who Serve Them"
“No one cares how much you know, till they know how much you care.” Angus Winchester
Angus Winchester’s contacts and knowledge have been built up in over 33 years of interaction with the best bars and bartenders in the world. As founder member of one of the first global bar consultancies, and now running Alconomics Asia based in Hong Kong, Angus has provided on-premise consultancy, profit enhancement advice and training to trend setting outlets from Washington D.C. to Hong Kong, including Salvatore at Fifty and Trailer Happiness in London, Mandarin Oriental Hotels in Hong Kong, Hainan and Bangkok, the Fontainebleau Resort in Miami Beach, Nimb Hotel in Copenhagen, MGM Resorts in Las Vegas and Intercontinental Hotels globally.
Angus was VP of Education and Training for Barmetrix which works with operations teams to enhance profits and elevate the Guest Experience as well a rolling out their Business of Bars program in conjunction with Diageo. Via common sense business solutions, group coaching and one on one Angus has a proven record and reputation for helping educate Managers and the next Generation of Industry Leaders.
A regular and highly regarded speaker Angus has presented talks at most major Bar and Drinks trade events: Manhattan Cocktail Classic, Tales of the Cocktail, London Bar Show, Bar Convent Berlin, Athens Bar Show, Sydney Bar Show, Restaurant and Bar Hong Kong, Portland Cocktail Week, Cocktails & Spirits Copenhagen and Paris, Venuez in Holland, Antigua Bar Show, Barometer in Kiev and many others. In 2014 he won the prestigious Golden Spirit Award at Tales for being the top rated presenter there that year.
He was (as the Global Ambassador for the House of Tanqueray) nominated as Best International Brand Ambassador at Tales of the Cocktail three years running and in 2012 won the award. He also was named Wine Enthusiast Brand Ambassador/Mixologist of the Year for 2012. He was on the final short list for Best Bar Mentor in 2014/15/16 and won the 2016 award. In November 2018 he was installed as Executive Director for the annual GinPosium in Tokyo and named as a Grand Gin Guardian.
In August 2019 he was named as the 7th Most Influential Person in the Global Bar Industry by Drinks International Magazine and in 2020 number 92.
Oxford educated Angus is 51 years old, likes wearing bespoke suits, brightly colored pocket squares, playing backgammon and flying business class.
Find a cosy place and enjoy this episode.
Cheers!
P.S.
20. Jared Brown & Anistatia Miller: "The Adventures That Happen When You Forget To Say NO"
In today’s episode I don’t have one surprise guest but two surprise guests and cocktail Hospitality Industry legends Jared Brown and Anistatia Miller
THEY TRACED THE FIRST USE OF THE WORD "COCKTAIL" TO 1798 ON LONDON'S DOWNING STREET. THEY KNOW WHERE THE SAVOY'S HARRY CRADDOCK IS BURIED. THEY DISCOVERED HARRY JOHNSON'S TRUE BIRTHPLACE AND GRAVESITE PLUS KNOW HOW THE BLOODY MARY AND THE RED SNAPPER GOT THEIR NAMES.
The inseparable cocktail couple, Jared Brown and Anistatia Miller, are the directors of Mixellany Limited®, a consultancy and publishing company that specialises in anything and everything to do with spirits and mixed drinks. During the course of their 25+ year collaboration, Miller and Brown have written more than 30 books including Shaken Not Stirred®: A Celebration of the Martini,Champagne Cocktails, Cuban Cocktails, Spirit of the Cane, The Mixellany Guide to Vermouth & Other Aperitifs, and The Deans of Drink. (source mixellany.com)
📕 Find out what they are up to here:
http://www.mixellany.com
http://www.euvslibrary.com
https://darkhorsebar.co.uk
https://cryingwolf.co.uk
https://sipsmith.com
Pour yourself a cocktail and enjoy this episode full of #HospitalitySecrets
Cheers!
P.S.
19. Alexey Kostenyuk: "Crazy & Experimental Journey"
Today's #SurpriseGuest is Alexey Kostenyuk from Kiev, Ukraine who shares his #HospitalitySecrets with us.
Alexey is the Diageo Premium Core Ambassador for Ukraine and an international consultant with ongoing projects in Turkey, Odessa and Kiev. Beside consulting and ambassador stuff, he is working on the opening of his own bar (Angels Bar 🤭) and soon he'll launch his new brand of Lemonades and Sodas.
So, enjoy this episode and find out more of Alexey's secrets about Hospitality.
Cheers!
P.S.
