Our Monday blues slowly dissipated on one particularly wet August evening as we headed over to Bam Bou restaurant in Central London. We were to meet Kamil Foltan—the new Head Bartender at The Tippling Club, an award-winning restaurant in Singapore, which specialises in expertly matching diners’ choices in meals with the most innovative cocktails and wines. Having been ranked as one of the world’s top bars in 2013—it is evident that The Tippling Club is creating serious waves. So it was a treat to be able to meet the man who will no doubt help work to maintain the quality and passion of the stellar dining experience.
When asked when he first started to develop his skills in mixology, Foltan responded wryly ‘at the age of three.’ Whilst this may be true, he has certainly further honed his talents at establishments such as Graphic bar in Soho and Zetter Townhouse Hotel in Clerkenwell—before relocating to Singapore, where he continued to win accolades for his flair and technique.
*(Panda Colada on the left, Gringos Garden on the right)*
Foltan expressed his love for taking classic cocktails and remixing them to create new and interesting flavour combinations. This is certainly what our taste buds experienced with the Panda Colada for instance, which was a mix of rum, lime juice, coconut water and pandan syrup. It certainly felt less heavy than the traditional Pina Colada—with the added bonus of feeling (perhaps too) virtuous in knowing that coconut water’s pretty good for you (right?).
One cocktail that tasted much better than it sounded was the Gringos Garden, which was a blend of tequila, pineapple juice, coriander and egg whites (amongst other things). A curious combination in a drink, certainly, but it seemed to work, which is perhaps where Foltan’s genius lies.
It was a thoroughly enjoyable evening that also left us with food for thought (figuratively speaking) in that being skilled in what you do and working hard at it can take you to greater and higher heights. Indeed, cocktails and inspiration has to be the perfect way to start any working week.
Written by Kazstarlet
Tweet Me @kazstarlet