Place of Work: D&D London.

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Tell us a little bit about yourself. How did you begin your career and how did you progress into this role?

My career path is a little atypical, I had many roles from Assistant General Manager, Receptionist, Waitress, etc. but I was really really attracted to the bar and being a bartender. I had no studies for that, so I decided to work hard by myself and to learn all that I could about spirits,  wines, cocktails, from the recipes, the history, to the distillation and more.

I wanted to know everything about it. The more I was learning, the more I was passionate about it. The most difficult part was to find my first job at a bar without any experience at all. It had been very hard and it took me 7 months! 

I will always be grateful and thankful for the person who believed in me and gave me a chance. He opened the door for me for many opportunities and an amazing experience. The Bar Manager Olivier Pillon and the entire team, Olivier Blanchard, Guillaume Cottin, Vong, Michel Loue, David Palanque, Julien, Marie Lea, Sabine,  are still a family today, they are still in my heart! They taught me a lot and made my passion for the bar grow and grow every day. I can say that from the first day I worked in this place I knew I wanted to become a Bartender. Then I grew step by step from a waitress, to Bartender, Senior Bartender, Bar Supervisor, to becoming an Assistant Bar Manager.

I have had opportunities to work in Luxury Hospitality, Fine Dining Restaurants, Night Clubs, and in such amazing places in Europe like the French Riviera, Gstaad, and London to name a few. I have met many wonderful people and I have learned a lot. It is a beautiful work experience and life experience too.

Hotel Martinez Hyatt Regency Cannes, France I will always be grateful and thankful to the team. They believed in me and gave me a chance when I had no experience at all. This was the beginning of a big love story with the bar industry.

Define your role and the tasks involved in your role.

As Assistant Bar Manager you are second to the Bar Manager and able to take their role in case of absence. You have to ensure that everything is working perfectly (or at least the closest possible! It is rare that everything is going 100% as it should!). So you have the role of Team Leader and are able to manage the team. You have the role of coach also. You need to listen to your team, be supportive, and motivate them.

It is important to be on the floor with them and to struggle with them when it is busy, to help them and understand them. As well as to be here to solve any issue straight away. You ensure that every customer is happy, and you create a contact with them to create a unique experience and make them have a great moment. As the Assistant Bar Manager, you are also in charge of the paperwork, the closing process, and rota. You are Duty Manager as well sometimes, you help with the recruiting process (or firing process too). You are in charge of training the Team, in charge of organizing masterclasses. You also work on elaborating the menu, or other temporary cocktails or incentives.

I have probably forgotten to mention many other things in the role, but I think this gives pretty much a good idea of the role.

This picture was taken in Switzerland

What questions would you ask the bar owner before you plan your sales growth strategy?

What is my budget! Sometimes to make money you need to invest a little bit, but by putting that little money out, you know that it will bring you much more money. You can invest in something you don’t have at the moment, but you know that your customer will go crazy for. Or you can invest in your team by organizing training, to help them perform better and keep them motivated, give them a better knowledge of the products and generate better sales.

How can suppliers work with you to drive sales?

Personally, I love incentives! I really love the challenge of pushing one product and getting the rewards at the end. It gives you and the team members the opportunity to know the product better with a masterclass and then to push the sales. And the rewards give them an extra boost. To be honest it is fun at the same time.

Give us an example of a profitable bar menu program with examples of brand names and why you stock them.

Enchanted Forest, was a very successful menu created just for Christmas time. The bar was decorated like an enchanted forest, it was absolutely beautiful and we were promoting Cambridge Gins and all the cocktails on that menu were only with different Cambridge Gins. One of my favourites was the Truffle Gin.

What do you look for in items that qualify for house pours?

• Good value for money.
• Good quality and good price. 

What do you look for in items that qualify for non-house pours?

Variety in terms of flavour, quality, price, provenance. Also, some are very unique or surprising. 

What are the four main things you focus on daily in your role?

