You are an international level bartender who has participated and won numerous international awards, would you like to remind us of any of them?
World finalist Remy Martin Competition Cognac 2005
World finalist Remy Martin Competition Cognac 2006 award winner Air France
World finalist Remy Martin Competition Cognac 2007
National Barfestival winner ( cocktail category with grappa) 2006
2nd place Toronto, Canada, Barfestival final 2006
2nd place Calvados Christian Drouin Competition, London 2007
Best tecnique Calvados Boulard Competition, London 2007
June 2009 only Italian participant in Bordeaux competition Volare
2010- 6th place The mixin star Amaretto Di Saronno, Milan selection
You could have been lulled into the laurels of an easy consensus, of a quiet road all paved by your talent and skill, but instead it seems that you want to escape this destiny, that you prefer to always experiment rather than live off the already experienced. Is that so?
I believe that life should be lived with serenity and I also believe that nothing is given to chance. When I was in London my career was taking a very interesting turn,I could have gone down a path richer in experience and growth but fate probably had other ideas for me! Without hesitation when it was time I returned to the fold knowing that I could contribute in my country and share my knowledge with my fellow citizens. Once I returned it was not so easy because in Italy the concept of work changes compared to London and cities like Milan and its Grand Hotels see professionals as yet another counterman. Although it left me saddened, this vision gave me the opportunity and the desire to reintroduce myself in the province where years later I am still proud to propose our drinks and, in part, to be able to "teach" my fellow citizens the art of conscious drinking!
When it comes to unconventional bartending, your name always comes up, what is the spring that brings you to the increasingly daring shores of "extreme cocktails" ?
I began to be involved in unconventional cocktails since 2000 when I had the good fortune to meet Dario Comini, patron of Notthingam Forest in Milan, I was immediately impressed by his drinks and immediately understood the potential of these cocktails so much that I pushed myself to propose them again in my city. Dario was immediately of great help as he gave me all the information I needed to create the drinks and I meticulously executed everything he told me, learning technique, ingredients and always citing the authorship of the bartender who had created them. Sometimes this last part seems unnecessary but you have to know that in the cocktail world there is no copyright so we humble bartenders have to rely on the honesty of our colleagues that when creating a drink they always tell the truth about who invented it, only then can we hope that one of our drinks will be remembered forever!
Obviously, Dario's influence has been vital in my life, and to this day, in addition to reintroducing his cocktails, I still try to create my own by continually searching for a unique style that can set me apart from the rest of the world.
In your opinion, a person tasting a cocktail for the first time, which sense should satisfy first: taste, sight, smell...or the sixth sense?
Undoubtedly sight is the first point of reference since it brings information initially to the brain, then smell since it gives a very precise idea of what will happen in our mouth, and finally taste which will concur with the two initial senses and confirm the pleasant taste on the palate.
You often use unusual equipment for the preparation of your creations, objects that were born for other uses and that you have "repurposed" to adapt them to the preparation of cocktails, would you like to give us some examples?
About a year ago I included in my cocktails menu a drink created with the help of a tattoo machine. The concept is similar to tattooing. The machine draws an ingredient through the needles, placing them on the surface of the drink (a very dry cocktail martini) by means of a very fast vibration injects micro-grams of this ingredient breaking the molecules of the cocktail that will mix quickly flavoring it delicately.
Another creation are containers in the shape of giant skulls where inside the skullcap a glass accommodates themed drinks.
And again,wooden Tiki statues in the shape of turtles hugging glasses or mini drinks with containers in the shape of an alien's face, frankenstein, skull.
"Tattooed" dolls hugging glasses inherent to the style of the tattoo and with themed ingredients.
Does this mean for you that conventional professional equipment does not count, or do you still recognize the value of a quality accessory or tool in common use ?
Absolutely yes, I love to use conventional and classic equipment but this however does not mean that sometimes we can search for alternative materials, ingredients, containers, glasses giving our customers a pleasant reason for discussion by intriguing and entertaining those who decide to have a very specific drink because of its uniqueness.
Among all the ingredients of a cocktail, if you had to elect one without which the history of mixed drinking would not have been the same ?
I think mentioning just one is almost a disgrace to the world of mixed drinking since every distillate, liqueur , cream, have given interesting cultural and historical transitions within cocktails. If I had to go out on a limb, in my opinion, vermouth has been a key ingredient in mixed drinking. At the turn of the 20th century, vermouth has shown great adaptability in mixing countless drinks by giving body, aroma, depth and character to every recipe!
Do you enjoy making classic cocktails, the ones that have made history? Possibly what is your favorite?
Definitely all martini's drinks such as Martini dry, Manhattan, Gin and It, Gibson,etc.
Over the years I have been able to cultivate a clientele that adores this category of cocktails and the market, which is increasingly open, brings new brands in Gin or Vodka giving us the opportunity to try different pairings and recommend them to an increasingly demanding and refined public in terms of taste.
