ROOTS THE ZINE
Dec 2021
#1
Disruptive Genuine Inspiring
Jean Trinh – Beyond Sustainability in the bar
GEMBA featuring Angelita, Little Red Door, Silo & Alquímico
Word On The Street – Dubai, Poland, Russia & Spain
BROUGHT TO YOU BY Fanny Hennequin Brand Advocacy Manager Int. Region ROOTS Chief Editor
Meimi Sánchez Senior Manager, The Blend Global ROOTS Editor & Writer
Miguel Peñarrocha Digital Community Executive, The Blend Global ROOTS Art Director
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Don’t be shy, keep reading on!
Jean Trinh
beyond sustainability in the bar Jean was born into the hospitality industry. French of Vietnamese descent, his parents had several restaurants in France so Jean started washing glasses and putting together dishes in the kitchen when he was 5 years old. He moved from Paris to Cartagena in 2013 and after 6 months opened a Pop-Up bar in the Bohemian giving him his first taste of the world of hospitality in Colombia. Enriched by this experience, he opened Alquimico in 2016, a three-story mansion in the historic center of Cartagena. In 2018, Alquímico invested in a farm in the most fertile area of Colombia: the Coffee axis. When the pandemic started forcing Jean to close the bar, he decided to develop a sustainable agriculture project with his team and so #FromTheBarToTheFarm was born.
AWARDS · World’s 50 Best Bars 2020: Most Sustainable Bar of the Year & #47 · TOTC 2020 – nominated in top 10 for “Best Bar Team” and "Best High Volume Cocktail Bar". · Jean named #24 in Drinks International’s 2021 Bar World 100 · Today, Jean is Co-Chair for Latin America and The Carribean at TOTC
“Being sustainable begins with taking care of people” Why are you passionate about sustainability and/or the environmental impact of the hospitality industry? Since I was a child, I have always been sensitive about the issue of product quality, the importance of eating clean and caring for the environment and people. Having a business that over the last 5 years has become a high volume cocktail bar (we now have an average of 500600 customers per night, 7 days a week), each choice we make in all aspects of the bar can make a huge difference, both environmentally and humanly. Our industry is fortunate to receive sensitive and openminded guests who listen, want to discover new things and comment on a vital issue such as sustainability. Our audience is large and wide, which allows us to have an even bigger impact on this topic.
What makes your venue unique from a sustainable perspective? We have not only talked about the importance of the environment, but we also put the importance of the human factor in the foreground: being sustainable begins with taking care of people. What has drawn the community's attention lately to our vision of sustainability is an experience we had during the pandemic called #FromTheBarToTheFarm.
How have attitudes towards sustainability changed since you started in the industry? The concept of Alquimico has always been to value local ingredients and find ways to reduce the environmental impact of the business and improve local working conditions. For example, within months of opening the bar, I decided to no longer sell bottled beers (we only sell Colombian craft draft beer) for several reasons: • Generating less waste – Environmental Impact (no system for recycling glass bottles and not having to cool · and fill entire refrigerators with beer) • Wellness of staff = human impact (staff not having to carry endless cases of beers) · • Working with local craft beer brands - direct positive impact on our community.
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Before this change, hardly anyone in Cartagena wanted to drink draft beers. Now they fully onboard when it is explained It is an example of how you can change the opinion of our customers and improve sustainability.
· sustainability it is the basis of all the Today, · take in all areas! I always ask myself choices we the following questions: How can we continue and improve our support and contribution to our local community? How can we improve the physical and mental health of our staff? How do we use our farm (100% organic) to always have cleaner and fresher products? How can we help the conservation of the biodiversity of Colombia? How can we communicate what we do and share information around the world that can inspire change in our industry?
“It all comes down to building a community. People are the first step of sustainability”
How are you planning to further explore and evolve this concept in the future? The farm project and sustainable practices is our reality. Today we design our cocktail menus with ingredients from the farm or local producers.
I can share with you two very important projects to us
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2.
A 100% alcohol-free cocktail menu made with waste from the main cocktail menu – educate our community on how to have a zero waste approach. The new food menu will be 50% vegetarian and 50% vegan and 100% organic. It’s a collaboration with two young Colombian chefs who own Celele restaurant in Cartagena. Supporting others in our community and raising their profile globally is very important to us.
What are your top 3 pieces of advice for people trying to make their venues more sustainable? Support local businesses who have the same environmental ethos as you do. Educate guests on the importance of choosing products/venues with good environmental practices
Improve the quality of life of your team!
“HOW-TO”
CONSCIOU Minimise natural & human resources
Work with suppliers that are committed to building a more sustainable future
Produce less waste by using the full potential of an ingredient
US COCKTAIL
Edible garnishes, if not why bother?!
Drinks that are more in harmony with nature Production methods that conserve energy
Use local, seasonal & organic ingredients to reduce your carbon footprint
GEM
ALQUÍMICO Changing community’s mindset
Alquimico based in Cartagena, ranked nº47 in the world by 50 Best Bars, is leading the current trend of sustainability in the bar and mixology scene.
They aim to promote local communities using Colombian ingredients and techniques to design the best sensorial experiences.
ANGELITA Innovative & sustainable approach to people and processes
Based in Madrid, Angelita is a wine and gastro cocktail bar, is owned by 2 brothers, who decided to elaborate a sustainable menu by using innnovative techniques. They measure, weigh and pre-batch their drinks, whilst using local products from their own garden to avoid wasting a single drop.
MBA
SILO
Recycling and zero waste
Silo is a london restaurant designed from back to front, always with the bin in mind.