My team, the customers, the atmosphere, the stock.

Aurelie Montana enjoying an evening out in London

5 ways to upsell drinks at the bar

• Talk about it with emotion.
• Talk about it with knowledge. 
• Talk about it with history (of the cocktails for example).
• Talk about the drink making the customer travel and dream such that when you finish speaking the only thing they want is to try it!

Tips on training new bartenders

Talk and teach with passion. Keep their attention and make it dynamic, not boring. Include a tasting when you can, we remember better when we taste and have our own experience of the product.

What's trending in the UK drinks scene? Which cocktails, brand names, and categories?

I would say classic English people love Gin! It is always time for a G&T! Otherwise, in the summertime, people love refreshing drinks like Pimms or an Aperol Spritz.

What's customer service to you?

It is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT! I really insist on it! You can make the best drink in the world, but if the person who serves it to you treats you badly, you will never come back again and you will never recommend the place. You might just destroy it with a bad comment on any social platform.

It is really important to treat the customer with respect, to give them attention and care. You love people, otherwise, you cannot do this job. You need to listen, be attentive to your guest, give them a memorable moment and try to give them beyond their expectations when you can (for example a birthday plate or shot, etc). It is important to make them feel like they are the only customer in the place and to make their experience unique. Take the time to speak with them (when possible). Always greeting them at arrival and departure. The guests are coming to your place, your second home, so you want to make them feel comfortable and happy.

Define a good bartender.

A good bartender is someone who works with passion. Someone who is curious and has an interest in learning everything about the bar. They are someone who loves contact with people. Someone who is professional and takes their job really seriously and is always looking to improve their skill or knowledge, and to make the best drink ever.

They are someone who is respectful of people with more experience that want to teach them something.

Someone that has patience, is helpful, and is always ready to help team members, from the KP to the floor. A good bartender has a sense of humour and is dynamic. It is someone with good communication skills with the customer or team members. They are someone who is not scared to work hard, and who is resistant (long hours standing, heavy carrying, etc ...)

How do you manage non-performing brands?

We don’t renew the contract when it reaches its end.

How can you increase your beverage sales with the selection you already have?

You can offer promotions like 3 for 2, create « the cocktail of the week » or create a new cocktail. You can create an incentive or a menu pairing (food & drinks).

How according to you has the role of the Bartender evolved, especially now during Covid times?

The cleaning has been reinforced. Now the social distancing rules have been removed so people are coming back and love speaking to the Bartender. But definitely, customers need special attention and need to be listened to a bit more than before.

What else do you look for in a brand before saying yes apart from quality, value, and package?

Trust and reliability.

I need to be sure that if I order products I will receive them on time. And I need to be sure if I have an issue I can have someone reliable and trying to help me. For example, I have already worked with a brand that saved me! During a very important event, I was running out of spirit. The Brand Ambassador went to other venues where his products were used, he took those spirits from them and brought them directly to me. I could assure you my event and my client was happy!

Give us an example of a common problem in the bar business and how you handle it.

Drunk people are very angry when we don’t want to serve them anymore.

It is the role of every member of the team to not serve people when drunk. The role of the Manager or the Bartender is to tell them that we cannot serve them anymore. They are sometimes very angry, they insult you, sometimes they are looking to fight with you or even trying to give you more money.

I speak quietly with them. If the tension is increasing I just call security to assist me. The security guys are usually more impressive than me(!) and I place the safety of my team and customers as a priority.

Your favorite places to enjoy drinks in London?

I love Nightjar for its creativity. I love the Mirror Bar at the Landmark Hotel, they have a good selection of spirits and the place is very intimate and cozy. I love the Radio Rooftop for the view as well. And if you like smoking cigars I recommend the Churchill Bar, they have a very nice terrace and a cigar menu+service.

What's the best part of your job?

I would say everything except stocktake and deep cleaning!

What's the worst part of your job?

Stock-take, deep cleaning.

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