ART CAFÉ EIGHT - The craft of cocktails

Art Café Eight is the latest addition to Dar es Salaam art hub The Drum and channels the creativity of its surroundings into its imaginative menu of freshly prepared food and drinks. Its cocktails, which look as good as they taste, are especially noteworthy. They have long been a passion of café manager Paolo Frattari, who has been a key player on the Dar hospitality scene since 2007, including a stint running celebrity favourite Elements nightclub. Here he reveals what it takes to be a mixology master and even shares the recipe for Eight’s signature cocktail to try at home.

Paolo Frattari (right) with Hassan Athman Mwabasi

You were born in Rome, Italy, but have lived in Dar since 2007. Tell us about your culinary journey in the city.

In my years in Tanzania I have been involved in different projects. I started out in charge of food and beverages at the Kilimanjaro Kempinski Hotel (now the Hyatt Regency). I have been director of an entertainment company and organised concerts and promotions. I’ve also been in charge of sales at major drinks companies MMI and MarkTechno (Now Bevco). I ran Elements, which is probably the most popular lounge in Dar es Salaam with all the local celebrities, and recently I left Tanzania for Nigeria to oversee the opening of Slow Lagos, which is already considered the best restaurant in Nigeria and one of Africa’s finest. Covid brought me back here and I planned the opening and launch of Art Café Eight at the Drum.

Where does your passion for cocktails come from?

Cocktails and cuisine are my passions and I see many connections between them. It starts with conceptualising a cocktail or a dish, then mixing ingredients to find the perfect balance. You then create garnishes to add a visual wow factor. I love to see the reactions of customers to my drinks and dishes.

I have loved cocktails since I tasted my first one, which was a caipirinha [Brazil’s national cocktail made with lime, sugar and cachaça, a spirit distilled from fermented sugar cane juice].

Eight is based within the Drum complex, which is a hub for artists in Dar. How do you feel your drinks reflect the creative environment?

The menu is unique, entirely created by me. The look and garnish of every drink is beautiful, just like the art that surrounds us at the Drum.

The setting for customers is quite special with an ancient tree forming a natural roof for diners and drinkers.

The massive bamboo tree in the middle of Eight is our trademark along with the equally huge baobab at the gate. It provides natural shade for our customers and filters the sunlight beautifully. We also have covered areas if diners prefer.

I believe your cocktail ingredients are almost exclusively locally sourced. Can you give me some examples of the ingredients used?

All are ingredients are local and fresh. We make our fresh light purees for the cocktails with cucumber, ginger, lemongrass and chillies. We use spices such as cloves, cinnamon and star anise in our gin and tonics selection.

Our signature cocktail at Eight is made with local pineapples, grilled and caramelized and then mixed with spiced rum, lime, and our special chilli syrup.

We also do mocktails, which are all made fresh with local ingredients.

What makes your cocktails stand out from the crowd?

Each cocktail we serve is unique, freshly made and contains no syrups or preservatives. We have on-site mixologists who can create unique variations for customers. They also look beautiful.

Are you always experimenting and coming up with new cocktails?

Constantly. We will create special cocktails on request, but the menu is full of drinks created by myself and my righthand man, Hassan Athman Mwabasi.

What to you makes the perfect cocktail?

It has to have an amazing look, the right garnish and the right glass. It must also be well balanced. A cocktail that tastes strong or is too alcoholically powerful is a badly made one 99 per cent of the time. Of course, it also has to taste good. Ours most certainly do.

Do you see a cocktail culturedeveloping in Dar?

Absolutely. We have often groups of localsthat are really getting into cocktails and areinterested in learning how to mix their owndrinks. I am often asked to host classes.

Is there is a classic Tanzania cocktail?

Probably Dawa is the only real Tanzaniancocktail. It’s made with Konyagi, honey,ginger, lime and Blue Curaçao.

Do you hold events at Eight?

We have had live music, DJ events andwe hosted exhibitions for internationalorganizations and NGOs.

Comedy club Punchline Africa hashosted three live stand-up shows here.Artisan night markets take place here everySaturday and we also have Bubbles &Brushes every Sunday, in which customersget a canvas and one of our beautiful drinksto loosen up their creativity and talent.

‘EIGHT’ COCKTAIL

Paolo says: “The uniqueness of this drink comes from its blend of tastes with the grilled, caramelised, pineapple mixed with the spicy cayenne and spiced rum. It’s not hard to make. Give it a try!”

Ingredients

• Spiced rum

• Half a lime

• Fresh pineapple juice (filtered)

• One pineapple slice.

• Two large cayenne peppers (red)

• Sugar

Method

Cut a slice of pineapple and place it in a pan with 50g of sugar. Grill until the sugar turns dark brown. To make the light syrup take one of the peppers and blend it with 50cl of mineral water and 50g of sugar. Then blend and strain the results. Now you have your special chilli light syrup!

Now lets make the drink…

Put in a shaker:

Spiced Rum 5cl

Fresh pineapple juice 6cl

Fresh lime juice (the juice from a halved local lime – pick a juicy one!)

Chili light syrup

Now cut your grilled pineapple into small cubes and put them in the glass along with fresh ice. Fill your shaker with ice, shake it hard and strain it into the glass. Now you have your fresh and spicy drink with just a hint of smokiness.