Denis Francesco Pisano

My Life

My name is Denis, I’m 28 years old and was born in Italy—more precisely in Calabria in southern Italy. Honestly, I don’t even know where to start when it comes to talking about my life. There’s so much to say, because trust me when I say that it has been a crazy, exhausting, and often tough one, but also funny and unique, filled with great people and amazing souls.

Let’s start from the very beginning, I was born in Cosenza, a small town in Calabria. I grew up in Luzzi, also a small town of about 10,000 souls and a very old-fashioned town with hardly any opportunities for growth. Still nowadays it’s quite poor in terms of both innovative ideas and economic development. The quality of life was what made this town great though; I remember, my friends and I spent hours and hours outside playing football or “hide and seek” in the woods. Life there was simple but very genuine and loyal. I talk about that part of my life with great joy and pleasure.

“I loved it, I was very young, rebellious, and full of ideas.”

Denis Francesco Pisano

Working became a part of my daily life from a very early age (16 years old). While I was still a student in high-school, I began working in this beautiful and cozy little bar that was owned by my father. That place soon shaped my work ethic in what it is today; I remember working until very late and waking up early in the morning in order to attend classes at school. After my hospitality studies I took over the bar from my father. I ran it for three more years, trying to give it a different direction and new concept, making some cocktails and turning it into a disco-bar on the weekends, as well as organizing some cultural and political gatherings now and then. I loved it, I was very young, rebellious, and full of ideas. I felt like I could change the world.

Looking back though, I now realize that Calabria could never have given me what I wanted, and that it would have been very difficult to shine in a place like that, one that is still plagued by crime and governed by a strong patriarchal mentality. Something was telling me: that’s no way to live. That mentality didn’t suit me, I was different—I felt different and I wanted a change.

I decided to travel, so I stepped into the unknown for the first time and believe me, I couldn’t have made a better choice. I moved to Puglia, since my girlfriend was from there, and I remember having no money, no place to stay, no job or any experience whatsoever. I didn’t know what to do and what my future would bring. I just knew one thing: I had to take action, the earlier the better. And that’s exactly what I did. I began working odd jobs in construction, leafleting, bars, discos, and so on. I remember working two jobs and sleeping literally three hours a night. That allowed me to get a small house for my girlfriend and myself in the central part of a small town called Fasano. I kept working that way for many months until one night, while working in one of the bars, this guy approached me and asked if I would consider starting a job in a very well renowned hotel in the same city, called Borgo Egnazia. I knew this could change my life, but I had so little experience. I had never been abroad and only spoke Italian. I accepted a job as an “extra commis at the bar” in Borgo Egnazia. That means carrying ice, washing and polishing glasses for hours on end and only being paid on an hourly basis whenever they needed me. But I was happy. It was my first experience in an international environment; I could meet people from everywhere and practice my English. I worked in Borgo for two years, learning to be more empathetic and to understand clients and their needs as well as diving into the worlds of mixology and classic cocktails.

After two years, something clicked. The same feeling I had experienced in Calabria that led me to change drastically returned. I could not stay in Italy anymore, if I really wanted to be someone. What’s the best city to go to if you are a hotel bartender who wants to improve even more and become even more charming and in love with what you do? London, of course!

If I were to use a single word to describe London, I would say INTENSE. London is undoubtedly a temple of mixology, and as many know, one of the best cities in the world in terms of career opportunities. The first few months were very difficult, but I was lucky to find a great job after only a month. I started working as a barback at the GŎNG bar in the Shangri-la Hotel in the Shard, the highest building in the city.

It has literally been the best work experience of my life. GŎNG was in one of the top spots in the ranking of 5-star hotel bars at that time. I learned about Chinese and Japanese bar techniques including sake culture, ice carving, hard shake, and so on. It was a new discovery every day. I kept learning and evolving constantly and only after four months as barback, I was promoted to bartender. Since then, I’ve never stopped creating, improving, and learning, my mind is almost like a constant idea machine.

I improved so much in a very small amount of time that my head bartender, Christian Maspes, proposed I move with him to Mayfair, where he was set to become bar manager in a new super-luxury 5-star hotel bar called Pine Bar. I accepted, but to be fair, it has been one of the most challenging experiences in my career so far. New launches are tough. Opening a high-end hotel in Mayfair, the expectations are high and the level of anxiety even worse. As a team we had to be perfect, absolutely no mistakes allowed. But eventually we got the hang of it and it turned out beautiful.

