Stories
Marek Novak
My Story
Story of Marek Novak
- Nationality: Czech
- Occupation: Bar Manager
- Workplace: Svanen, Oslo
- Favorite Cocktail: Tommy’s Margarita
- Favorite Spirit: Scotch Whisky
What inspired you to become a bartender:
I started to work in hospitality thanks to my best friend from childhood, Marek Stochl. He recommended me to an American restaurant many years ago, where I was initially a waiter, without even knowing what a Margarita was. Back then he started to work in a classic cocktail bar and I always liked the way that these bars looked and worked. Visiting him at work made me curious to study spirits and classic cocktails and later on I even started to work behind the bar myself at that same restaurant. That was the point where I realised I needed to start to work in a classic cocktail bar as well.
Tell me about your bartending journey and how you got to where you are now:
I have been lucky to work behind the bar in different countries but mainly I was always lucky to work with people who had a lot of experience, and I was never afraid to ask questions. Throughout my bartending career I have been working with several Michelin star chefs both in Prague and in London and sometimes, especially in my beginnings in London, I would spend more time in the kitchen trying things out, than behind the bar. The chefs would always show me different techniques and tricks of flavour extraction. Later on I started to work with Karel Varga, who is my brother from another shaker, as they say. Some things are just easier when it’s two of you. I was also lucky to work in a venue where we would have no budget and no limit for imagination. We would order exotic fruits and ingredients from around the world and then make cocktails out of them. This allowed me to build up my flavour database. Thanks to this I was able to win many cocktail competitions and twice I made it to the Global Finals of some of them, where once I was representing the United Kingdom and the second time it was Norway.
What stamp would you like to leave on the industry:
I do believe we can do something about how our industry is presented to the public. When you say to the majority of people that you work behind the bar, they think you’re a student and the first image in their head is you pouring beer all night and taking shots with guests. This is very unfair, because many of us never do that and take their job very seriously. Because of this, I try to focus on showing to the public that we can do something beneficial while making drinks and that bartending is not just about making people drunk. You can always combine guest shifts with raising money for charity or for example, during the lockdown we went out and collected plastic rubbish from the beaches in Oslo.
Can you explain your personal process for creating a cocktail:
I could break down the process into a few steps. Firstly, I realise what type of drink i am aiming for; strong/boozy or easy/low-abv, etc.? Afterwards, I usually take some inspiration from classic cocktails and make little adjustments. I believe that classics are something that have been proven by time and we should respect these drinks. Also, the more classic cocktails you know, the better you are able to recognise the DNA of a cocktail, which will lead into better flavour combinations. Once I have this figured out I do some research on interesting ingredients, depending on what occasion the cocktail is made for, and I try to implement them in some interesting way. During this step, I always try to use some of the tricks and techniques I have learned from the Michelin star chefs. In general my rule is “Simple and clean, but complex and rich”.
What is the most important part of what you do and what does it mean to you:
Most important part for me is that I can do what I love to do and I am able to get paid for it. You will always do a better job when you like to do something, and hospitality for me is something that is so natural that I wouldn’t be able to do anything else.
What do you think will be the future of the F&B industry:
I believe bartenders will keep following the path of cleaner work style, more organised, focused on reducing waste, using seasonal produce and using chefs’ techniques. In terms of the prep, I think we have reached our maximum with rotavapor and anything bigger would be just a waste of money. I believe it will actually go the opposite direction and bartenders will start to appreciate less complicated prep, but better flavour combinations (A.K.A. not everything is better, when it’s redistilled). Also, I’ve started to see that bartenders are getting bored of making drinks the way we used to and started to use some of the “forbidden” liqueurs again, like Midori and Blue Curacao. At the end of the day, it comes down to instagram/presentation and if the taste is good, why not make bright blue, green or pink drinks?
Anything that would you like to add?
Thanks for giving me the opportunity to voice myself out here and my recommendation for the next interview is rising star, Stan Andruskevic!
Most bizarre client request:
Once at Annabel’s, a gentleman ordered non-alcoholic Espresso Martini without caffeine. We made it happen!