Follow and connect with Alexey:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexey_kostenyuk/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alexey.kostenyuk
18. Vlad Gora: "INTENSE"
Today’s #SurpriseGuest is Vlad Gora from Iasi, Romania who shares his #secrets with us.
As a small child, at the family gatherings he was the entertainer. Vlad was the one making everybody laugh, helping his mother cooking and being the host without even knowing it.
After he grew up, he went in a work and travel program where he felt in love with bartending. It only took one SMILE from a couple when he was doing his first cocktail to fall in love with this industry. He felt in love with the idea of being able to make people happy.
Then he worked a lot in dive bars. After a few years he started going to cocktail competition. Then he started working in different venues in the Hospitality Industry, but mostly in clubs. Soon he was working in some of the biggest clubs in the country. At some point he dedicated 100% to this profession and started working in a nice cocktail bar (Oddity), cocktail bar and there he started preparing for World Class Competition. He won the National Finals that year and represented Romania at the Global Finals in Berlin.
After the World Class experience he was offered the opportunity to work as a brand ambassador where he learned the other side of the Hospitality Industry: brands, sales, trainings, production, etc.
Everything Vlad did was intense and full of passion. He did the same with this episode. So, relax and enjoy Vlad’s #HospitalitySecrets.
Cheers!
P.S.
17. Mihai Ostafi: "Moving Fast To Climb The Mountain"
Today’s #Guest is Mihai Ostafi from London and we’ll discover some #HospitalitySecrets from his fast journey
As a passionate bartender, Mihai is the Head Bartender of the Oriole Bar but he’s doing some many independent projects.
Mihai was born in Romania
His bartender carrier began back home almost 10 years ago in Arad.
After a few years of working as a bartender in his hometown he left and started working for Royal Caribbean Cruise line for 2 years as a mixologist, traveling around the world and working most of the time. Then he moved in London and his first job was a new opening, "Skygarden" situated on the top floors of the Walkie Talkie building . He started as a bartender and quickly moved to senior bartender and then head bartender. After almost one year in Skygarden, he got the opportunity to do a another major opening:
Oriole bar. Oriole, the brother of renowned Nightjar, from its first year already entered the 50 world's best bars. He learned a lot and from bartender he became senior bartender and the Head Bartender in Oriole.
Together with Mihai, in this episode we’ll discuss about what does it take to succeed in the Hospitality Industry
16. Katalin Bene: "Emotional Roller Coaster"
Today’s #SurpriseGuest is Katalin Bene who shares his #HospitalitySecrets with us.
Katalin is a well-traveled hospitality professional, with over 15 years of bartending experience.
She has dedicated her professional life to ensuring guests have amazing experiences in the bars in which she works.
First, she made a name for herself in London, as the Bar Manager of the Gibson Bar, then as Bar Manager of the Voodoo Reyes cocktail bar in Geneva.
She is a creative dynamo, or the “Swiss Tornado”, as some industry peers nicknamed her.
• Falstaff Magazine "Bar Woman of the Year" Award, 2019.
• ”Mixology Bar Awards” – Shortlisted in the Top 4 Bartenders of 2019.
• BRIFT Bar Convent "Best Mixologist Award", 2018.
• ”World Class Bartender of the Year” 2018, Switzerland.
• Global Finalist Diageo World Class Competition 2018.
• Winner of International Team Competition “De Kuyper Bar Fights”, 2015.
She’s happiest when her guests are happy, and her daily aim is to offer a memorable experience to everyone who walks into her bar.
Relax and listen to this episode to discover some of Kata’s hospitality #secrets.
Cheers!
P.S.
15. Diego Ferrari: "Super Lucky"
Mixologist, Author of the World Prized Book “Low Alcohol Cocktails-New Frontier in Mixology “ and Creator of the famous group of Facebook Cocktail Art, the largest photo group of the world’s cocktails, discovering a natural talent in marketing through social networks, where today thousands of bartenders follow him around the world.
Mentioned as #5 in the ranking of the Best Italian Brand Ambassadors in the Italian Bar Awards by Bargiornale in 2019.
In 2020 Drink International Magazine mentioned him as the #83 in the ranking of the 100 World Most Influential Person in the bar industry.
Last but not least, representing Matusalem Rum he had the honor to be included as one of the Top 10 Nominee as International Brand Ambassador in the Tales Of The Cocktails Spirit Awards 2020.
Currently Europe Rum Barista for Matusalem.
So, relax and click play to enjoy this episode of Hospitality Secrets Podcast.
Cheers!
P.S.
14. Sean Finter 2.0: OPTIMIZE Is The Focus For 2021
Today we have a Surprise Episode!
