Bartender interview: Philip Bischoff

Hendricks Bar, located in Four Seasons Dubai at Jumeirah Beach, has hosted three guest bartenders in recent months. Following Denzil Heath’s appearance in October and Lucia Cinalli’s in November, Philip Bischoff created cocktails at Hendricks Bar on December 6 and 7. Caterer Middle East caught up with Bischoff, who is bar manager of Manhattan in Regent Singapore, a Four Seasons Hotel, and a Bacardi Legacy Cocktail Competition judge, ahead of his visit to Dubai.

What first attracted you to working in the industry?
I started working in the industry as an extra job alongside studying Business Administration with a speciality in Health Management. As time went on, the hospitality industry became more attractive and interesting to me. I got to a point where I had to make a decision on what I wanted to do — and it was bartending. I decided to move to Switzerland to further my career and from there it has been an exciting journey up until today.

What do you enjoy most about your job and what might surprise people to hear about it?
The best part is sharing experience and knowledge with my colleagues and teammates. It’s about all about learning (even from your mistakes) to help a team grow.If there is someone who has a wealth of experience, you learn from listening, and I love to share my experience with my team.

These days it’s amazing how many opportunities we have to share our experiences and to spread the love of Manhattan bar around the world by guest bartending, attending trade shows and even conducting little talks.

I think people, step by step, have realised that bartending is not only making drinks; it’s about providing an experience to our guests every night. It’s a lifestyle and entails a lot of commitment of a person and the people around you.

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How did you get involved in the guest bartending series at Hendricks Bar and what are you most looking forward to about?
It is great to see the bar and beverage programmes start to develop more within Four Seasons, such as at Manhattan and Hendricks Bar. And with Manhattan starting the Friends of Manhattan Series two-and-a-half years ago, it became a point of inspiration within the entire company. Guest bartending is popular all over the globe and it’s a great opportunity to exchange experiences. For me it is also a great opportunity to see old friends, make new ones and get to know another great Four Seasons venue.

What excites you most about cocktail development?
Mostly it’s the passion and knowledge that bartenders and guests have been developing over the last couple of years.

Guests enjoy high quality drinks as much as they enjoy great food, which allows the bars to increasingly use more high quality spirits. It’s great to see that people start to value the passion and effort bartenders put into creating new drinks — appreciating amazing fusions of flavours, bartenders are always looking for something new and exciting. But sometimes it’s also good to simply perfect classic drinks and recipes that were created in some of the first cocktail books in the late 1800s.

Finally, amazing bars and restaurants pop up everywhere which makes this industry by far one of the best to work in — it connects people all over the globe.

What do you think are the key ingredients to making a bar successful?
The room, the location, the lighting, the music, the drinks and the menu are key. But I also believe that it is about the people who bring the place to life every day — the team. Of course the environment is very important and one key to the success of a bar, but you do not need to have an awesomely designed bar for it to be super successful if the team working in it is providing a great service and providing their guests with an exceptional experience. It can be an amazingly designed place, as bars like Manhattan and Hendricks are, but we need every single member of the team in the front-of-house, back-of-house and the hotel management to be successful. A successful bar is the result of excellent team work.

What’s your favourite cocktail?
A difficult question! It completely depends on the mood. A good martini always works. And I do really love manhattans. As I said, it completely depends on the mood and atmosphere around me.