Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/118688
Bridget Albert: Define "hospitality" in your own words. Chris Balchum: Empathy, empathy, empathy. If you don't have it, you probably won't understand hospitality. In most of my restaurant jobs I've taken a good deal of ownership over where I work, which has helped me build empathy and learn how to better provide for a guest. Sometimes, it's best to just pretend you are the owner of the establishment and offer service as if your personal stake is truly in the place. This style of service seems real, and can allow your service to reach new heights. Hospitality is also treating every guest equally, no matter who they are, how bad a day you've had or how busy you are. B.A.: Describe your bar and bar team. C.B.: PARK is located in Harvard Square just steps from the famed Harvard Yard as well as Harvard Business School and the Kennedy School of Government. While we do draw in the [LDA] undergrad crowd, our biggest concentration of business is from the graduate students who need to relax from the enormous pressures they face, as well as from the Cantabrigians who make Cambridge so awesome—intellectual, creative, young and not afraid to break from the norm. We have a 30-seat wrap-around bar in the middle of a multi-room restaurant that is "rustic-meets-luxe." It's a subterranean space accented by soft leather couches and armchairs, bookshelves stocked with vintage titles, reclaimed wood tables and an impressive collection of artwork and photography from the '60s and '70s. B.A.: What is your least favorite ingredient and why? C.B : I'm not a fan of brinier sherry or olive brine and don't care for either in my drinks. I think sherry is a fantastic ingredient for some people but you won't find me sipping a cocktail with fino sherry or olive brine. While a pinch of salt in drinks can make some flavors pop, I find myself disgusted with utilizing olive brine to mask the taste of vodka or that stale wine taste I get from many forms of sherry. B.A.: How do you greet your guests? C.B.: With the biggest smile possible and eye contact. Bartenders who do not smile (especially when they're not in the weeds) bother me to no end. If my guests do not feel comfortable sitting down at my bar or ordering a drink from me then I shouldn't be doing what I do. B.A.: Do you have any tips for people who want to break into bartending? C.B : Sure: Get your hands dirty in every other aspect of the restaurant first. Don't assume bar-backing is the best way into the bar. Host, wash dishes, mop floors and wait tables. Until you've done those things, you have no idea what it really takes to handle the multitude of tasks one will have behind the stick. Read and observe as much as you can from cocktail books and beer blogs. Go out to a variety of different eating and drinking establishments. Make yourself a reliable employee, do favors and show you can be trusted and depended upon. Don't ever assume that just because you've put in a couple months somewhere you're just the natural next-in-line. B.A.: What is your favorite time of year to bartend and why? C.B : Winter is a great time to bartend because there's something romantic about hunkering down at a bar stool with the snow falling in the background. Building citrusy spring drinks is easy; utilizing stronger brown spirits in the winter and finding the right modifiers to complement them is a lot more fun. Plus, I love it when someone orders Green Chartreuse and Hot Chocolate, and I'm not afraid to hand whip some cream on the fly! B.A.: When did you know that you wanted to become a bartender? Describe that moment. C.B: When I was a server at Eastern Standard in Boston's Kenmore Square, a large brasserie with a fantastic cocktail program, I often worked the bustling lounge area straight from 3 in the afternoon until 2 in the morning without downtime. The restaurant equipped me with the skills to recommend drink progressions for guests and I quickly made it a habit to challenge myself to get guests into stranger and stranger drinks. Eventually, I got to know regular guests' palates, and suddenly the house and classic cocktails I knew of weren't enough anymore—I really just wanted to get back there and whip something up myself! From then on out the urge only continued to grow. YEAR OF THE American Harvest Organic Spirit Artisan Brand Newly launched American Harvest Organic Spirit from Sidney Frank Importing Company is made from winter wheat grown and harvested at a local, family owned and operated organic wheat farm in Idaho. The spirit is blended with water from deep beneath the Snake River plain and a proprietary mixture of certified organic ingredients. It undergoes a four-step charcoal filtration process to ensure the integrity and purity of the spirit. It is then hand-bottled, delivering a liquid that is silky, clean tasting and amazingly mixable. The Little Gems by Chris Balchum of PARK Restaurant & Bar ◗ 1½ oz. American Harvest Organic Spirit ◗ ½ oz. lemon Juice ◗ ½ oz. Cynar ◗ ½ oz. Bärenjäger Honey Liqueur ◗ Half a kumquat, sliced and lightly pickled ◗ Muddle the kumquat slices in the bottom of a mixing glass. Add the other ingredients and shake with ice. Double-strain into a double Old Fashioned glass and top with fresh ice. Garnish with kumquat slices on a bamboo pick. april 2013 / the tasting panel / 135