My Life
I was born in Łódź and raised in a small town called Chodzież in Poland. I studied journalism and also took radio broadcasting classes, but in order to earn my own money alongside my studies, I started working as a bartender in clubs. After several years of moving around Poland (Piła, Bydgoszcz, Łódź, Wrocław) as well as stints in Spain and Belgium, I finally moved to Warsaw to work more seriously as a cocktail bartender and finish my degree. I didn’t think bartending would be my future, but I was lucky enough (with only a couple of years of experience) to get a job as a barback at Pies Czy Suka. The team there introduced me to a professional way of working in gastronomy and I learned a lot from them. At the same time, I was still working for a radio station, but my salary wasn’t great and I felt that they were using me. So I decided to quit.
“Having such a great team makes me really proud”.
Pawel Rodaszynski
Eventually I wanted to open my own place, and after leaving Pies Czy Suka, I opened El Koktel together with a friend, which gave me the final push needed to decide on a full-time career in gastronomy. Nowadays as a busy cocktail bar owner, I hardly ever tend the bar myself. I am too busy with excel spreadsheets and the likes, I’m afraid. As both a bartender and owner I really feel whole and fulfilled though. I won a couple of competitions myself, and my bar has also won domestic as well as global awards. The bartenders in my team are ambitious people and I encourage them to take part in competitions to advance in the field of mixology but also be more creative in their job. Having such a great team makes me really proud.
Personally, I also have a huge interest in the culinary world. I love discovering new flavors—not only in cocktails, but in general (food, beer, and coffee). At the moment, despite the difficult times we’ve experienced over the past couple of years, I am looking for new perspectives and business opportunities. Maybe I’ll even consider opening a second bar.
El Koktel
In 2014, together with my friend Mateusz who I already knew from Pies Czy Suka, I decided to rent a small, cheap basement space and open a bar. There weren’t many serious cocktail dens back then in Warsaw. Because we spend all our money on renovations and on our initial spirit stock, we decide to focus on a creative usage of simple products and on great hospitality. We adapted the idea of “Modern Classic Cocktails” in our own way. After around two years we moved to a new location, which gave us the opportunity to develop the bar further. At that time, there were five people in our team. We were all bartenders, so everybody was able to mix all the drinks and we all came in with the same level of knowledge.
We change our menu twice a year, with twelve seasonal cocktails, more or less. To enter, you have to ring a bell—we are not a hidden speakeasy, but we would like to provide our guests with the full gastronomy experience, which is also why there are only seated places available. We’ve got sixty seats on two levels. We’re all about making our guests happy—that is our main focus.
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🍸 Uki-Uki
The Future
When I think about it, I don’t see the future as very bright. The entire gastronomy sector has been struggling massively due to Covid, and then other, connected problems arose like people leaving the industry. I am very glad that the Polish gin market is booming, so that at least one part of the sector is thriving. And other independent distilleries are hitting the market with vodkas and liqueurs, which is a good development and it gives me hope. The problems we’ve been experiencing with logistics and supply of international products are becoming ever more serious though, but this is also a chance to discover more of our home market. Personally, I am observing that new projects and concepts are turning out to be more easygoing. And what is interesting—entrepreneurs are also using digital tools now. Maybe there is light at the end of the tunnel after all.
Profile
Year born: 1988
Special skill: I am a great presenter and speaker. In my next life I could be another Steve Jobs! ;-).
Free time: I love wine, sports (triathlon and OCR competitions), collecting vinyl, and reading non-fiction.
Bartender since: 2007
Biggest fail: Shaking vodka and coke
Most significant career step: Creating El Koktel and winning World Class Poland 2016 and Bacardi Legacy 2016 in the same year.
Favorite cocktail: Aperol Spritz is the only one I really enjoy any day of the year.
Check out Pawels cocktail: Kwaśna Marta
Favorite bar: Buck’n’Breck (Berlin)—just the greatest minimalist approach to be found in a bar.
Warsaw in three words: Vibrant, balanced, opportunities
Images: ©Piotr Jakubowski (Jakubina Foto)
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