About
Martin was born in 1981 in a town called Nitra, located in the southern part of Slovakia. Shortly after his birth, his family decided to move to the smaller town of Liptovský Mikuláš, where Martin studied at the local hotel academy. He fell in love with bartending during the first year of his studies, the moment he saw one of the bartenders throwing a bottle up behind his back. This image ingrained itself in Martin’s mind and he started to practice flair bartending right away. After a month of constant practice—or rather, demolishing and scratching the walls in his room with empty bottles—his hospitality teacher noticed him. This was the moment when everything started for him. For the next five years, Martin was chosen to represent his hotel academy in every classic or flair bartending competition. He got a job in the first cocktail bar in Slovakia in 1999. Later on, he managed to open a bar catering company together with some colleagues and that pushed the envelope too far for him: a young bartender who before had always worked extremely hard suddenly became too confident. The next few years of his life could best be described as living a “rock star lifestyle.”
Luckily Martin realized that this was not who he was before it was too late and started looking for a different challenge. He moved to Ireland, even though he was actually a massive fan of the London bartending scene. Perhaps he underestimated himself and thought that he wasn’t good enough to make it in London, or perhaps it was his “build-from-scratch” nature that brought him to Ireland. There weren’t many cocktail bars in Ireland back in 2005, so it was easier for Martin to get a foot in the door. Not too easy, however, as he spoke no English when he arrived. So he started working in a nightclub, bussing, cleaning the bar in the morning, and occasionally working behind the stick. This situation changed rapidly once he proved his strong work ethic and showed off the bartending skills he had learned in Slovakia.
A few years later, Martin opened a small restaurant and cocktail bar called Pedal Pushing Monkey in Dublin together with a good friend. They faced many obstacles over the course of their planning. It was very difficult and expensive to obtain a liquor license, set up a kitchen, and make sure the fire officer was satisfied enough to let them open their doors to the public. Operating a bar in Dublin works on a completely different level from anywhere else in the world and is only possible if you have very deep pockets and very strong nerves. For better or worse, their gig was over within a year and both returned to employee status with a massive smile on their faces. “It was brilliant to be a stress-free person once again,” he adds. Later on, the chance to be his own boss popped up again when Martin was offered the opportunity to run Delahunt’s upstairs bar.
Delahunt
The history of Delahunt’s building is fascinating, going back to 1906 when it was operated as an upscale grocery store in Dublin, famous for its geese, turkey, tea, wines, and whiskies. James Joyce even mentioned it in his Ulysses. The whole building is heritage-listed, underlining its great historical value. In the restaurant downstairs, one can find one of the longest and oldest bar counters ever made out of a single tree. The Sitting Room bar is located just above the restaurant on the first floor. It is a small and cozy bar with only forty seats, creating a relaxed atmosphere for the guests. Martin’s team is unusually small, comprising only himself and one co-worker on the floor. There is no bar-back or host at the Sitting Room, therefore Martin takes on both roles. The cocktail menu is small and seasonal, its design very simple, which gives Martin the opportunity to alter it as often as he wants. Some of the drinks are changed weekly, while the bestsellers are kept for a longer period. He loves supporting local producers, but will also use excellent international products that he believes in. His aim is to introduce lesser-known ingredients to his guests and he is very thankful to the owner of Delahunt for allowing him to run the bar the way he deems best.
Inspiration
Martin finds inspiration in everyday life. Being outside and moving his body gets his creative juices flowing. There are plenty of books, articles, or even restaurants around Delahunt that he can take inspiration from. According to him, if you just pay closer attention to your life in general, you will soon have enough new ideas to last you a lifetime.
Favorite cocktail
It all depends on the day and occasion. Martin does not usually drink during the day, but if there was an occasion to have a cocktail by lunchtime, then he would probably go for a low ABV one. Give him a vermouth and soda with a splash of amaro and your tip jar will be so thankful for it.
Check out Martin’s recipes: Rhubarb Gimlet and Little Bird.
Favorite bar
He is a big fan of Tony Conigliaro’s or any of Ryan Chetiyawardana’s bars in London.
The future of the bar world
It wasn’t that long ago that people stopped serving disco drinks and started barrel-ageing and pre-batching drinks. Change happens so fast; one can spot centrifuges, rotovapors, and ultrasonic tanks almost everywhere these days, so Martin is hard-pressed to be able to predict future trends. Nevertheless, he strongly believes that the true meaning of hospitality will never vanish.
Advice for opening a bar
If you want to open a bar in Ireland, then make sure you have plenty of cash stashed in your account. Once you think you have enough, you will need to double that. Location is the key to success in business. Be true to yourself when thinking about your bar concept. Treat your staff with respect and look after them well. Do not employ your friends and make sure your toilets are spotless all the time.
Dublin
Dublin has become a cosmopolitan and modern city, hosting all kinds of people with different ethnicities, cultures, and beliefs. Dubliners like to dine out every single day, they like spending their income on experiences, which is why Dublin is entering a golden age of hospitality. Every street has a decent specialty coffee shop, restaurants and bars are opening up constantly. On the flipside, there is a glaring lack of service staff; the shortage of good chefs alone is at a crisis point. For someone wanting to work in hospitality, in this town you are spoiled for choice.
Target in life
Martin actually does not have any target he wants to achieve. He is happy where he is now but he would love to do the stage program at the Operation Dagger at some point (www.operationdagger.com).
Best decision in life
It is hard to name the best decision in his life. Martin makes decisions on a daily basis. He makes them and he does not look back. Martin concludes: “Why would I?”.
Images: ©Steven McKenna
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