The production of waste has been eliminated by choosing to trade directly with farmers; using re-usable delivery vessels and choosing local ingredients that generate no waste. Their compost machine set inside Silo, turns their restaurant scraps and trimmings directly into a compost used to produce more food… successfully closing the loop. Each piece of furniture in the bar is recycled.
LITTLE RED DOOR Seasonality & farm-to-glass
Little Red Door is an artistic Parisian hideout. The 2021 menu signifies an evolution in Little Red Door’s approach to creating cocktail menus. They decided to reconnect with their eco-system by placing the producer and their produce, at the Forefront; creating cocktails that champion the specific producer.
WORD O
Nana Sechere Dubai
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In Dubai and similar Middle East Africa markets, the consumption journey begins at least 5 to 10 years later compared to other major cities, meaning that the palate and knowledge of spirit aren’t as developed, making the job of the brand ambassador immensely important. Well-crafted mixer brands and non-alcoholic drinks are on the rise. As a country expected to be dominated by non-alcoholic brands, they haven’t been able to pick up momentum until the post lockdown world. If the brand is well-priced, with maximum natural flavor, consumers and bar managers are now more likely to make the purchase.
Before the pandemic, Bar Managers and Bartenders prided themselves on their ability to create bespoke modifiers for cocktails, but now that distributors of non-alcoholic spirits are focusing more on premium yet healthy options, and the staffing levels of restaurants are dwindling, the bartenders are more willing to relinquish control and leave it to the experts.
Our stories and craftsmanship have become the most important element in the brand call. Whether it’s Maker’s Mark and the importance of the 4 W’s (water, wheat, wood & wax) or Sipsmith making gin the way gin is supposed to be made
Juan José Maillo
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Spain
In Madrid, restaurant Angelita removed juices from their new menu and are now using fruits in different conditions: preserving in jam, fermenting, etc. They have an organic garden and try using as much as possible ingredients from there. Eg: their straws are made from a plant beside the river across their garden.
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ON THE STREET Alex Chernyavskiy
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Russia
In Russia bars & restaurants started following zero waste concept a few years ago as well as buying organic products instead of plastics. Bartenders think about optimizing their workplace, bar station and time management, understanding that sometimes less is more.
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Mateusz Szuchnik Poland
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Less waste trend is on the rise in Poland, for environmental reasons, but it also helps bartenders to save money while showcasing their creativity, using seasonal ingredients and saving as much as possible everything they use. Mental health has also became more important in the industry with bartender trying to find the right work /personal life balance.
Consumers are currently looking for the perfect balance between quantity and quality paired with good service. Still a well-made Collins / Highball / Tiki drink are far more desirable than an innovative combination contained in a small experience cocktail.
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INDUSTRY Idyll is all about rewilding drinks. Started by Marcis Dzelzainis (Dandelyan, Satan’s Whiskers, 69 Colebrooke Row) in 2020, its aim is to create a platform to promote rewilding and regenerative agriculture principles through use of wild ingredients in drinks. Their first product is Idyll Pine Forest Soda, using sustainably foraged Scots pine and Douglas fir to create a refreshing adult soft drink and spirit mixer. 10p of every can sold is donated to Rewilding Britain. Idyll also provides drinks foraging experiences for bartenders and businesses. “Here at @idylldrinks we are always looking to the classics for inspiration. We look at the flavour profile of the drink, deconstruct it and put it back together with responsibly sourced wild ingredients & local alternatives”
London Army & · 45ml SIPSMITH · 25ml Verjus (lemon juice alternative - a highly acidic & a bi-product of wine production)
· 5ml Sweet Woodruff Infusion
(Almonds come from hot climates requiring a huge amount of lots water to grow and harvest. So instead - sweet woodruff which has wonderful aroma of hay, vanilla and almonds.)
· 15ml 2:1 Borage Honey Syrup (avoid using processed sugar)
· Shake over cubed ice and double strain into a coc glass
Y INNOVATION Japanese Knotwood Gimlet Japanese Knotweed is an invasive species that grows ruthlessly in the UK, you've probably seen it in parks, in gardens or near streams and canals. What a lot people don't know is that it's actually a delicious alternative to Rhubarb. So get out there and do some good by foraging!
· 35ml ROKU · 35ml Japanese Knotweed Cordial · Stir down over cubed ice and serve strained in a chilled coupette glass · No garnish
& Navy
s of sa
cktail
• Roughly chop and wash 500g of Japanese Knotweed • Add to pan with 1L of water • Bring to the boil and simmer until the fibres break down completely • Strain through a sieve and cheese cloth • You should have 700ml of liquid • Add 350g of caster sugar • Add 14g of malic acid • Stir till everything is dissolved and leave to cool • Once cool bottle and refrigerate
BY TH
14%
73%
HEALT LI
global increase in non alc. drinks
Non alc. trend is led by
FRANCE & UK
IN 20
93% of
RT
launch Sources: ·IWSR 2020 ·CGA 2021 ·CGA on trade 2022 Part 1
E NUMBERS
%
of consumers are trying to embrace a
of consumers are buying
LOCAL
PRODUCE
THY IFESTYLE
29%
020
TD
hes
have been under
5%
ORDER
#1
You’ve been served by: The Blend Team JEAN TRINH AND SUSTAINABILITY
PAGE 4
ANGELITA & MORE
PAGE 8
MARGARITAS 2X
18 $
WHISKY SOUR 3X WORD ON THE STREET– TRENDS AROUND THE GLOBE
36 $ PAGE 10
ROKU GIN & SODA x1
10 $
# OF ITEMS SOLD
6 DECEMBER
DATE
Issue #2 to be served
FEB 2022