MOVERS AND SHAKERS: KAYLA SAITO

Kayla Saito

The Nashville bartender is hitting her stride in Melbourne.

- WORDS Aristine Dobson

- PHOTOGRAPHY Kristoffer Paulsen

BARTENDING IS A profession that has it all: fun, creativity and a platform to connect directly with patrons. There is also an element of camaraderie among the bartending community, which creates a welcoming environment that equally fosters good times and growth.

Kayla Saito chose bartending as a career for these very reasons, going on to participate and excel in competitions while working at venues such as Black Pearl and Leonardo’s Pizza Palace. She is now the group bar manager for the Sunda Group where she is applying her own flair to the beverage offering.

Saito speaks to Hospitality about going from preschool teacher to bartender, fostering a collaborative team spirit and the highball that got her to the final round of the Diageo World Class competition.

Kayla Saito first took an interest in cocktails at the age of 18 when she participated in a mixology course at a bowling alley in her hometown of Nashville, Tennessee. It prompted her to get a bar job, going on to “float in and out of hospitality” ever since.

The Nashville native later relocated to Hawaii, where she worked as a preschool teacher and an artist while bartending on the side. “Hawaii is different because it’s a tourist industry,” says Saito. “I lived in South Kona where I was teaching and working casually at a cocktail bar, so there wasn’t much learning being done.”

Saito started to take bartending seriously when she came to Australia in 2019, furthering her skills at the Black Pearl in Melbourne’s Fitzroy. “At first, I was on the floor working nights and I spent a lot of time with the team because of how busy it was,” she says. “They encouraged me to really focus and thoroughly learn one thing at a time. It was less about the cocktails and more about the learning experience and the social aspect as well.”

The role at Black Pearl solidified Saito’s place in the local bar scene and inevitably led to a move to Leonardo’s Pizza Palace in Carlton, with the new gig prompting her to sign up for the 2021 Diageo World Class Australian bartender competition. “It was so terrifying to be honest, I almost wanted to run away,” says Saito. “There’s a lot of work and time you have to put into it, and you need a lot of help from people.”

For me, it’s always been based around fermentation, seasonality and using local produce.

-Kayla Saito

Saito’s Johnnie Walker Blue Label highball called Till and Temper propelled her to the top alongside Evan Stroeve and David Aznar; no mean feat considering there were more than 100 entries. “I hooked up with a local chef called [Jung Eun] Chae and worked with her on the highball,” says Saito. “It was really weird, but it came out so tasty.”

The drink was based off a Korean corn tea called oksusu-cha which Saito made using whole corn. The tea was combined with Chae’s rice malt syrup and a peach infusion. “I used really young peaches and pickled them in Chae’s makgeolli (Korean rice wine) and then took the leaves from the peaches and infused them into the Johnnie Walker before carbonating it,” says Saito. “It was savoury, sweet, bubbly and rich with lots of depth because of all the fermentation. It was so fun to make, and I also became really good friends with Chae throughout the process.”

Fermentation is one of the key markers of Saito’s drinks, with the bartender focusing more on produce versus alcohol. “I went to an arts high school and college and you’re constantly asked, ‘What is your goal? What is your concept?’ so I’ve always thought about it when I create something,” she says. “Even if it’s a drink or a menu, [I think], ‘How does it follow that concept or goal?’ For me, it’s always been based around fermentation, seasonality and using local produce.”

It’s an approach Saito applies to her current role as group bar manager for the Sunda Group, overseeing the drinks offering at Sunda, Aru and The Hotel Windsor. An example is a Bellini that is currently on the menu at Sunda. “I call it a Bellini, but it’s very far from it,” she says. “It focuses on chrysanthemum and pear, which is clarified.” The carbonated cocktail also uses a house-made doburoku (Japanese rice wine). “I make my own koji into a rice wine and then [add] premium chrysanthemum tea (it’s kind of earthy) and a pear aperitif called Le Poirier from La Salamandre. It’s light and bubbly with a touch of Cognac inside.”

Saito has settled into her new role at the Sunda Group, and is working to advance the beverage offering while providing training and mentoring to staff. “We’re focusing on building a really good team and getting the drinks programs rolling,” says the bartender. “I’m just focusing on being the best manager I can be and trying to build a really healthy work environment for everyone.”