As a young man, he was a low-quality drinker, but then he discovered excellence. He has clinked glasses with movie stars and seen 100 Bellinis ordered in one go. His name is Giovanni Dolci, an executive in the movie industry.
Giovanni Dolci From Milan To London
His adventure as a drinker began a quarter of a century ago in Milan: “Even if it was a big city, the drinks being served were lousy and I honestly don’t know why. Maybe when you’re younger you’re attracted to places that don’t focus on quality, or maybe there were good bars but I didn’t have the money to go there”. The revelation came when he moved to London in 2005-2006. He was a few years older, had more cash in his pocket, and for a series of reasons he ended up at the Connaught Bar. It was love at first sight.
The Hollywood Taste
As the years went by, Dolci moved up the ladder and his work brought him into close contact with film people (no name-dropping, “that would be tacky”). He soon discovered that people drink differently in the US: “Tastes are pretty different in Hollywood compared to Europe.” In the sense that they’re less constrained: “I’ve drunk ultra-dry Martinis with women from the industry who don’t seem concerned with predetermined external impositions.” And the same goes for men.
100 Bellinis
In this regard, years ago Dolci was on business in France with a famous producer who “ordered 100 Bellinis at the bar because he wanted to offer them to everyone there. I remember the terror on the faces of the guys behind the bar”. But their dread was followed by professionalism, “So they started preparing trays and trays of cocktails”. An anecdote like this might be memorable for a flurry of poorly made Bellinis, but on that occasion there was also quality.
The Essential Requirements of a Bar According to Giovanni Dolci
Giovanni Dolci has clear ideas about what counts in this field. There are five essentials. There’s the standard of the drinks, of course, but above all there’s the art of hospitality, “the ability to understand the customer’s desires. Some people go to the bar for a moment of quiet contemplation. Others go there to confide their darkest secrets to the bartender. And others are seeking some alcoholic solace. In my view, a good host knows how to accommodate these things”.
The third cornerstone is identity. It’s not so much a question of concept: “I think we’re all tired of ultra-elaborate concepts that only seem to interest the people who create them and not the customer”. Instead, identity means that “the bar has a raison d’être rooted in a sense of the place where it’s located. Take my much-loved Connaught Bar: it tells a story of top-tier hospitality in an ultra-sophisticated, yet very vibrant and fun environment”.
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Foto by Julie Couder for Coqtail – all rights reserved
