Educating yourself in this industry is a must if you desire to grow and evolve. Keeping up with the upcoming events, reading books written by others before you and gaining experience in this business; these are all things that you require to be accomplished and successful in this choice of career.
Costas Nicolaides was born and raised in Cyprus. When he became 14, his father began to send him every summer to work in various hotels. He became a bartender and loved interacting with tourists, so him and the job just clicked. Although he had been interested in computers and IT, his father wanted him to study business and he decided to go for that. He studied hotel management in Germany and worked in various hotels and as a restaurant manager.
During this time, he began dabbling with cocktails and mixology. Daily he would research new ideas and went on to win many competitions. He became the number one bartender in Cyprus for years and even number two in Finland in 2010. He eventually started consulting from home, and then opened a bar catering company in 2009, in 2010 he opened an Alchemy school & then in 2011 turned both into one company.
Alchemy Bartending School offers bar training and bar consulting services to businesses in the hospitality industry. He believes that “alchemists were the first people to mess around with ingredients to create something new, ‘ and his Alchemy Bar School now does consulting for 5-star hotels in Cyprus and in many other areas. His company also provides catering services to private parties, corporate events, wedding receptions, christenings, cocktail parties, beach and boat parties. It offers bar tools and their own brand of Purées, Infusions and Dehydrates. The school provides training programs all over Cyprus, both for beginner and professionals who want to take their skills to another level.
Costas is a motivated individual educating himself and improving every year. His short-term goal is to never stop learning and to soon travel to Mexico to learn all about Tequila. His long-term goal is to have one of the top three bartending schools in the world. For him mixology is not only about mixing drinks, but about history, geography, food pairing and spirits. Perhaps his special personality is best reflected in his own words, “Never underestimate anyone and never stop learning, because without learning you won’t improve.”
Check them out:
AK Mixology 