Up close & personal: Juan Yi Jun, No Sleep Club
For the final instalment in our series, we spoke to Juan Yi Jun, owner and co-founder of No Sleep Club. Jun talks about the compromises that are necessary as you scale up your business, the experience of managing staff throughout the Covid-19 crisis, and developing her own skills as a leader since then, in order to stay close to her team
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The future is yours to create: So-yeon Kim (Alice)So-yeon Kim, also known as Alice, is a bartender based in South Korea whose approach to hospitality is rooted in emotional awareness and quiet observation. Drawn to bartending through curiosity rather than convention, she sees cocktails as moments shaped by memory, mood, and human connection. As a Campari Red Hands APAC 2025 finalist for South […]
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The future is yours to create: Phirun LekPhirun Lek is a lead bartender at SORA Phnom Penh, a venue that marked both the beginning and the foundation of his bartending career. Starting in hospitality through service roles before finding his place behind the bar, his journey reflects steady growth shaped by curiosity, practice, and people. With a mindset rooted in learning and […]
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Drink Like a Local: Macau with Frankie LeongExplore Macau with Frankie Leong, to discover a compact city where Chinese and Portuguese cultures meet through layered histories, late-night rituals, comfort-driven food, and a quietly evolving cocktail scene. Macau is often described through contrast: a city shaped by centuries of exchange between East and West, where Chinese traditions and Portuguese heritage coexist in daily […]
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The future is yours to create: Liu Yuan (Kim)Liu Yuan, also known as Kim, is a bartender at Wing Lei Bar in Macau whose journey into hospitality began with curiosity rather than convention. Drawn into the world of cocktails through a single, formative experience, she approaches bartending with a balance of discipline, creativity, and openness to discovery. As the first bartender from Macau […]
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The future is yours to create: Thanesh JoelThanesh Joel is a bartender whose relationship with hospitality is shaped less by ambition and more by curiosity. Based in Penang and deeply rooted at Backdoor Bodega, his work reflects a mindset driven by understanding, of flavour, systems, and human behaviour. As the Campari Red Hands APAC 2025 finalist for Malaysia, he approaches competition not […]
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The future is yours to create: Hiroyuki YamadaHiroyuki Yamada is a bartender at Bee’s Knees in Kyoto, whose path into hospitality began quietly during his student years. What started as a part-time job at an izakaya became a long-term commitment to service, shaped by daily human interaction and cultural exchange. As the Campari Red Hands APAC 2025 finalist for Japan, he approaches […]
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The future is yours to create: Julian ShortFrom Sin + Tax bar in Johannesburg, our seventh interviewee in our series is beverage director Julian Short. He chats about life-changing travel experiences, talking more about the impact of working with alcohol, and sharing our failures A little bit about me I have been bartending since 2014. I started bartending because quite simply, I […]
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Up close & personal: Edmund Weil & Roisin Stimpson, Speakeasy EntertainmentOur fourth instalment of this series sees us talking to Edmund Weil and Roisin Stimpson of London’s Nightjar, Oriole and Swift bars. They share their deep knowledge of owning multiple sites, making running their business work for their personal lives, and knowing their priorities
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The future is yours to create: Shelley TaiOur final interviewee in our series is Shelley Tai, general manager of Singapore’s Nutmeg & Clove. She discusses how pursuing her hobbies brings her happiness, doing a job well, and raising our standards A little bit about me I started working as a bartender when I was 20. Back then I just needed a job […]
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The future is yours to create: Keith MotsiKeith Motsi, head bartender at VIRTÙ and head of beverage operations at Four Seasons Hotel Toyko at Otemachi is the sixth in our series. He tells us how he loves to see other people flourish, why the term ‘role model’ has become obsolete, and what we should encourage the next generation to do A little […]
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What it takes to scale a successful business with Hawksmoor’s Will BeckettThe CEO of Hawksmoor discusses his strategy for scaling a hospitality business, his specific set of leadership skills and why being optimistic is his superpower When I speak to Will Beckett over Zoom on a rather uneventful day in April, the man I’m met with is – by his own admission – a casual one. […]
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The Future is Yours to Create: Christina ChaeMeet the fourth interviewee in our new series: Christina Chae, co-owner of plant cocktail bar, Moonflower, in Portage Park, Chicago. She talks about creating safe spaces, not looking at each other as competition, and leading by example A little bit about me I’ve had many odd jobs as a young adult, but when I started hosting […]