Luca Cinalli, an Internationally acclaimed mixologist from Britain, says that the only way to adopt resourceful bartending in India is through education and practice as the preparation techniques can make a huge difference between wastage and sustainability. He also says that the most common mistake mixologists make is that they hardly analyze "tongue and taste" and over prepare everything.
"I feel the most common mistake mixologists make is that they dont analyze tongue and taste. There are 5 senses and while creating, all those should be kept in mind. At Novelé, we have kept in mind the regional preferences of the audience as well as the visual aesthetics along with taste for cocktails. It is very important to be aware and sensitive to all the 5 senses of your customer.
"Another mistake I feel mixologists make is over-preparing. They spend too much time preparing a cocktail unnecessarily. Effectiveness and efficiency is important," Cinalli, told IANS in an e-mail interview.
Born in Lanciano, a small town east of Italy, Cinalli is a celebrity mixologist and the person behind designing and creating each cocktail at Novelé, an invigorating cocktail bar nestled amongst the heart of New Delhi giving a theatrical dining experience to the visitors.
At a young age of 12, he enrolled himself at The Catering School in Villa Santa Maria Village. While studying here he attended various courses like bakery, latte art, ice sculpture, brewery and many more which made him an experienced and hands on person in the F&B industry.
Cinalli presently is one of the leading mixologists of the world and consulting people and venues all around the world, like Bali, Singapore, Moscow, Greece, Brazil, Switzerland, Austria, Mexico and more.
Talking about how India can adopt to resourceful bartending, he says that it all lies in education and practice.
"The preparation techniques that mixologists or bartenders use is what makes the difference of wastage and sustainability. Mixologists themselves need to be more aware of the possible alternatives and options to prepare a certain ingredient or concoction. Eliminating wastage does sound something unachievable but with the right amount of research, creativity and practice into it, it can be eliminated.
"For me, the key to same is education, research and never ending innovation and practice," he said.
For him, an aspiring bartender can learn from many things.
"You have to take inspiration from everything. You can collect a lot of ingredients to create. You should learn self-judgment and be open to suggestions, feedbacks and tastes. The most important one is that you have to look after yourself," he said.
He says that mixology in cocktails is about understanding the needs of customers, engaging them in the process, understanding the ingredients used and essentially creating an impressive experience.
"It's about creating a culture using imagination, talent or skill to create work that may be judged to have a unique element attached to it," he said.
What about more women taking up bartending as a profession nowadays?
"It is definitely growing in the West and I feel India is also accepting the pleasant exposure," he said.
"Earlier stocking and re-stocking was difficult for women physically but that's not the scenario now with the facilities. As far as you have the right knowledge, people are accepting both men and women bartenders in the world. For the guests, ladies have been their preference as they are more approachable. Also, they have a challenge against the men so they push to deliver better.
"Also, I feel women are professionally more concentrated and as women have a touch of softness, it creates for the right mix in the team," he said.
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