Stories
Francesco Rossetto
My Story
Reflections of a Bartender
- Nationality: Italian
- Occupation: Bar Manager
- Workplace: Singapore
- Favorite Cocktail: Last Word
- Favorite Spirit: Whisky
What inspired you to become a bartender:
I’ve asked myself this question many times and I still ask myself, especially when things get difficult or even just to get some self motivation. Many different people have inspired me, and I always thank all of them for that. One of them was my grandfather, because he worked his whole life in the hospitality industry, he taught me not to forget to smile (however, sometimes I do forget it). The final decision to become a bartender happened by chance. The first time I had been behind the bar it felt like home, I felt happy and proud and then I thought: this must be the job I want to do.. If you wake up in the morning, and you can’t think of anything but to create new cocktails and think all about this job first. Then you’re supposed to be a bartender
Tell me about your bartending journey and how you got to where you are now:
It is a long story, I will divide it in 3 categories, let’s start!
Back to the Future
I graduated in Hospitality from Pietro D’Abano school in Padua, Italy, and that’s where everything began. It was the first approach to my job, where I learned about the different products and started to cultivate my passion. I didn’t start as a Bartender straight away, it has been a journey.
After school, I worked as Commis de Rang, Chef de Rang, Assistant Sommelier, and Commis de Bar, and I feel lucky to have been able to work in beautiful locations in some of the most iconic hotels, such as Hotel De la Poste in Cortina, Villa D’Este and Villa Serbelloni on Como lake. I was also working during the winter season in Switzerland. I started to talk about my experience from the very beginning because I truly believe that service is one of the most important parts in order to do the Bartender job at its best. I learned how to enrich my know-how, to be confident and to understand the guests. Today those skills make a very important part of my job. I always keep it in mind every time I work behind the bar. This is how my passion for my job started – back in the past, before all the preparation, the shakers, the mixing glasses, the spirits and all the ingredients. At that time, it was more about building confidence with guests.
London Calling
London was and still is the capital of cocktails. It is the right city if you want to improve yourself. I arrived in London in 2011 and I started as a runner at The Grill in the Dorchester Hotel. A year later, I was working at 45 Park Lane as a Bar back. This is where I understood that I didn’t know much about bartending and cocktails, even if I had studied and I had a few experiences in bars. Being humble, with perseverance and passion, I started again from zero and step by step I learned a lot thanks to my colleagues who with a lot of patience, taught me as much as they could. Moving forward, I then worked for two years as a Bartender at the Ritz, and to sum it up in a single phrase: it was the place I truly wanted to be. There I learned three important dogmas: making cocktails is an art, attention to detail, and last but not least, consistency. Afterwards, I worked as a Bar Manager at Mr Fogg’s Residence. As Bar Manager there are lots of responsibilities and you need to be good at managing different people. My goal was to build an environment with one team, where everyone would work together in order to create the best experience for the guest. It was not easy as it wasn’t just about being focused on the service and making cocktails, it was also about being able to focus on the business 360º.
Should I Stay or should I go?
After eight years in London I made the difficult decision to leave this city, moving forward and looking for a fresh new challenge. At the end of my journey in London and after seeing many different styles of bartending, I must say that I am a classic bartender and I am definitely not the Tom Cruise of any situation. However, you can never stop learning!
What stamp would you like to leave on the industry:
From my point of view, one of the most important things in the hospitality industry is the team work, supporting and helping each other at all times. Creating a good environment is fundamental, it is also very important to be critical (in a constructive way) about your work, in order to improve year after year. Never forget to smile.
Can you explain your personal process for creating a cocktail:
It is one of the toughest parts of our job and it will never get easier. Everything you have learned, the experiences you’ve achieved, the knowledge you’ve gained and knowing your talent, those elements must be used in your personal toolbox. A good knowledge of the classic cocktails and spirits is very important, but it is also important to look at those iconic drinks in an analytical way to be able to understand the strengths, the techniques and the characteristics of them. It is always good to discover and analyse old and emerging techniques, and products. Always look at the project with fresh eyes and from many different perspectives. Record everything from the concept to the final result, the taste, the profile, the target, the glass and the garnish.
What is the most important part of what you do and what does it mean to you:
Organizing the work and always being ready for everything. It is crucial not to lose time during service, so you can always give the best experience to the guest. Last but not least: training the team and keeping them motivated so they can perform at their best.
What do you think will be the future of the F&B industry:
Hospitality is in continuous change, and it’s an amazing aspect of this industry. Just think about the F&B community through social media, it is something incredible – you can meet bartenders all around the world and share ideas and experiences. Now it is difficult to understand how the future will be, it is very unpredictable. I believe that there will be more focus on the premix preparation to avoid waiting times. During this time I realised that most bars are selling ready-to-drink take away cocktails, it is nothing new but it’s quickly evolving now. Once again, this is only my point of view but certainly this latest situation will change a lot of things.
Most bizarre client request:
I could write a book…