THE BAR CHEF
“Creating a cocktail involves a bit of chemistry, a bit of sensory excitement, and a lot of patience. We’ve alluded to the seriousness with which the ‘‘art of the cocktail’’ has been endowed, and the age of the celebrity bartender—a virtual ‘‘bar chef’’—is fast approaching, fueled by the public’s appetite for boldly flavored specialty drinks.Hotels, restaurants, and upscale bars hunt for mix-ologists who are able to gain media attention and customer loyalty for their expertise and passion for the craft of bartending.
This new generation of bar chef is a profes-sional who operates much like a good chef or pastry chef. He or she may make television appearances, write a newsletter or book, and be a guest lecturer in local hospitality courses.
The bar chef is likely to be as busy outside the pour-ing station as inside it, creating infusions, shopping for the freshest fruits and herbs, locating new sources for an obscure liqueur or ingredient. This is the person who actually thinks about the shapes and sizes of cube ice, the tartness of mint leaves, and the proper melting tem-perature of brown sugar.
There seem to be two categories of bar chef: the classicist and the avant-garde.
The classicist lovingly recreates the venerable favorite cocktails of past decades, rediscovering bartending as it was in the late 1800s to 1950s with a nod to the profession’s fascinating history.
The avant-garde bar chef has the same quest for excellence, but on new frontiers: using his or her own imag-ination to blend unique ingredients and share new recipes with an enthusiastic following.
There are, of course, some stylistic and philosophical differences between the members of the two camps. For one the classicist might place greater emphasis on the base spirits used in cocktails, while the avant-garde bar chef will prefer neutral spirits that are mixed or infused with unusual flavors. There is certainly room for both on the scene.”
Costas Katsigris, Chris Thomas – The Bar and Beverage Book – Wiley (2007) p. 411
Site Author, David J. Curtis: David Curtis, a seasoned professional with decades of bartending and bar management experience began his career in Midtown Manhattan, NY, tending and managing bars before diving into Manhattan’s bustling nightlife club scene. Over the years, he has mastered high-volume, high-pressure bartending as the lead bartender in iconic Midtown clubs and tended bar briefly in the Wall Street area, generating over $1,350,000.00 annually in personal drink sales. He has since extended his expertise to establishments in Georgia and now Tampa in Exclusive Platinum Service Awards Clubs, Florida. David’s roles as a Bartending Instructor at the American Bartending School in Tampa, while maintaining a second job bartending, and his years experience of managing bars, and working as a Brand Ambassador along with his extensive professional library of over 1,000 bartending books, highlight his dedication to continually refining his craft. He holds a diploma in Bar Management and is BarSmarts certified by Pernod Ricard.
