The liquid assets of Mirko Cattini
THE YOUTHFUL looks of Mirko Cattini, Shangri-La’s Mactan Resort & Spa’s Director of Food and Beverage, must have greatly contributed to his career in the hospitality industry. His fascination for the art of bartending, where good looks play a vital role, started when he was still in school as a teenager in Lake Como in Italy. Mirko was already serendipitously immersed in his beverage career when he worked for his diploma in Hospitality Management in the United Kingdom where he learned the English language and acquired valuable work experience in five star hotels. He was beverage consultant at the Taj President in Mumbai, India prior to joining Shangri-La Bangkok’s opening as restaurant and bar manager where he was later promoted as assistant Food and Beverage manager.
His extensive experience in bartending, bar and beverage management makes Mirko thequintessential mixologist or bar chef. While a bartender needs to know a lot of common and popular drinks and serve many people at once, a mixologist tends to focus on the art and craft of mixing cocktails. Mixologists are like chefs searching for the right combination of flavors to leave customers pleasantly surprised and satisfied. Cocktail creation has evolved into an art using fruits, vegetables and other flavors with the same precision used in cooking. Mixologists rely on seasonal ingredients. Drinks they concoct are frequently commissioned for particular events and themes. Mirko recently created a signature drink, raspberry-flavored Pure Red for a well-known cosmetic firm’s incentive event in the resort.
Mirko’s invitation to mix a number of innovative cocktails momentarily caught my curiosity since I had no clue then that the 32-year-old Food and Beverage director excelled in the art of bartending and mixology. And his fascination in the beverage field may altogether put the art and craft of mixing drinks in a different light. Sadly, bartending is an underrated profession in the Philippines and is not given due recognition in our food and beverage industry where they play a vital role. I am acutely aware of this since my daughter Patricia is a mixologist who works in New York City for celebrity chef Daniel Boulud. One of the many challenges that Mirko has to address is for bartenders in his team to come up with imaginative offerings. Every Monday, Waves Bar conducts an amateur bar tending competition called “Bar Chefs” open to its guests.
With an extremely busy schedule, Mirko had to demonstrate his prowess at the Lobby Lounge Bar. The newly renovated Waves Bar at Cowrie Cove, which is close to the seaside, was momentarily inaccessible as Mirko had an important meeting within the next hour. With Communications director Mildred Amon, Restaurants marketing manager Ricca Rellon, we were all held in awe as Mirko started mixing his drinks with the dexterity and savvy of a seasoned mixologist. His signature concoctions included “Absolutely Crushed,” which is a combination of muddled mandarins and lime, brown sugar, served frappe and crowned with mandarin vodka; and “Just for Girls,” a blend of strawberry reduction and vanilla syrup, refined organic single cream, shaken and strained over crushed ice and crowned with a shot of vanilla vodka. He made two more: Apple and Melon Martini and Watermelon and Coriander Martini.