Do you have a role model, a bartender that you consider a master or an example ?
As I mentioned just before definitely Dario Comini for educating and encouraging me in unconventional cocktails and for teaching me humility, but I cannot forget also people like:
Matteo Lussana, who taught me that a great bartender is also a great worker and treats everyone as his equal.
Marco Pistone, who passed on to me the passion and unique professional nuances.
Matteo Schiavone, the only one who is not a bartender but a master pizza maker who, however, taught me that if I wanted to do this job, I had to do it well!
Giorgio Negri, who gives me the drive to tackle my research work by pushing me beyond any concept
As you can see, the people to mention are many and I would never run out of names since it is thanks to a piece of each of them that they have contributed to creating the bartender I am today.
In the world of theater and music the term "tradesman" is a derogatory, it means a person who privileges the craft, putting it before his own creativity, the artistic sense of his own work, You give me the feeling that you have privileged more the artistic aspects than the craft aspects, but I believe that at the base of your artistic talent there is a deep respect for professionalism. Am I wrong?
How do you feel about that? Isthe base, the technique or the creative and artistic flair worth more?
Unquestionably the technical and theoretical base is essential for any work, evolution is a choice or a consequence of evolution! Let me explain myself better, if we wanted for example to create a molecular drink based on a martini cocktail recipe before we could achieve evolution we would have to know how to create a basic martini cocktail starting from the technique, moving on to the tools to be used and arriving at the recipe that creates it and only then we could understand how to make the best use of it to achieve the evolution of a new technique such as molecular!
Regardless of the professional choice to create or not to create whimsical drinks the basic knowledge is a duty of every professional bartender since in addition to the technique with the client we also have a cultural exchange and it is not unusual for a client to ask us why a technique or the derivation of a drink!
What do you think are the cities in the world where there are the most "forward" establishments and what are the novelties, the trends of the moment ?
I think that in addition to the undisputed N.Y. and London also Milan is an interesting hothouse of alternative ideas. Currently the novelties or trends see a return of drinks with recipes without extenders just as they were created in the early 1900s with the help of only distillates,drops, vermouth or liqueur. In addition, already for a few months edible flowers have been another novelty creating curiosity and excitement among customers. Besides the already well-known Hibiscus flower currently, thanks also to bartenders such as Giorgio Tagliabue who has studied and found particular flowers such as the sparkling/anesthetic flower, oyster leaves or the sweet dushi flower.
Your activity has always been expressed between the big international metropolises and the Lombardy province, your double glance at the clientele of the venues can help us to better understand the typology of Italian venues. In your opinion, are venues in provincial towns really very backward when it comes to trends ? And is it right for the provinces to try to chase the big city, or should each place create its own model of venues and drinking out ?
I have to say that actually every provincial town I know has a landmark venue where the trends in mixed drinking are promoted by some great bartender who studies and informs himself about the latest trends. Obviously the big cities or metropolises are the first to "churn out" good ideas and probably have a number of venues more favorable to the number of customers living there. In any case, the small province apparently manages to follow up with an interesting response so that its customers can find trendy cocktails without having to move too far from the city of origin and thus limiting the problem of getting behind the wheel after drinking.
What are you currently involved in?
I am currently working with a champagneria that also specializes in oysters and of course cocktails in the city of Lodi, 25 km south of Milan. The place in question is called Due Agnelli...
TO KNOW YOU BETTER
Favorite Italian city:
Lodi, where I live now!
Favorite city in the world:
In order: London, Paris, Barcelona
The kind of food you just can't give up:
I'm a good mouth and until recently I could boast of eating Japanese, Chinese, Romanian, Arabic and finally Italian in a week.
When you are not busy you spend your time how ?
Resting, tattooing and devoting myself to my wife Elena and my cat Oscar
A wish in the drawer ?
In my career I have been lucky, I believe we have to give something back to society if we have been lucky in life, and I hope one day to be someone so I can give back by helping those in need through my work and position.
If someone would like to get in touch with you, how can they find you?
I am on fecebook, and my email is: diegobarman@libero.it
DIEGO FERRARI
Like an ever-evolving recipe I build my life and mix it with facts, people, moments, garnished by my private life. I was born to a humble family in a country setting but I found the desire to know and grow. I went through small and big cities in my country and abroad. I have discovered who I am and realized what I can only achieve through my own strength. I have loved, hated and loved again my job and everything I have I owe to it and to it, as I have always done, I let it write my destiny.
Born in Lodi on 04/23/77
Work experience from 1995 to the present with tasks starting from pizza helper, waiter, dishwasher,bartender and bar-manager. I have worked in hotels and several trendy clubs in Italy and London, participated in dozens of international competitions, quoted in 5 books and a hundred articles in newspapers and magazines, have a cocktail column in Mixer and...let's hope it keeps going!
Interview by Monica Palla
Interview with Diego Ferrari: one of the least conventional bartenders on the European scene.
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