from Hotelier Indonesia Magazine
Issue 21, August 2015
It was a pleasure for Hotelier Indonesia to catch up with the Knut Randhem at KU DÉ TA, atop the iconic Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.
[HI] Do you consider yourself a bartender or mixologist? What’s the difference for you?
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| Hotelier Indonesia Magazine Issue 21, August 2015 |
[KR] I believe all people making drinks behind the bar are bartenders. Mixologists are more focused on making drinks well. As for myself at KU DÉ TA, I take on both roles as I’m a bartender at heart and have helped to set up the bar from scratch, as well as the mixologist role in creating and curating the cocktail programme.
[HI] What qualities do you think a successful mixologist should have?
[KR] I think that person needs to have the ability to read people and have a good understanding on how to entertain. People visit bars to have a good time and that’s our main goal to accommodate that.
[HI] How did you get into the art of mixology?
[KR] As a young kid I actually wanted to become a chef so I attended culinary school in Sweden, and then went on to be a waiter. One day I stepped behind the bar, fell in love with it and never stepped out of it since.
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| Knut Randhem |
[HI] Where did you get your training? How did you come up with your style?
[KR] Since I’ve done culinary school, I’m used to working with flavours in many different ways. But other than that, I have been very fortunate to work with some really talented people to help developing my craft. I think that’s one of the things that make the cocktail scene great, as there’s a mentality that everyone contributes to driving the scene forward together. I have also always been really interested in the rich history of the cocktail world and read up intently on it. Until this day, I take inspiration from the classics in my creation of new cocktails.
[HI] How did you end up at Ku De Ta?
[KR] After working for 10 years in Copenhagen, Denmark, I got offered to go Thailand with the consultancy company to develop a new cocktail program for the latest KU DÉ TA branch in Bangkok. While my boss when back to Denmark I stayed on the project to maintain it. And then ended up with my current position where I overlook all the company’s bar operations. The response was really great and our cocktails were well loved, so late last year, the KU DÉ TA group instated me as their Head Regional Mixologist. I moved out to the flagship here in Singapore, and just introduced my first Singapore foray with an overhaul of the cocktail list at KU DÉ TA Singapore with heavy influences of the group’s Modern Asian philosophy and building on the classics.
[HI] What goes into creating a new cocktail? What inspires you?
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| Knut Randhem |
[KR] I always base my cocktails on classic formulas or classic drinks. It’s not easy to create a completely new style of drinks, since most of them are already created. But using these classic drinks I can create my own expression of them. For KU DÉ TA specifically, I try to keep the drinks very crisp and clean with a lot of local (Asian inspired) flavours that are influenced from the group’s Modern Asian philosophy.
[HI] What are some of your “greatest hits” cocktails?
[KR] There have been quite a number of drinks that we created that have become very popular at KU DÉ TA. Rose Lemonade (Vodka, lemon rose essence and soda); Kiku Vesper, which I very proud of, where I’ve made our own signature fortified sake with yuzu shojuand gin. It has become our signature martini. But the Storm Cooler is probably the most recognised cocktail on our menu. I like it since it’s a good example of our concept, vodka passion fruit and lime with honey, with the twist of agedliquorice which I brought in from my home country, Sweden.
[HI] What was your most recent cocktail, and what was your thinking behind it?
[KR] The last cocktail I introduced on the menu is called Whisky Charlie Mango, as we felt that we needed one more whiskey based drink to balance the menu with. I had a drink with some mango, and I’m not a big fan of mango, but this one was really interesting. So I decided to do a “stiff” drink with the flavours of mango. So I took fresh mango and made a cordial with it and balanced it with some vinegar. With this cordial, we made a whisky-based sour and added some homemade chilli bitters to add another dimension to the drink. It turned out so good that it’s now one of my best selling cocktails on the menu.
[HI] What are the mixology scenes like in Bangkok and Singapore?
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| Knut Randhem |
[KR] They are two very different scenes. Singapore in my opinion has a very well developed cocktail scene with a lot of world class bars and bartenders so it’s very interesting and full of inspiration. Bangkok is still up and coming, but in just the past one and a half years I’ve been there the face of the scene has changed tremendously. The local talent is learning very fast, and there’s more and more international influences being added so I would not be surprised if we see Bangkok as the next big scene in Southeast Asia in a few years.
[HI] What are some current trends you’ve seen in the cocktail market? How have trends changed?
[KR] I like the fact that the guests we get in our bars are more aware of the current trends. They ask for specific brands in their drinks. They know what it takes to make a drink and what to expect from it. It was just a few years ago that a lot of our guests went to bars more for the effect of drinking alcohol than the experience of appreciating the flavours. This enables us as bartenders to be forced to keep pushing to develop.
[HI] What's next? Where will we find you in five years?
[KR] I still hope to be a part of KU DÉ TA and keep pushing our brand forward and remain cutting edge in the industry. We have quite a unique position in the market where we can offer a wide range of experiences which gives us a strong drive to keep developing ourselves.
Hotelier Indonesia would like to thank Knut Randhem for his kind consideration and participation in this interview.
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