Movers And Shakers With April Wachtel

I'm so pleased to have Jim Meehan on this episode of Movers & Shakers. He's best known as the proprietor of PDT, a speakeasy-style bar in New York City. He's also the author of the "PDT Cocktail Book" and "Meehan's Bartender Manual," released in October, 2017. On this episode we discuss his career trajectory, the global expansion of cocktail culture, and curation in the cocktail world and beyond. I hope you enjoy the show!

It's been an amazing year so far, having such wonderful guests on. And it's finally holiday season and we're super hard at work putting together our next show. So until then, if you've got questions or comments for the show, or potential guests, email host April Wachtel at hello@moverssshakers.com.

Today i’m incredibly pleased to present to you our first episode recorded in front of a live audience. We recorded this show in October, in front of the Activation Army, a 200 person team working across the US on spirit brands you probably know- Smirnoff, Ketel One, Crown Royal and Captain Morgan, to name a few.    We recorded the episode panel style -- Tobin Ellis made his return to the podcast, and my friends and esteemed colleagues Anthony Caporale, Natalie Jacob, and Jason Litrell sat on the panel as well. Please bear with us, as the acoustics and many mics in the room made recording a bit challenging, but trust me, the panelist insights and the questions from the audience make it a worthwhile listen. I’m super excited to present this to you -- I really hope you enjoy it."

Today's show is the second episode of Top of Mind, the freestanding solo-series within "Movers and Shakers." The episode is short and sweet, and focuses on the essential organizational tools needed to be a productive and effective freelancer, remote employee, or entrepreneur.

What's up Movers & Shakers, it's your host April Wachtel. And today on the show I have Thi Lam, the co-founder of Keepers Coffee Soda, a citrus coffee soda based out of Brooklyn, New York. On this show, we discuss everything about the evolution of the product, the brand, and the company. From being a crazy accident in an office space, to bottling on a rooftop, getting a co-packer, and getting into Whole Foods. 

My guests on today's show are Ivy Mix and Lynnette Marrero, the badass founders of Speed Rack. If you don't know it, Speed Rack is an international cocktail competition featuring female bartender, it benefits charities that combat breast cancer, it's heading into its seventh season, and has raised over $600,000 to-date to fight breast cancer. Pretty amazing stuff! These ladies are a force to be reckoned with!

I am pleased to welcome Alex Kratena to this episode of "Movers and Shakers." He is best known for his work as the former head bartender at the Artesian in London, and most recently for his work as the founder of P(OUR), a not-for-profit that is based in London but has global influence already in and around the bar community. On the show today we discuss creativity, cultivating fear in your life, and so much more. You can learn more about Alex at www.alexkratena.com

Today on the show we have the inimitable Lauren Mote. She's an icon in the world of Canadian bartending. In the episode, we discuss how she originally fell in love with food and beverage, her work in Vancouver at The Refinery, Uva Wine & Cocktail Bar, and The Four Seasons, her company Bittered Sling, and most recently her work with Diageo World Class.

I am thrilled to welcome the infamous Steve Schneider to this episode of "Movers & Shakers." Steve is known throughout the community from Employees Only and then he went to open Employees Only in Singapore. Most recently he opened The Strangers Club in Panama. Today on the podcast we are talking about his roots in bartending, how to succeed in bartending competitions, mentorship, opening his own bar, and so much more!

What's up Movers and Shakers, it's your host April Wachtel. My guest today is Nick Devane, the super-savvy CEO of Foodworks, a fast-growing food incubator that's based in Brooklyn, and expanding nationally. Today on the show we discuss Foodworks' trajectory, from Grazer to Homemade to Foodworks, the principles of raising venture capital, and Foodworks' longterm vision. Without further ado, here's the show.

I am so excited to have Ann Tuennerman, founder of Tales of the Cocktail, on this episode of Movers and Shakers. If you don't know Ann or if you don't know Tales of the Cocktail, you absolutely should! Tales is one of the world's must must-attend cocktail festival. It's held every year in New Orleans. Since its inception 15 years ago, it's attracted more than 150,000 drink experts as well as cocktail enthusiasts. It also injected more than $100million into the local New Orleans economy.

Today my guest is the one and only Tony Abou-Ganim, also known as "The Modern Mixologist." Tony is a legend in our community -- he’s written books, launched iconic cocktail menus across the country, won 3 Iron Chef competitions, is a National Ambassador for the US Bartenders Guild and so much more. On the show today we talk about how he got started bartending, pairing food and cocktails, and bringing craft cocktails to stadiums.

My guest today is Lindsey Johnson, founder of Lush Life Productions, best known for conceiving and producing Portland Cocktail Week, Camp Runamok, Cane Camp, and now Bar Institute. Today we talk about her passion for community building, her past in the punk scene, and how she keeps organized, energized, and inspired.

Today we’re launching the first episode of “Top of Mind” a series of stand alone podcasts you’ll hear on Movers and Shakers. These will be solo episodes- I will have no guests, and we’ll cover everything from innovation to food + tech to notable events in food and beverage - basically “stuff we find interesting” 

Today my guest is Tobin Ellis, the owner of Bar Magic of Las Vegas. Bar Magic is an award-winning hospitality design and consulting firm. You may have seen Tobin on ABC, NBC, USA, E!, A&E, Food Network, Travel Channel, Spike, HBO, and much more. In today's episode we discuss good design, Tobin's background in flair, his love of the Mai Tai cocktail -- and so much more. 

I am thrilled to welcome Chris Lowder to Movers and Shakers. Lowder has been nominated for countless awards, including NYC 30 under 30 by Zagat, New York Rising Star Bartender by StarChefs, and one of Americas Best New Mixologists by Food & Wine. Lowder is fluent in Mandarin and Japanese, and most recently launched and ran the multiple cocktail programs at the Four Seasons in Seoul, South Korea. In this interview we discuss his background in language translation, his passion for food and beverage, and his unique approach to education.

Get to meet April Wachtel in this preview of the new podcast "Movers and Shakers"