She discusses her experience in London with us after giving us a brief overview of her journey and her position at the bar. Christina began her studies in a hospitality school after leaving her job in Sardinia. Her enthusiasm for bars and bartending developed as she grew up in this environment, coming from a background in hospitality. After completing her diploma, she moved to London in order to learn and grow as a professional. In her opinion, London is the ideal city to learn a new language and acquire the skills necessary for her field of work. She started her career as a waitress in Italian restaurants and eventually fell in love with the bartending profession, and began making cocktails and discovered new things about bars. Her main goal was to work in a hotel environment.

“You need to have good knowledge about the back bar and the floor. Because when we think of a bartender, we don’t see what there is after the front bar. You need to be ready to move everywhere, so my experience as a bartender helps you face these situations,” she says, describing the daily KPIs she must meet.

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At the back bar, she begins preparing the ingredients; next, she moves to the front bar to mix the spirits; and last, she serves the table. It all begins at the back bar. What matters is having strong leadership abilities. A bar manager must be able to accomplish his duties, and it is a leader's responsibility to help other team members as well.

Christina’s mentor, Salvatore Calabrese has a classic and old-school style set for the bar. There’s a difference between a street bar and a hotel bar. For her, the approach in street bars is based on the localities coming too often to the bar, so a bartender makes connections with the people who live in London. But for the hotel bars, guests arrive from all around the world and you see them only once or twice so there’s a different approach with them.

Image Source: @CristianaPirinu1

According to Cristiana, a good bartender is someone who makes you happy, doesn't make you feel left out at the bar, and also makes you feel like you're in excellent company. A bartender must be able to divide his time between serving beverages and interacting with customers, creating a truly memorable experience for each customer. For bartenders, she also uses; a different hiring procedure. Their personality and their expertise should always be balanced. People that are naturally in love with this industry and passionate about what they do, are great for this profession. In addition, she emphasizes the significance of everyone being on the same level in order to accomplish the common goal. She discusses a recent introduction of their new menu, where she experimented with various items to match the new flavou+rs with the assistance of her team. Since it was a team effort, no one person is given the credit. She discusses how maintaining your composure when working with difficult clients may be quite beneficial.

Cristiana explains how she develops fresh ideas for hard-to-sell, slow-moving products. When some spirits don't work out, they create special drinks out of them and encourage customers to try new cocktails. Using craft spirits in cocktails or persuading their clients to try something that is not commercial is one of the best approaches Donovan bar follows to provide a unique experience. This is something that sets them apart from the rest of the bars. She says that in order to succeed, you must work hard, sacrifice for yourself, and fall deeply in love with the hospitality industry.

Watch the full interview - What Is The Role Of A Bar Supervisor? | Inside The Drinks Business

Article by Puja Behera, Beverage Trade Network.

Header Image Source: @CristinaPirinu