Dziadkowiec:
By : Anna Kocinska
Poland's first bartender contest was held in 1976, at a time when the country's gastronomical landscape was largely limited to restaurants and bars within Orbis, the state-owned hotel network. In 1990, domestic alcohol distributors established the Gdansk-based Polish Bartenders Association, which today boasts 300 members and is an active member of the International Bartenders Association. On March 24-25, bartenders had a chance to compete in the 12th National Bartender Competition. Recently the WBJ's Anna Kocinska talked to Piotr Dziadkowiec, competition juror, Polish Bartenders Association board member, and bartender at Krakow's Maska Cafe. The following is a translated, edited version of their conversation.
Q: Is there any drink that links the 50-year period of communist-ruled Poland with the new market economy?
A: The first contest of bartenders in Poland was organized in 1976, and it was then that flagowiec (flagship) won the competition. The drink was completely forgotten for almost 20 years, but in 1994 I rediscovered it. It became trendy again in Krakow at Maska Cafe, and was reintroduced in Warsaw, where it's now quite frequently requested in bars.
Q: How is it prepared?
A: Flagowiec was invented by Jurek Zabierek, my close friend. It consists of grenadine, a syrup made of pomegranate, and vodka. First goes grenadine into a tall goblet and then vodka by teaspoons, poured carefully so that it doesn't mix with the grenadine. Finally, you get two layers, white and red.
Q: And what about trzy kolory (three colors, named after Krzysztof Kieslowski's film trilogy)?
A: The way to prepare it is more or less the same. You add to the white and red layers a blue one made of curacao.
Q: Is flagowiec going to become popular enough to be known in, for example, Rio de Janeiro one day?
A: I don't think so, although there are a few places in England and the United States where you can order it. But it's still not a standard drink, neither in Poland nor internationally. I used to make it often at international bartenders meetings since it's a milder way of drinking Polish vodka. When foreigners see us drinking vodka straight, by the glass, they are startled. Some take it as barbarism, others as bravery.
Q: Can you describe the new generation of bartenders and people within the restaurant business?
A: They are people who can see their future in this business. Poland is now an open country and that's why even the status of a bartender or a waiter has changed. In the old days it wasn't a respected profession. Customers wouldn't expect anything good from restaurant staff. From the very beginning they expected to be cheated or robbed because they could feel that the staff wasn't professional and didn't have any sense of purpose. They weren't there for us, the customers. I think that this kind of mentality has changed.
Q: Have tastes changed as well? What are the most frequently ordered drinks now?
A: Of course, tastes have changed because the choice of alcohol is completely different. The fact that we now train young bartenders makes them more aware of the opportunities, and they now have to be creative in preparing new drinks and cocktails. In the 1970s, alcohol on offer in the Pewex (the chain of state-owned shops where Western goods were sold in exchange for foreign currencies) was the ultimate and only choice of both bartenders and customers. It was there where drinking trends would start. At that time Poles drank very little wine. Today, according to statistics, vodka is being replaced by beer and wine.
Q: But what exactly would people order in the old days?
A: I was lucky to work in places relatively well provided with alcohol so I could afford to be creative. Generally, most people would drink vodka with juice, although nobody called it a screwdriver, the classic cocktail. Sometimes you could also order a martini or a manhattan, but in most cases only simple cocktails were available such as vodka or whiskey with coke. I think that today, by creating new drinks we are able to change old habits.
Q: How many drinks come into being every year?
A: We have five bartender contests every year with at least 30 participants each, so that makes 200 new drinks. Of course, there are also new cocktails that are created locally, in a particular bar, and that's something you can't count. I also know bartenders who create something new every time they prepare an order, a drink that goes well with the color of a client's eyes or the dress she is wearing.
Q: What's been popular lately?
A: Flagowiec and trzy kolory, whose formula has spread by word of mouth.
Q: And what do you order for yourself?
A: I usually drink wine or single malt whiskey.
Q: Has Krakow's restaurant clientele changed since the collapse of communism?