Sean Finter is the person who influenced my career in so many different ways. That's why I had so many questions to ask him, so we decided to do another episode.
In this episode, Sean goes even deeper and shares some amazing #Secret strategies for running a successful business in Hospitality Industry.
In this episode, Sean shares some secret tools to help you run a world class bar/restaurant, so don't miss it. Click play and enjoy some mind-blowing #HospitalitySecrets.
Cheers!
P.S.
13. Sean Finter 1.0: Failed My Way To The Top
Today’s #SurpriseGuest is Sean Finter who shares his #HospitalitySecrets with us.
Sean started working in Hospitality Industry at 13 years old at the Truck Stop in Canada.
In Canada being super cold in the winter, he had a dream job for that age, as a dishwasher, he was staying at heat near the dishwasher, pretty girls and discount at food.
He eagerly worked his way up to bartending in Toronto and then to multi-site management in London, England before landing in Australia. This is where he built his own small empire of eight bars & restaurants in Sydney. With each stop, he not only beat the odds but he outperformed the market by multiples. When he sold his bar group at the age of 33, he started Barmetrix to teach other operators the systems and techniques that made him successful. Since 1999, the Barmetrix team has served over 8,000 operation teams around the world, helping them to improve their business and increase their profitability .
If you want to hear Sean’s #Secrets , click play and enjoy!
Cheers! 🥂
P.S.
12. Kenji Jesse: IKIGAI
‼️ Kenji is a big fan of 80/20 Pareto Principle, so this episode is only 20 minutes of valuable information.
Kenji is a #consultant in the luxury drinks industry with over 19 years experience advising and activating for Global on-trade brands. His work has taken him to over 70 countries, collaborating with some of the largest Alcohol and bar brands in the World such as Diageo Reserve, Monin and Smirnoff. With a focus on Luxury, he has run experiential activation’s from London, New York, Tokyo and Moscow.
His Consultancy, Nomu|Consult, reflects his half Japanese and half British heritage respecting the Japanese Ethos of Kaizen and the British principles of confidence and boldness.
Kenji’s claim to fame is that in 2013, he was asked to facilitate 2 Guinness World Records at a Diageo Europe conference in Barcelona, hosting the “World’s Largest cocktail lesson” (1,774 people) and “The largest number of people simultaneously shaking a cocktail” (1,710 people).
Having spent time in Europe, Africa, South America and Asia, the past few years he has focused on the emerging markets of Eastern Europe and Central Asia. He grew and mentored a team of 23 Reserve Brand Ambassadors across a network of 32 distributer markets, building their KPIs and train-the-trainer capability development.
If you want to hear Kenji’s #Secrets, put your headphones, relax and enjoy this episode!
Cheers!
P.S.
11. David Rios: DREAM - ENJOY - SMILE
With a long history in #HospitalityIndustry , David shares a lot of secrets with us, so this episode is a bit longer that usual (1h 41min).
With a long background as a football player, David started working in the Hospitality Industry as a bar owner. Soon he realizes that there are a lot of things to learn in this industry.
In his first days behind the bar, he was learning how to mix drinks from his guests. They were telling him what to pour. Slowly he felt in love with this job and he started learning the craft of mixing drinks.
After a while, David started participating in Cocktail Competitions. His motivation was to learn more from his competitors but to his surprise, he managed to win a few competitions.
His participation in Cocktail Competitions culminated with winning the title of Best Bartender in the World in 2013 at the World Class competition.
If you want to find out more about David’s journey and projects, check his website davidriosexperience.com
But if you want to hear more of Davids’s #Secrets, put your headphones, get comfortable, relax and enjoy this #HospitalitySecrets episode.
Cheers!
P.S.
10. Eddie Rudzinskas - Real-Life Roller Coaster
Today’s #SurpriseGuest is Eddie Rudzinskas who shares his hospitality secrets with us.
Eddie is the Founder and the Owner of Cocktails_For_You platform.
Being very passionate about cocktails, he started a personal blog on facebook 9 years ago. He wanted a place where he can share his two big passions: cocktails and photography. Slowly this small passions transformed into his full time work.
Eddie started working in the Hospitality Industry at the age of 17. He worked in all types of bars and restaurants on all positions.
Born in Lithuania, 14 years ago he moved to Ireland where he joined the local Bartender Association and from that moment on he started to participate in many national and international Cocktail Competitions following his love for cocktails.
Slowly he cultivated also his passion for photography, he learned the secrets of that craft and around 2 years ago, e quit his job and dedicated 100% to Cocktails_For_You. His passion transformed in his Job.
