I am from chichester, West Sussex and like most people I started bartending during college. After college I went to live in Belo Horizonte in Brazil for a year. I did some work as a DJ in the bars around the city. Brazil has a really strong BBQ culture, and I would often find myself making drinks for everyone at these BBQs. One time, at my friends farm, a few hundred km south of Belo Horizonte I was making Caipirinhas and looked down at the ingredients that I was using- limes from the tree next to the house, sugar from the field that I could see through the trees and a potent cachaça made on the farm. This was the start of my love for using fresh, local, authentic ingredients.
I returned to the UK with a new found passion and worked hard to be the best that I could be participating in competitions and masterclasses. Within a year I had made it to a National final held in Mayfair, London. I finished a respectful 11th out of the final 20. I went on to work in a few places across the south of England mainly in Southampton and in my native West Sussex continuing my professional progression, gaining my qualification in Spirits and providing bar consultation to new bars in my city of Chichester. In April there was a competition in the UK with Martell Cognac to find the 300 best cognac cocktail recipes for their 300th anniversary. My recipe was number 4 on the list and I received a very nice bottle of Cognac and a letter from the Master distiller of this prestigious cognac.
Earlier this year I took the opportunity to return to my love of travel, this time with a new added incentive; to find and learn about ingredients that are more hard to come by in the UK. This blog will document this journey, who knows where it will lead…
