My tips for anyone aspiring to be a top bartender is to be yourself, don’t try and imitate somebody else.  

To me what makes a good member of the bar staff is to have a good mood, motivation, creativity and someone who listens to the customer.  

I get inspiration for my serves from lots of places - movies, music, books, video games as well as travelling. I'm a big fan of retro-futurism, post-apocalyptic world where people need to survive with very little. That’s why for the final bar pop-up challenge at the WORLD CLASS Global Final I chose the steampunk theme.  

My top bartending tip on how to make a signature serve great is that you need to reflect your personality in your cocktail and bring the customer into your own world.  

The cocktail serve that represents me is the El Taco Rojo 

During the World Class global final, I created a cocktail called El Taco Rojo inspired by Mexican tacos. 
A few years ago I lived in Spain for a year and I studied Latino civilization, so I'm pretty familiar with their culture. 

I started my career early and I majored in food and beverages in high school. It was at that time that I chose to attend the school flair bartending club. I took part-time jobs at hotels after school, and when I wasn’t working, I was practicing my flair moves. 

The best career advice I was given was by Mr. Hidetsugu Ueno. He told me that as long as you continue to work hard, in time, everything will come. It might come a little late, so be patient. Also for this reason, we must work steadily every step of the way, and cherish every chance we get. 

To make a great signature serve you need to remember these 4 points: 

1. No matter what form or flavor, a cocktail must, first and foremost, be “balanced”. 
2. Next, something in the process of making the cocktail must attract the guest’s attention, prompting him/her to order. 
3. My top bartending tip is that you need something to make the guest want the drink just by looking at the picture on the menu, be it bespoke, pretty or luxurious glassware, the colour of the cocktail or the garnish. 
4. How you use word-magic to describe the special ingredient(s) or method you used can really spark the imagination. 

The cocktail serve that represents me is Envy Me 

I have always wanted to make cocktails with an Eastern vibe, and to open people’s eyes (and taste buds) to flavours or ingredients that are rarely used. I also want my cocktail to have distinctly different beginning, middle, and end notes.

I started bartending at an Atlanta pizzeria where I fell in love with beer, then wine, then making simple drinks as best I could. I was finally taken to a proper cocktail bar where I was awestruck by the attention to detail, balanced cocktails, and modern techniques. When I joined the United States Bartenders Guild and moved to San Francisco in 2012, my focus was solely to work in the craft cocktail scene. 

The biggest thing I have learnt from my career so far is that knowledge is endless. Even the best bartenders, chefs and artists in the world are constantly learning new things. It can be exhausting, but you’ve got to stay ahead of the game. 

The most important skills a bartender should have are the ability to put out fires is crucial. Not one day will pass without a small problem or two coming up, which is okay. Problems will happen. A great bartender (or server) will make it look like nothing is wrong. If you can listen to your guests, predict their needs, and act effortlessly, even the busiest, craziest service will look like a well-rehearsed production to your guests.  

My top bartenging tip is to use every opportunity you can to look up and make eye contact with your guests. Never ignore a guest, no matter how busy you are. Always smile. 

The cocktail serve that represents me is Queen Anne’s Lace. 

Queen Anne’s Lace is a great representation of my own style, which is heavily influenced by San Francisco. I moved to San Francisco about 5 years ago to find artistic inspiration; I wanted to befriend all of the artists, foodies and street characters that the city is famous for.

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