Drunken Monkey Team
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Drunken Monkey Team 2010
View London review – 2009
“The staff at The Drunken Monkey are probably the friendliest in the area. They’ll greet you when you enter and you’ll instantly notice that their good spirits have rubbed off on the clientele.” – read more at www.viewlondon.co.uk
Chris Goulbourne – General Manager
Born: London
Favourite Drink: Zatec beer
Favorite places travelled: Sardinia, Hawaii, Thailand, Italian Alps
Inspirations: Sun, water, snow & wind
Bio:
With over 15 years experience and knowledge in the industry, Chris has honed his skills in the drinks industry like very few have. His expertise come from a diverse cultural background, and with this comes a determination to go out and discover as much as he can about the world of food and drink and bring it back home to share his experiences with a privileged company of friends and associates.
It is because of his wealth of knowledge and globetrotting experience he has been asked to write for many travel lifestyle publications and his latest venture with travel blog “journey 33″ is a perfect example of how he has collaborated this wealth of experiences from his travels.
Prior to settling back in Blighty, Chris spent many years working in some of the best destinations in Europe from his regular seasonal Job on the Emerald Coast of Sardina as head bartender of the famous Blues Cafe, in Porto Cervo to his appointment as Drinks Host For Nikki Beach when they Supplies Hospitality to the 2006 Venice Film Festival.
He is renowned for many of his bespoke cocktails and his creations have been enjoyed by many of the Italian glitterati.
During the winter he continued his travels to the Italian Alps, where he developed his knowledge of wine in the Piedmont region renowned for its wines and fine cuisine.
Chris is currently juggling his time at work with the preparation for Fatherhood so if he does look a little bit stressed it will not necessarily mean your food is running late.
Cristian Cuevas – General Manager
Born: Santiago, Chile
Favourite Drink: Mojito
Favourite places travelled: Seychelles, Southern Spain, Liverpool,
Inspirations: Scuba Diving, Kenny Daglish.
Bio:
Cristian Cuevas has been the Bar Manager of Award winning The Drunken Monkey since its launch in 2003. His goal it is to learn more about bartending, drinks and spirits every single day.
About seventeen years ago he got swallowed up by the fascinating world of spirits & cocktails after arriving to the UK from Santiago, Chile just at the start of a new bar renaissance in London’s West End with the opening of “Style Bars “ like The Atlantic Bar and Grill, Riki Tiks and Match.
Since then he has climbed the slippery steps of the bartending world one at a time by working in several prize-winning bars, reading & buying all the bartending books he can and generally sleeping, breathing and drinking cocktails.
Cristian started working for seasoned operator Eric Yu at his busy bar Jerusalem in Rathbone Place and within a year worked himself up to Bar Manager, after 3 years Cristian then moved to help set up Opium in Dean Street and used this as a platform to show his true skills in mixology. During his time at Opium the bar received many awards including the Bacardi club and Bar award in 2001.
In 2003, and seven well spent years in London’s West End Cristian was asked to apply his skill to help launch The Drunken Monkey, having already sensed the upcoming underground coolness of the East End Cristian took to the challenge and feels he has not looked back since.
The Drunken Monkey was short listed to the final 3 of the London Evening Standards Bar of the year awards only 4 months after opening, Cristian has been instrumental to the Drunken Monkeys reputation for serving great classic cocktails like the Monkeys Mojito’s which have often been described as the best in London but also for it’s East meets West concept cocktails like The Shanghai Sling and The Great Sage which is a blend of Gin, Crème de Framboise and fresh raspberries charged with Perrier Jouet Champagne.
Cristian enjoys travelling and his recent trips to South Africa and Seychelles constantly infuses him with new ideas to try out on unsuspecting visitors to the Monkey.
Cristian has been asked to put his mixology skills together for many events, publications and TV shows including GQ for Men, Channel 4 for “Sex in the City” and Bar Magazine
Recently he has been asked to construct a cocktail for HBO for their TV series True Blood.
Jaime Lucero – Head Barman
Born: Santiago, Chile
Favourite Drink: Simian Features
Favourite places travelled:Greece, Thailand, Italy
Inspirations:Stephen Chan, Ghandi
Bio: From Santiago, Chile, Jaime came to London in 2004 and got involved straight away in Opium Bar in london, after learning his trade there he worked in Salvador and Amanda, then Jerusalem before becoming Head Bartender at The Drunken Monkey.
