By Rebecca Harris
‘Bartender Exchange’ programs between Melbourne and Sydney bars are proving to be a popular initiative.
On Friday (Feb 27) Chris Hysted from Black Pearl in Melbourne and Zdenek Kastsnek from the Beresford in Sydney each worked in the other participant’s bars for two nights.
A month ago, Luke Redington from Hugos Bar Pizza in Sydney and Jason Williams from SweatShop in Melbourne conducted a similar exchange. Williams described it as one of the best experiences of his working career.
“It was great to work with the crew at Hugos Bar Pizza and make drinks at one of Australia’s best bars,” he said.
The exchanges function as a way to further knowledge and understanding of the bartending scene and allowing ideas and trends to be shared between the two cities. And it’s also a lot of fun.
“While sharing ideas, information and new concepts is the professionally beneficial part of this program, the fun part of the trip was hanging out with all the Sydney bartender villains who made me feel very welcome and were all up for a laugh,” Williams said.
“Coming from a pretty community-orientated bar scene in Melbourne, it was refreshing to see the same vibe in Sydney.”