Sophia Kang – Head Bartender at Four Seasons Hotel Singapore
In this interview, Sophia Kang, Head Bartender at Four Seasons Hotel Singapore, reveals life behind the scenes.
What do you do?
I am a Head Bartender at One-Ninety bar in Four Seasons Hotel Singapore.
How did you get into the industry?
When I was in college, I was offered the opportunity to work overseas as an intern. Since I was always curious about this, I took the opportunity and never looked back.
Share with us a story from behind the scenes.
At times, we encounter guests with special requests for their cocktails. They might seem strange, but after trying them out, the cocktails sometimes turn out well and inspire me for future creations. This has taught me to be open to learning from not only fellow colleagues but also guests who patronise our bar.
What food memory from your childhood or travels stands out?
My favourite childhood memory is Chinese New Year. Every CNY, you will meet all your relatives and enjoy the food together. The food my family likes to prepare is those that take time to prepare, such as handmade dumplings, beef soup, and kimchi. As such, we’ll gather as a family and prepare all these dishes together. Specifically for kimchi, before winter comes, my family will always prepare around 100 cabbages. On Chinese New Year’s Day, we will cook pork to pair it with the kimchi we made.
I like to travel and try different things that I have not experienced before.
When I travel with my boyfriend, we will order at least one dish that is adventurous and not something that we have tried before just so we can try as many new dishes as possible.
What’s the best/ worst part of your job?
The best part is meeting new people. I really enjoy having conversations with them.
The worst part is that spending time with family on public holidays is difficult when I’m working a shift.
What’s one of your favourite food and beverage pairings?
Beer and yakitori
What’s one of the most outrageous things you’ve seen behind the scenes?
On one of our guest shifts in Russia, the translator who was helping was not from the F&B industry and did not know much from an operations standpoint. When the orders came in, instead of arranging the order paper according to the time it came in, he threw away the new order paper and altered the drink quantities in older order papers.
As such, we did not know who ordered which cocktails. After getting some help, we finally managed to find the correct tables to deliver the cocktails.
The perfect day off would be…
Staying at home and watching Korean dramas while eating whatever I craved.
A day in the life of Sophia Kang is…
When I arrive at work, I check on all the prep that we need for cocktails like syrup, juice, and garnish. After tidying the setup station, I will follow up on our available stock. Finally, I will get ready to welcome guests.
Sometimes, I will also work on new cocktails for upcoming promotions.
What does Sophia Kang do for fun?
Online window shopping, especially on items that pique my interest.
What would you like guests to know about Four Seasons Hotel Singapore?
Singapore is a diverse city in terms of nationalities, which translates to having a very diverse team at work. Our team consists of Singaporeans, Koreans, Filipinos, Malaysians, and Indians, so our diverse team can understand and provide catered services for our guests’ needs.
How have you grown in your profession? What have you learned from your start in the industry until now? Are there any misconceptions?
I learned from everyone whom I had the pleasure of working with. They all have different characters and work styles, making for a great and consistent learning opportunity.
What do you want people to know about being a head bartender?
As a bartender, people think I must drink a lot. To create cocktails, we try to mix different ingredients and tastes. However, this does not mean that I must drink all the time.
What’s your view on the F&B scene in Singapore?
Singapore has many good bars and restaurants. People who travel and visit Singapore really enjoy our F&B offerings. I believe that one of the key reasons for this is not just the food but also our hospitality.
What practices do you currently implement or hope to implement to work towards social responsibility and sustainability in the future?
Four Seasons Hotel Singapore tries to reduce guests’ plastic use by eliminating water bottles and plastic straws and packaging guest amenities in recyclable materials. For One-Ninety Bar, we use large bottled soft drinks instead of canned drinks to minimise wastage. Recently, we also purchased a stopper to keep soft drinks fresh, even after using them for mixtures.
What can guests look forward to in the upcoming months?
Our Secret Garden menu Vol.2 will be launching soon, and guests will be able to enjoy cocktails inspired by gardens around the world.
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