Stories
Vincenzo Santospagnuolo
My Story
The Dreamer
- Nationality: Italian
- Occupation: Bartender
- Workplace: Louie, London UK
- Favorite Cocktail: Sazerac, Old Fashioned
- Favorite Spirit: Tequila
What inspired you to become a bartender:
I’m from Sicily and I was inspired to become a bartender by my uncle because he worked in hospitality his whole life, and when I was a little boy I used to go to his workplace and watch whatever he used to do. I was so fascinated by his work but I didn’t choose to study hospitality at school, I chose agroalimentary because I love the plant world and then I combined my studies with my passion and I became a bartender with good knowledge about plants.
Tell me about your bartending journey and how you got to where you are now:
My journey as a bartender started in 2015 when I started to work in a chalet as a lifeguard, but at night I worked as a Barback in the same place and that’s where I started to fall in love with this amazing job. In 2016, I decided to do 3 months of bartending school in Rome, and when I went back to my city, I started to work in a speakeasy-style bar. It was there that I began to learn the real hospitality business. I fell in love with the pre-prohibition era and all the stories behind the cocktails. Two years later, a friend of mine came to the bar I was working at and told me “come to London, you will work with me”. Then I bought a ticket and I took a flight to London where I started to work at Sky Garden, which was an amazing experience. After a year, I had the opportunity to work at Aqua Shard, but this was cut really short because I had the chance reach my dream which was Chiltern Firehouse. This was the place where I had the opportunity to meet amazing bartenders and learn from them. Now after 9 months, I’m working on the opening of a new restaurant which is called Louie and I am so proud to be part of this family.
What stamp would you like to leave on the industry:
I would like to see good hospitality in the future. From my side, I would like to leave the real meaning of hospitality in the industry because sometimes we think hospitality is only between the bartender and the guests, but for me, every bartender needs to be great, especially with the barbacks and with colleagues. When I will be Manager, I will be the first to jump behind the bar to help my staff, or the first to jump in the polishing area to help the barbacks because we all have different positions, but we all have the same love which is hospitality. First, we have to make it great between us and then we will be amazing with our guests.
Can you explain your personal process for creating a cocktail:
For me creating a cocktail means creating an experience for my guest. You can have two ways of creating a cocktail: the twist on a classic, where you improve your cocktail knowledge; or to create a cocktail from zero, there you have to use all your knowledge, your fantasy, and you especially need to understand the guest’s palate, which for me is the best way to create a cocktail. I love a challenge and this is a challenge. Then, I start to ask which spirit the guest likes more and if he/she wants something sour or dry, and if he/she likes sweet or not. Then I can start to create a good cocktail! When I’m finished with the cocktail, I will check it before serving it to the guest because I would never serve something that I don’t like.
What is the most important part of what you do and what does it mean to you:
The most important part of my job is when I go behind the bar and I start my shift, because usually a guest will go to a bar to forget their bad day and for me it is the same when I go behind the bar, I leave all my problems in the changing room. I start to enjoy my day at work, and it is also my responsibility to make the guest’s night better. For me to make people happy is something really cool because I only made a drink but they are happy, and I’m really proud of myself when I can make someone’s day better.
What do you think will be the future of the F&B industry:
We (bartenders) will be the future of the F&B industry because in the past, guests came to the venue just for the venue but in the future, guests will come to where we are working because they trust us and they love our service. In the end, we are F&B and we have a great responsibility to continue this extraordinary industry.
Anything that would you like to add?
I want to say thank you to Mattia for this amazing page and I’m so proud to be part of this small family!
Most bizarre client request:
One day I received a ticket for a drink which was an angostura sour with egg yolk instead of the egg white but the big problem was about the request from the guest: to use angostura bitter and not liquor. In the end, I explained to the guest the difference between the two angosturas and he took a normal angostura sour, but initially I was so shocked.