FEATURED INT’L BARTENDER

Featured Featured International Bartender

KATALIN BENE

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND

Originally hailing from Hungary, Katalin grew up in a tiny village, in the picturesque Transylvania, where she could often be found outdoors, exploring the countryside, or helping her parents with agricultural work.

She would spend all her spare time reading books and daydreaming about journeys to unknown countries.

After finishing school her curiosity pushed her to move to Cluj city and study “Tourism Geography”, and it was during this time that she started working in the hospitality industry.

She would often confess that in the beginning she would not know any other alcoholic beverage except wine, beer, fruit distillates, and had absolutely no idea about cocktails, but she was immediately mesmerized by this whole new world and quickly decided to become a bartender.

In the present, she is a well-traveled hospitality professional, with over 14 years of bartending experience, and an extensive knowledge about spirits, cocktails, exotic botanicals, and homemade ingredients.

More importantly, she has dedicated her professional life to ensuring guests have amazing experiences in the bars in which she works.

First, she made a name for herself in London, as the Bartender/Bar Manager of the Gibson Bar, then as Bar Manager of the former Voodoo Reyes bar in Geneva, Switzerland.

She is currently working on an exciting new bar opening in Geneva.

During her employment at the Gibson the bar has been ranked 6th on the 50 Best Bars list, and winning the Best New European Bar category at the Mixology Bar Awards.

After she moved to Switzerland, she won the prestigious World Class Competition in 2018, and has received several awards and nominations.

• BRIFT Bar Convent “Best Mixologist

Award”, 2018. • Falstaff Magazine “Bar Woman of the

Year” Award, 2019. • Mixology Bar Awards– Shortlisted in the

“Top 4 Bartenders” of 2019. • Mixology Bar Awards - Shortlisted Voodoo

Reyes in the “Top 4 New Openings” category.

She is a creative dynamo, or the “Swiss Tornado” - nicknamed by her industry peers. She consulted/advised several artisanal spirit brands, has judged international bartending competitions, and held many presentations for bartenders across Europe. In 2020 she was also one of the International Judges of Tales Of the Cocktails Spirited Awards.

SIGNATURE COCKTAIL Morpheus

60 ml Johnnie Walker Black

Label 20 ml Choya Umeshu Extra

Years 1 barspoon of fresh kumquatginger puree 10 ml roasted fennel seed syrup 10 ml lemon juice

Garnish: Light fruit foam Method: Shake