Shaking things up

Ahead of International Women's Day, two female mixologists in Shanghai talk about their motivations behind joining a male-dominated industry and why more females need to be behind the bar counter

A trusted confidant. An expert at reading people. An artist who paints with flavors.

Most bartenders would say that their profession places them in such roles, and how they are not mere service staff whose only job is to satiate the thirst of nocturnal crowds.

Many of them would also cite the love for meeting new people as the main reason they got into this industry, one that is today still largely an all-boys club.

"What I love most about this job is getting to interact with customers. You get to meet so many interesting people from all walks of life. Your world also becomes smaller as a result," said Faye Chen from Speak Low, a speakeasy-style bar in Shanghai that was rated China's top cocktail establishment in the inaugural Asia's 50 Best Bars listing in 2016.

"Bartenders become confidants to their customers. After a few drinks, people tend to get a little more emotional and conversations become more intimate. We end up knowing very personal things about them, such as when they broke up with their boyfriends or girlfriends."

Chen's parents, however, did not share this romantic point of view. Faye said that they were initially apprehensive about her choice of career because, at least among people of the older generation, such a job is commonly associated with indecent men, cigarettes and alcohol.

"But they're now fine with me doing this because they've managed to see the fruits of my labor which proves this is a legitimate and respectable job. They've even come down to the bar a few times to see me at work,"quipped the 29-year-old from Taiwan.

One of her most notable accomplishments to date is winning the China edition of the Bacardi Legacy Cocktail Competition in March 2015.

Moreover, Chen isn't just a regular bartender at Speak Low - she also runs the operations for her boss Shingo Gokan, an award-winning Japanese mixologist who is among the head honchos at New York bar Angel's Share.