Months went by and I realized I needed to do something else; I needed to learn more and find new inspiration. At that time, The Connaught Hotel was looking for staff for a new opening. Although they were looking for waiters, I did not care, I wanted to learn more and I gave it a shot. Once again, it was a new launch, but I had chosen to go down that path, meaning I was going to do two openings in less than a year.

That experience taught me a lot about perfect service, and I can honestly say that the Connaught Hotel is one of the best hospitality schools in the world. I did not stay there for very long though, as I didn’t want to be a waiter. I just wanted to learn more about providing perfect service to clients. That is why I quit after a few months and went back to GŎNG bar and stayed there until the end of my stay in Britain, which came when the pandemic hit the capital.

Shangri-La shut down for more than six months, and I was stuck in London with my flatmates waiting for the government to give us some news about what would happen. The good news never seemed to arrive though, I only got them when I had already decided to move on. Almost seven years after I had left Calabria and the village I grew up in, I realized it was time to go back, reflect on all I had done and reconnect with nature and a simpler way of life.

I started to read a lot and learned so much about myself. It was during this period that I also began studying at university for a bachelor’s degree in psychology, which was remote at first, but eventually brought me to Sweden for six months. In order to continue after the first six months, I would have needed to do so in Swedish, but since I don’t speak the language, that wasn’t possible. After completing the six-months course, I had to leave. Even though the course was finished, it kind of felt unfinished to me. In the meantime, though, I haven’t stopped working, I actually became head bartender in a small boutique hotel called Palazzo Daniele in Puglia. Here I really connected with nature and proposed a super sustainable menu with zero food miles, using products directly from our vegetable and fruit garden.

I worked very hard alongside my colleagues and spent many hours looking for inspiration in order to come up with great ideas and an even more sustainable menu. Right now, we are constantly receiving great feedback and we keep improving, working with various types of fermentation and discovering new flavors.

Palazzo Daniele Bar

The Palazzo Daniele bar aims to be a temple of sustainable mixology. We want to give people new experiences and take them on a path that links sustainable products and the Puglian territory with the most modern and innovative mixology techniques. We want to look towards the future and be innovative while using the traditional flavors for which Italy and especially Puglia have become famous. Futuristic but simple, to put it in a nutshell.

Soon though, I will endeavour to a new adventure, again away from Italy quite far south east. I have accepted a position as assistant bar manager at the Park Hyatt hotel in Sydney. The bar seems to be well connected with the restaurant even though the restaurant already has its own bar. The bar is classic, very elegant service, good cocktails and an extensive wine list. After two years of covid there is a lot to be done. First a new menu is planned and I am looking forward to that challenge.

Best restaurants and bars in the area of Gagliano

The Future

I no longer see bars as purely places of entertainment. In 2022, I am more than convinced that bars have become places of cultural exchange. I look at my bar and see people from all over the planet talking and connecting with each other, describing the flavors they perceive in each cocktail and eventually evolving the conversations to address political issues by discussing the perspectives of different countries. What is this if not cultural exchange? It is almost like being in a place of culture or a university. We as bartenders are just the regulators of the right amount of alcohol that needs to be served to stimulate ideas and new visions. I don’t want bars that get people drunk, I want bars that turn people into visionaries.

Profile

Year born: 1994

Special skills: In one of my colleague’s opinion: Denis’ superpower, on top of being an excellent bartender, is that he could carry on a conversation with a tree (if only the tree replied). He’s the most talkative person I’ve ever met and makes every single guest feel welcome and at ease. And that’s a super skill to have when you deal with so many people every day.

Free time: I love reading. It’s the main thing I do during my free time. I also work out a lot, almost every day.

Bartender since: I started working in bars in 2008; became a bartender in 2015.

Biggest fail: Not being able to keep studying at the Swedish university. Not fighting for the improvement of the region I was born and grew up in.

Most significant career step: Working at The GŎNG bar, working and learning at the Connaught Hotel.

Favorite cocktail: All of them . . . just kidding. I would never say no to a super cold Dry martini. It’s very difficult to recognize the subtle flavors in it. I entertain myself doing it.

Check out Denis’ cocktail recipes: Il Conte in Palazzo and Darjeeling and Mango

Favorite bar: Each bar has its own story, concept, and vision. Can’t say which one is my favorite, but I appreciate Tayer + Elementary in London. Alex and Monica are great bartenders and what they do is very close to my own idea of what cocktails should be.

Gagliano del Capo: In three words: small, boring, real

Palazzo Daniele Website

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Images: ©Claudia Link