A: What is changing the most now is geography. Every month new places open and that's what's fascinating about Krakow. I'd say that it's trendy to have a restaurant or a bar. It might also be the case in other cities. And who are the customers? It depends on the place. There are places visited by entire families, especially on weekends, (and) there are also restaurants and bars for young people and businessmen.
Q: Is the Polish drinking culture changing?
A: It is. Places where you can drink have changed, and customers have adapted to those changes too. Until recently, no one would order beer, although (in the past) we had a strong tradition of beer drinking. Apparently, the tradition is coming back. The number of wine importers is growing (and) there are more customers not only for cheap wine, like the Bulgarian Sophia, but also those interested in learning about new tastes. They don't hesitate to buy wine from South America or even the 'Third World.' I think that it's a consequence of the opening of Poland after 1989 and the fact that Poles are becoming persistent travelers. In the old days traveling abroad was something most Poles were deprived of. Young people, who right now travel the most, look in a completely different way at the world of alcohol. Their goal is not getting drunk. What's more important today is how the alcohol tastes.
Q: Do you think that in new restaurants more attention is paid to the quality and variety of alcohol and the way it's served?
A: It's wonderful if the owner of a restaurant was raised in a spirit of appreciation for food and drink. Unfortunately, it's often the case that restaurant owners are wealthy people who establish such a place on a whim. Still, I meet people who decide to hire professionals and don't interfere with their work. It happens quite frequently.
Q: Do Poles on either side of the bar know much about wine?
A: There is an association of sommeliers and two wine academies in Krakow and Warsaw, but for bartenders trained on spirits, wine remains a mystery. Unfortunately, there are still few people who are able to give you advice on how to serve it and what kind of food it should accompany. Of course there are those who try to break customs and rules. In Sweden, a new trend is occurring, the 'cross-over,' which says all accepted ways of combining tastes should be violated. One could do the same with wine but personally I would be careful. It's better to stick to the rules.
Q: What kind of wine is still absent from stores?
A: It's not a question of absence because the importers' offerings are extremely wide these days. What's far more serious is the lack of storage space. We'll need quite a long time to try all the brands that are now available on the market.
Under communism, all one could buy was Georgian wine. Obviously, it was underestimated then. Now, it's having a comeback on the market. It's time to rediscover all those wine countries, which haven't been known on the market before, such as Portugal, Chile, Venezuela, South Africa, etc.
Q: Do you talk to your customers? Aren't Poles, who are now focused on their careers and making money, becoming more closed and uncommunicative?
A: Bartenders should not only be great at blending cocktails, they also need to know how to make customers comfortable and at ease. People do open up. How fast? Everyone can start talking after two to four shots, but some people come with an intention to talk. Now, it's up to a bartender, his sensitivity, not to touch on painful topics. A bartender has to be, above all, discreet. Discretion is far more important than serving alcohol. And it's no longer true that Poles start talking only when they're drunk. I no longer meet people who drink vodka by the glassful.
Q: What kinds of alcohol will catch on for good?
A: I am sure that wine will be one of them. And if prices of spirits go down I can also see a great future for whiskey, cognac and other liqueurs. Mead? Why not. It's a typically Polish alcohol. There are no longer so many brands of mead, though, and I can't remember the last time a customer asked me for mead.
Q: What would you mix mead with?
A: I think it would make a great combination with whiskey. Mead with vodka could (also) be a very good hot drink for winter.
Q: What's the most creative cocktail you have ever made?
A: It was a drink created on request. I was totally surprised when attending the prince and princess of Japan. At first I served our flagowiec, which symbolizes the Polish flag, since it's a very good drink for toasting. They asked me if I could do the same with the Japanese flag. Without much thinking I said 'yes.' Since the Japanese flag consists of a white background and a red sun in the middle, I poured some vodka into a glass and added a cocktail cherry, which looked just perfect. I was applauded but then they asked me to do the U.S. flag. I said 'yes' again, adding, however, that the flag's stars can be seen only after having the drink.