If you want to hear more of Eddie’s secrets, put your headphones, get comfortable and enjoy this #HospitalitySecrets episode.
Cheers!🥂
P.S.
9. Vitezslav Cirok - Life is A Ride With No Limits
Today’s Surprise Guest is Viteszlav Cirok who shares his hospitality secrets with us.
I met Vita in the year that I was competing to World Class in 2015, he was representing Czech Republic and he managed to be in the top 6 bartenders in that year in the World Class Global Competition.
Born in a small city, 400 km from Prague he moves to capital and start working in Hospitality Industry. Soon he felt in love with the craft and dedicates all his time and energy in becoming better and better. Slowly he became a bartending legend in Czech.
In the present, together with his team he is running his own Bar Consulting company - Apollo. They are doing also Pre-Batch Cocktails (http://apollodrinks.cz/) and work on their own batched product. Inspired by Apollo program, they think about opening Space (a Lab for their products and a space to teach the new generation of bartenders).
Find out more #Secrets by listening to the whole episode. 🎙
If you don’t want to miss any hospitality secrets, follow and subscribe to Hospitality Secrets Podcast
Cheers! 🥂
P.S.
8. Danil Nevsky - A Man Walks Into a Bar and Discovers the World
Today’s special Guest is Danil Nevsky who shares his hospitality secrets with us.
‼️ This is a longer episode. Danil had a lot of value to share so we decided to go a bit longer than usual.
Danil began his journey in Hospitality at the age of 15 in Scotland where he started working as a waiter for weddings. Soon he started working as a bartender in different bars (one of the bars he worked for 2 years was in an ex church).
At the age of 22 he was the General Manager in a big club, being in charge of 62 people but he soon realizes that he liked bartending more so he returns to bartending and start going to cocktail competitions. After 23 competitions with no remarkable results, he started getting some good results, culminating with 1st place at Bols Around The World in Uk.
He moves to Amsterdam where he becomes the creative force behind the worlds 18th best cocktail bar: Tales & Spirits Cocktail Bar.
Being very ambitious, he decides to be the best bartender in the world but he couldn’t make the world come to him so he decides to go to the world so he starts The Vagabond Project so he started to work and travel around the world: in 16 months he traveled in 11 countries working in 11 bars (crazy!!)
After this insane journey he joins his forces to develop the worlds biggest bartender social media platform: Cocktails For You.
Recently he took his own path and started the Indie Bartender project with the purpose of Creating a new career path for the future leaders of the bar industry.
Find more details about this project and Danil’s story on his site:
https://www.indiebartender.com
If you want to hear Danil’s perception about Hospitality, jump in the podcast and enjoy our chat.
Cheers!🍸
P.S.
7. Nicky Neykov: Hospitality Professional Multitasker
Today's guest is Nicky Neykov, who shares his story of over 20 years in the Hospitality Industry
He started in Hospitality Industry for pocket money but soon he realizes that he can make a career in this industry.
After working as a bartender in many places and being very passionate about this industry, he opens his own bartending school (first serious school in Bulgaria) back in 2003.
Then he moved to Spain where he spent 7 years where he established another bartending school, a bartenders equipment store, lots of bar catering events, consulting, and he opens his own bar which he franchised. Then he started competing in mixology competitions
Being tired of Gin and Tonics he goes back to his roots, in Sofia where he got the role of World Class Brand Ambassador, role that he still holds.
Since then, beside the World Class Brand Ambassador role, he starts lots of different projects. From events to consulting and many more. Jump in the episode to find out more…
Enjoy!
Cheers! 🍸
6. Duende Lui: From Jungle to MICHELIN Stars Restaurants
In this episode Lui Duende is my Guest and he shares his amazing wild journey in the Hospitality Industry.
Born in southern part of Venezuela, raised into the heart of mother nature in Amazonian Forest, at 9 years old he was giving touristic tours in the Canaiama National Park offering native Hospitality.
He felt in love with a woman from Denmark and they move together in Copenhagen where he discover a completely new world.
Hospitality being his passion, he starts working and learning to be a Chef. He studied Gastronomy at the best restaurants around the world. He worked in canteens, street food and Michelin Restaurants to understand how ”civilized” people eat.
Being raised in the Amazonian Jungle, his nourishment implied eating insects and having a Sustainable way of life.
With his childhood wild experience, his big passion is to offer memorable experiences and storytelling through food to his guests using insects as a symbol of sustainable way of living.
In this episode you’ll hear many of Lui’s secrets.
Enjoy!🙏
Cheers!🥂
P.S.
