Bars and Clubs talked to Coleman’s Academy Founder, Paige Aubort about Iconic bartender and bar owner Ryan Chetiyawardana joining Krystal Hart in presenting at the next Coleman’s Academy session, taking place at Maybe Sammy on Sunday 15 September.
Chetiyawardana’s trophy cabinet is something to behold having been named the world’s best bartender in 2015, his Dandelyan bar in London was named the world’s best bar in 2018 and he’s recently been named as the world’s most influential bar industry figure by Drinks International.
Coleman’s Founder, Paige Aubort told Bars and Clubs that she was delighted to have locked in Chetiyawardana as a speaker and just how important it was to her to have him and Hart available to chat with Coleman’s attendees.
“I remember when I first started off in the industry, I was attending training sessions, and I remember one really specifically that attended, and I was the only woman in a room full of 40 men.
“I didn’t feel like I was in an environment where I had the ability to ask those questions, because I was embarrassed. And I thought it was a waste of time. Afterwards this amazing presenter was swamped by all these people asking him lots of questions and I really didn’t feel like I had the right to approach him.
“So I think that’s the first thing I’m really stoked about is to be able to put people like Ryan and Krystal in an environment and a space where they are approachable, there is no judgment you can ask them the most simplest of questions, because I think that actually, the vast majority of us want to ask the same things? We’re just a little bit embarrassed do it. So I really like the accessibility of having to really high calibre speakers available to the women that attend.”
Aubort added: “The second thing that I like, and this pertains to any of male speakers that I’ve started to have this year, and that is the men in our industry are our allies, right?
“We cannot do this without them. And there are so many and they are so fucking brilliant. So as much as it’s an opportunity to showcase people like Ryan and put them in a space where they can be learned from. I think it’s also really important to have these men that are so powerful and influential and hold these positions of privilege, to come across to Australia to be in a room with like 40, 50, 80 women that are representing, that are doing well, that a killing it, so that like one Ryan can go back home and say ‘man, Australia’s doing so well’.”
For more on what’s happening with Coleman’s and the September session, head to the Bars and Clubs website.