Experience of Mirror Hospitality Expo ‘24
I stood in the lobby of the Carlton Hotel, soaring chandelier overhead and shining tiles underfoot, watching the busyness as Mirror Hospitality Expo began. Everyone else seemed to know somebody and know what they were doing - and looked gorgeous doing it. I, on the other hand, did not know anyone, did not know what I was doing, and did not even know anything of the subject matter.
Fighting the impulse to disappear into the floor, I put on my big girl pants, took a deep breath, and stepped forward into the Expo.
And I’m so glad I did. From a complete outsider, by the next evening I had made new connections, learned a whole lot about the food and beverage industry, discovered new tastes, and gained new perspectives. And that is what the Mirror Hospitality Expo is all about.
Networking
Some trade shows are massive affairs, big halls with crowds of people moving through. Mirror Hospitality Expo (MHE) is not this. The space of the Carlton Hotel conference area is limited, a posh and elegant space. While that means the number of attendees is less, it also means that you can actually meet other people who were strangers at the beginning. Today, a brand can get thousands of eyes on their product - but it is the stories, connections, and personal identification that make a brand or person stand out. This is what can happen at MHE.
I met Chris, who introduced me to many others including Alena, who guided me around the various stands and asked me questions to help me figure out what kind of drinks I might like. I met Karmen for whom I’d already done freelance work, found out about the craziness of Crete over dinner with the Greek contingent, and teared up in the lobby with Cass. These connections have ripple effects - in the near future you will be able to gain from the insights and experiences of people I met there here on The Cocktail Balance.
While I experienced networking as an attendee, the Expo was also a great opportunity for the speakers as well. “Being a speaker at MHE was a different ball game vs other fairs. The organisers made it so that we all spent time together. That’s what made the difference as we not only inspired the attendees but also ourselves with each other,” said Chris Maffeo, founder of Maffeo Drinks and host of the Maffeo Drinks Podcast, with over two decades of experience as a Drinks Industry Advisor.
Pavel Sochor
Such opportunities did not happen by chance but by the intentional design of the organisers. Pavel Sochor, who oversees the beverage program for Kro Group, managing four venues including the gastronomic complex, Alma, in Prague, agrees. “What I appreciated most is that I had the feeling that this is not some 50BEST show-off to bring attention to Mirror Bar. The Mirror Bar team chose talented but from my point of view primarily a nice bunch of individuals. I felt like one big family that hasn’t seen each other for a long time :) Seriously, I felt sad leaving the place, like I was leaving my favourite summer camp when I was a kid.”
Education
Mirror Hospitality Expo started off Tuesday, May 7, 2024, with seminars and a competition for bartending students across the Visegrad 4 (Poland, Hungary, Czechia, Slovakia). These countries face a unique challenge in service industries due to their history of communism, the effects of which are still felt today in standards of service. Introducing the next generation to a truly service oriented mindset is one way the Expo strives to support and build up the local hospitality scene.
The competition was followed by seminars in the afternoon; the only problem with having such great speakers is that you have to choose among them, as two presentation rooms hosted seminars simultaneously.
Kenji Jesse on Japanese philosophies for bartending.
The topics covered a variety of angles towards bartending and the surrounding business. Specific bartending how-tos were covered, like making drinks with foraged ingredients, all about coffee cocktails, attentive service, and Japanese philosophies for bartending. Examples of unique venues and bars were shared to inspire the creativity of attendees. The business perspective was also covered, such as specific strategies of managing bar finances, common sense sales and being a freelance bartender. And last, but certainly not least, was the personal aspect such as creating community, health for those in hospitality, and a winning mentality.
Having worked in gastronomy myself, a number of the bartending talks were fascinating even though I’m not a bartender. I managed to slip in late to Cassandra Eichhoff’s talk on creating community. “Do it from a place of love,” she said, “not for love.” Boom. As well, Jason-Candid Knusel’s seminar on Health and Wellness for hospitality workers had me all enthusiastic to promote wellness for workers here in Slovakia, both for the sustainability of the industry and for the wellbeing of individuals themselves.
Tasting Experience
Admittedly, experiencing new tastes was easy for me to achieve at MHE, as I’m not much of a drinker. But, this was made much easier with the new connections I mentioned earlier, and connections of those connections.
“Hey, Naomi, you’re half Japanese,” said Chris. “We’re going to have a tasting of Japanese Nikka Whisky. Do you like whisky?” “I don’t know,” I replied, but that was in fact an optimistic statement. Until then, whisky had usually reminded me of the smell of my grandparents’ saddle shed, and while I loved the nostalgic reminder, I wasn’t so keen on the taste. I had never had Japanese whisky before, though, and was curious if it was different.
We went with Chris’ friend, Adam, who went with us because he knew Martin, the brand ambassador. The testing started out regularly, the mild blended whisky first. “Oh come on,” said Adam, “bring it out.” Martin grinned, and (part begrudgingly and part apologetically) brought out a bottle hidden behind the counter, Nikka The Grain 2023. “Adam only wants the best stuff,” he joked back. And voila, I had my first taste of a whisky that I liked.
Chris Maffeo
Drinks were not the only opportunity for new tasting experiences, but a live cooking show Wednesday afternoon also provided new food to try. Top notch chefs who hail from Slovakia but have made their mark across the world, including from Eleven Madison Park in New York, shared their skills, ideas, and processes.
Global Fair
What would be a hospitality expo without fun? Four evenings and five venues provided ample opportunities to watch the best of bartenders from around the world in action during guest shifts, and taste their creations. Cheers greeted vigorous shaking and tall pours, and large smiles were evident both behind and in front of the bars.
The chance to see bartenders in action wasn’t special only for a newbie like me. There was something unique even for Alexander Sourbatis, with over 20 years of experience as a bartender. “As a truly geeky person, the vintage cocktails made by Martin Hudak were the cherry on top of the cake,” he enthused.
Nothing without the team
Filip, Eva, and Martin
What everybody agreed on by the end is that the MHE experience was possible only because of the extraordinary team that put it on. “MHE has set a new benchmark of what hospitality means. The whole team was so welcoming and always had a smile. It’s probably the only trade fair where you really feel at home,” related Chris.
“I have to mention the team,” remarked Pavel. “I realise they knew that this is important and everyone is gonna be looking at what they do, but even so what they delivered was incredible. I was annoying and asking something all the time, at the busiest time, and everyone was always happy to help with a smile. The hospitality was insane.”
At one point, I found myself sitting in the corner of the bar, sipping a drink and watching the activity unfold before me. Despite being all the tables being full, Martin, Filip, and Eva didn’t show any stress or anxiety. A few complimentary words, smiles, and patiently explaining the menu were carried out with ease, confidence, and competence.
Alexander Sourbatis
Alexander Sourbatis summed it up all together. As Global Ambassador for Three Cents, he is no stranger to these types of events. “Mirror bar and Mirror hospitality expo, was by far the most impressive experience I have ever been so far. The amount of work to achieve such results is phenomenal and since I am doing a similar one every year for a bar I manage during birthday celebrations, I can tell that this was OUT OF THIS WORLD. The drinks, the food and generally the everyday attention to us as guests was not something new, but the professionalism of the entire team, the organisation, the originality of the last day’s activities, and the knowledge behind every aspect of the history of the city were some of the highlights.”
