Once I was asked to describe myself in two words. A very good friend described me as ‘old soul’ and everyone agreed. I love history, especially when it is linked with alcohol. If I could choose an alternative historic era to live, it would be the Victorian period or during
Prohibition in America; periods when most of the classic cocktails were created.
I like to interpret classic cocktails with a twist on flavour and presentation. Working with Ryan Clift is very inspirational; using exciting ingredients, unknown and interesting flavour sources and techniques he uses for cooking and extracting the flavours.
Another source of inspiration comes from the history of different parts of the world together with culture and hospitality, favourite dishes and flavours, aromas and different industries, which I try to translate into drinks.
For me, the first step is to create a story or concept behind a drink, so it has its own soul. Once we have the concept I look for flavour, how to work with the sourced ingredients and in what form to use them: syrup, cordial, tincture, distillation, etc.
After finding the best form of flavour we will decide on a style of drink, presentation and garnish and lastly we look for a name which best describes the drink.
Stay tuned for Kamil’s cocktail recipes, coming soon.
Photography by Todd Beltz