You can find Lui’s work:
5. Papadopoulos Aristotelis: First Global Winner of World Class Competition - 2009
Today’s guest is Aristotelis who started bartending in 1984, an era with no mobile phones and no internet, just with a book (Mr. Boston: Official Bartender's Guide) and a lot of dedication.
Being very passionate about Hospitality Industry he becomes the co-owner of his own bar in Bucharest, Romania (inspired from Dracula 🧛🏻♂️) in 1991.
Then he starts to participate in cocktail competition, winning some national finals and representing Greece at many Global finals.
In 2009 he is the first winner of Diageo World Class Global Finals and from then he starts a carousel of traveling, judging competitions and delivering masterclasses all around the world in a hectic pace.
In 2012 he officially launches his bar school ShoulShakers where he starts passing the legacy to the new bartending generations from the whole world.
In all this time, Telis continues to follow his passion of continuously mixing drinks and constant improvement of his recipes (from cocktails, mixers, to bitters and vermouths and many more).
As he’s saying “There is always space to make thing better.”
So after so many years, he’s still learning and improving himself.
Find his work on the pages:
4. Marius Gogoasa: 15 Years Of Delivering Trainings and Still Going Strong
Today I invited Marius Gogoasa to share some ideas from his loong history in the Hospitality Industry
At the end of 20th century he quits College to take the path of Hospitality. In 1999, at 20 years he opens his own beach bar. After a few years he joins the Marriott team where he learns a lot and soon becomes the bar manager. From that moment his career in this industry it’s getting serious and starts learning from the best people from this industry.
15 years ago he leaves Marriott and starts writing history in the Romanian bar scene. He opens Exquisite Bar Solutions with the purpose of training the Romanian Hospitality Industry. He continuously trained over 7.000 persons from Hospitality Industry (I strongly believe that he trained much more 😁). In those years he did many things but I'll let you discover them in this episode.
I can say that Marius is one of the main contributors of the Romanian Hospitality Industry as we know it.
You can find some of his work:
3. Tim Judge: Around the World
Today I invited Tim to talk about his rich history in Hospitality Industry. With around 63 countries under his belt, he studied hospitality in all the corners of the world (except Antarctica) in some of the best bars from some of the most passionate persons from the industry.
Enjoy this episode to find out some of Tim’s projects and secrets 🤓
Cheers! 🥂
2. Mihai Fetcu: From Bellboy to Mentor
In today's episode I invited Mihai Fetcu to discuss about the Hospitality Industry from his perspective.
Mihai started working in Hospitality Industry back in 2008 and he started as a Bellboy at a Hotel in Brasov, Romania. Then he was promoted as a Busboy and then he got the role of the bartender in the same hotel. Becoming very passionate about bartending, he started to learn all the secrets of this industry and slowly he becomes a trainer, then a consultant, podcaster, ice master and many more (you'll find in the episode how many things he's doing). I can say that he worked very very hard to be where he is today.
Enjoy this episode and you'll discover a few of Mihai's Secrets 🤭
Cheers! 🥂
P.S.
You can find Mihai's work here:
Facebook:
- Arta de a fi barman: https://www.facebook.com/artadeafibarman/
- Bar D.O.M.E: https://www.facebook.com/ro.bardome/
- Bar DOME Events: https://www.facebook.com/bardomeevents/
- Cocktail Trivia: https://www.facebook.com/cocktail.trivia/
- Ice Division: https://www.facebook.com/icedivision/
ICE ICE BABY: http://www.icedivision.ro/
Instagram: @bar.dome.ro
Tik Tok: mihaifetcu
http://www.bardome.ro/
1. Biro’s Secrets
In this episode we’ll discuss about Biro’s Backstory, a few of his struggles, persons who inspired him and he will share some valuable lessons for these times to offer Memorable Hospitality Experiences to the Guests.
Cheers!🥂
P.S. If you listen till the end of the episode, you’ll find one Secret about Biro that not many people know 🤭
100. THE END
99. Transformational Experiences
98. Hold Yourself Accountable
97. The Four Stages of Learning any New Skill
96. Develop a Growth Mindset
95. How to Spark Change
94. Situational Leadership
93. New Drinks Menu
92. SWOT Analysis
91. Management Styles
90. Drama Triangle
89. STOP Telling Your Staff What To Do
88. Sandwich Method
87. How to Run Effective Meetings
86. Effective and Creative Brainstormings
85. Internal Hospitality
84. Pedagogy or Andragogy?
83. Hospitality Intelligence Roadmap
82. No Problem, No Business