- Name: Prantik Haldar
- Instagram: @bebdo_
- Industry Experience: 8 and a half years
- Favourite Drink: It used to be a Negroni, now it’s an Espresso Martini. He likes to try out every bar’s version of it.
- Favourite Non-Alcoholic Drink: Chilled coconut water
Prantik Haldar, the Beverage Innovations Head at The Bombay Canteen, started his journey into the field of hospitality by helping his father dishing up lip-smacking biryanis or sumptuous curries on Sundays. Then a mere schoolboy, Prantik aspired to be a chef.
However, life had different plans for him. A 4-month long internship during his hotel management course gave him the experience of working behind a bar in a five-star hotel with a bartender who exuded a “rock star energy.” Not only did he make delicious drinks for all the hotel guests, but he was a savvy talker and excellent conversationalist. “Now that I think about it,” reflects Prantik, “it’s not about the drink that he was making, it was about the way he was just talking to people and just making sure they get what they like.”
Bartending, Prantik reveals during our talk with him, is more than just mixing drinks. It’s about talking to people, telling a story, and tending to the person sitting across you at the bar. It’s about giving people what they like – and ensuring they have a good time in your care.
Interestingly, he explained how he used indigenous ingredients in an innovative and refreshing manner in his cocktails while curating The Bombay Canteen’s annual cocktail book. These drinks aimed at capturing the soul, essence and culture of Mumbai. The joy of using indigenous and hyperlocal ingredients in beverages is the sense of nostalgia it evokes amongst Indians. However, on the flip side, the challenge of using such ingredients, he tells us, is to make a global client, who is unfamiliar with these ingredients, enjoy the flavors of these drinks.
For example, a cocktail close to Prantik’s heart — The Waiting List — was born out of his love for devouring South Indian breakfasts with coconut chutney in the bustling restaurants at Matunga. After the end of his shift, during the wee hours of dawn, Prantik would smell the wafting aroma of tempered curry leaves and coconut oil, prompting his creative juices to create this cocktail composed of coconut oil, tequila and soda infused with curry leaves and coconut water.
Mentoring emerging bartenders is close to his heart. When quizzed about the qualities that make a good bartender, Prantik cites the willingness to learn as the number one quality. “Anybody, if trained well, can make a really good drink,” he explains, “Most important quality is how you tend to the person who is sitting across you.” He cites a willingness to be hospitable, a great attitude, and a warm smile as things he looks for when he employs people in his team.
What’s next for the nerdy mixologist? Besides working on something in the pipeline that we can’t be privy to yet, he’s busy mentoring bartenders at Papa’s, O Pedro and The Bombay Canteen. He’s excited to attend a conclave at Jakarta called the Cosmopony round table and showcase Indian ingredients on the global map.
- Written by Nemisha Sharma
