Behind The Bar

Winner of the 2018 Heineken Star Serve competition, Joshua Irving from Christchurch’s Morrell & Co bar discovered an interest in bartending after his first…

Prateek Arora has been in the hospitality industry for over six years, at iconic establishments such as Urban Turban and The Sugar Club. However,…

For over 12 years, Sonya Chan has been a stalwart of the Auckland hospitality scene. She’s worked at VBG, Pontoon, Monsoon Poon and spent…

Matt Woodyear-Smith got into bartending for a simple reason – the look. “I kept seeing fancy cocktails and all the ingredients,” he told Restaurant…

Madeleine Tate has only been cocktail bartending for about two years, but that hasn’t stopped her from representing New Zealand on the global cocktail…

Des Dillon originally wanted to be a vet, but a gap year had other plans for him. He took a year off and spent…

Alannah Stratton entered the industry at age 16 as a glassie. “At that age it had never really crossed my mind about being a…

For a long time, Ashleigh Harvey dreamed of owning her own café when she was older. “I realised I’m actually old now, and should…

Almost a decade ago, Tahlea got her start in coffee at McDonald’s. “It just kind of happened,” she told Restaurant and Cafe. “It was…

Not long after she turned 18, Calley Copley became a glassie. “I was intrigued by cocktail making, different varieties of wine and beer as…

After arriving in New Zealand, Fuminobu Nakatani completed a commerce degree at the University of Auckland. At the same time, he started managing Japanese…