Challenging situations that the public doesn’t see.
Things can get dicey when we borrow elements from other cultures for our bar programs. Is it ok to use ceremonial fabric as a tablecloth or put tropical drinks in cups shaped like religious icons? Cultural consideration in bar programs is very important, but it is challenging when we don’t have an understanding or even exposure to those cultures. It’s easy to misrepresent someone else’s culture when you don’t have any knowledge about it, even if you are well intentioned.
My guest today is Samuel Jimenez. He has been in the industry in the Bay Area for many, many years. He is currently the bar manager at Novela in San Francisco, and he was recently chosen as one of Imbibe Magazine’s 75 People, Places and Things that will shape the way you drink in 2020, after spending 2019 educating the beverage world about Polynesian culture and history and how it relates to tiki. Samuel believes that the key to running more thoughtful bar programs is having a better understanding of the cultures you’re representing.
As a fist generation Samoan American, Samuel has a deeply rooted connection to Samoan culture, which many Americans have little understanding or exposure to. Samuel had so much to say about cultural consideration in bar programs and the importance of knowledge and cultural exchange. Listen to the episode in the player or wherever you get your podcasts, and don’t forget to subscribe and stay tuned for more. Also be sure to check out our homepage for more great advice on some of the biggest challenges in our industry. Cheers!
Fine dining and high-end casual restaurants can be very exciting and lucrative places to work. You get the chance to work with well respected chefs and staff, the pay is usually higher and the media attention is exciting too. But the unique challenges of high-end restaurants can make working in that environment exhausting if you’re not prepared for it. High-end restaurants are often more complicated and more stressful. Solid teamwork is a must in that kind of environment. If the operation isn’t firing on all cylinders, things can fall apart quickly.
As in many different careers, women face a unique set of challenges on all sides of the wine industry. Whether it’s harassment from clients and coworkers or simply the fact that there isn’t a sanitary bin in the employee bathroom because the men who designed it didn’t think about installing one. This is an incredibly challenging and nuanced issue. More recently, the industry seems to be moving towards a place of equality and understanding, but there is still a long way to go.
There are few phrases I want to hear less than, “I want to speak to the manager!” In this episode, I got to sit down with my long-time friend and colleague James Butler, and talk with him about the challenges he has faced as a manager in the bar and restaurant industry here in San Francisco. James has been in the industry since 2007. He has worked and managed many different bars and restaurants, everything from sweet and small neighborhood haunts to