Stories
Daniele Fierro
My Story
Bartender in London
- Nationality: Italian
- Occupation: Bartender
- Workplace: The Coral room, London, UK
- Favorite Cocktail: Vieux Carre
- Favorite Spirit: Bourbon Whisky
What inspired you to become a bartender:
The aspiration to engage with a new world through innovative approaches to presenting and serving customers.
Tell me about your bartending journey and how you got to where you are now:
I started working at the age of fifteen in the family bar, in summer, when school was finally over. It was mostly a small cafe bistro in a small town in southern Italy. Making cocktails was a fairly distant idea. Over time, year after year, the idea of making a drink was always in my head but, in my beloved and boring town it was not possible to realise this dream. After graduation I decided to change air and try to look elsewhere because I was sure that this would change my life, now here I am in London. I will never stop thanking this city, it has given me the opportunity to become a good bartender (at least I hope) and to know better people than I. After all, you only learn from the best and in my journey I have had the good fortune to have met with many of them. Among my experiences, the one that marked me in particular in a positive way is obviously Mr Fogg’s Residence. I owe a lot to my colleagues who were part of that fantastic team.
What stamp would you like to leave on the industry:
I would like to make many people understand that drinking a cocktail does not only mean getting drunk but instead it’s about aggregation, meeting, relaxation and knowledge. I am sure that step by step we will be able to make our voice heard even more. Here is the mark that I would like to leave on this industry.
Can you explain your personal process for creating a cocktail:
My process to create a drink goes back to all the experiences I have had in the past because each of them has given me something new and exciting but above all for me, creating means first of all knowing. Without knowing what you are using you can never think of creating new things. So study, study, study.
What is the most important part of what you do and what does it mean to you:
The most important part of what I do is getting excited after years of experience, but above all the desire to know more. In my opinion these two factors will allow you to make a difference.
What do you think will be the future of the F&B industry:
Fortunately, over the years this fantastic industry has grown and it will grow more and more, so there will be much more competition. For me, the future will be the ability to pamper, serve and put customers at the center of attention.
Anything that would you like to add?
Let me say that I consider myself a lucky person to work as a bartender because it is the most beautiful job in the world.
Most bizarre client request:
The most bizarre client request was very funny. Some time ago a woman arrived at the counter, very confident and asked me for an Espresso Martini, but with no essence of coffee.