Julian Short

"Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much.

My name is Julian Short, I was born and raised on South African soil. I love this country, and I loved how this challenge pushed me as a person to face issues within my own community. Unemployment and lack of education are some of the biggest issues faced in South Africa, with a nationwide official unemployment rate of 33%. In South Africa, community gardens play important social and business roles. They function as mini-hubs for socialising, agro-processing, and other small business activities. "Everything grown in these gardens is meant for a purpose - edible, medicinal or useful." I saw this as an opportunity to connect the bar world with that of the community gardening world in South Africa.

I would like to share with you my hospitality community project, the S.E.E.D. Program.
S - Sustainability
E - Education
E - Empowerment
D - Development
Through the SEED program, I have developed my Ketel One cocktail, Super Rad. This cocktail is made using produce that is fast-growing and nutrient-dense, and therefore, essential components of a community garden. Super Rad is made from radish, nasturtium and indigenous mint.

The seed program is about sourcing ingredients for our bar from local community gardens, creating an income-generating fresh produce initiative. Foraging masterclasses are held in these gardens by the community leader and myself, introducing bartenders to the art of community farming, the science of companion planting and introducing these farmers/gardens as suppliers.

The masterclass includes a demonstration of how to utilize this produce in modern bartending. This is important because bartending masterclasses are scarce in SA. South Africa is a developing country with limited access to global markets and trends. We are restricted access to our neighbouring countries and exposure to international bartenders, their techniques and thought processes. As a bartender who has had decent exposure to international bars and their bar programs, I feel it is my responsibility to share what I have learnt and how we can apply these lessons and techniques to our own bars and kitchens locally.

From each masterclass, one community attendee is chosen and is given the opportunity to work at our bar for one week, which is fully sponsored by us (our bar). This includes transport, uniform, accommodation and meals. Money for this program is sponsored by the sales of the Super Rad cocktail within the bar.

Throughout the course of the week, the candidate (seedling) is given the opportunity to work alongside our team, learning all the tricks of the trade, from ordering stock to bar prep (mise-en-place) and finally to making cocktails behind the bar itself.

This initiative aims to give members of the community an opportunity to work in a World Class bar environment.
The Super Rad cocktail is served on a coaster with a QR code, bringing awareness to the SEED program. The coaster is made from seed paper. (Paper that has seeds embedded inside)

This program has been designed to work with any World Class bar and their local community gardens around the globe.

My dream is to help young bartenders grow and become the next wave of future industry-leading mixologists, as well as empowering and supporting local community gardens financially.

Let us plant the SEED and grow together.

Super Rad

Glass:
Garnish: Nasturtium Leaf
Method: Shake

Ingredients:
50ml Ketal One Family Made Vodka
25ml Radish Cordial
5ml Mint

To make Radish cordial:
250g radish (sliced)
190g sugar
2g salt
12g tartaric acid
Place ingredients into a zip lock bag, and leave at room temp between 12 & 24 hours. The longer it's left, the stronger the flavour becomes.
Strain liquid, keep solids as garnish, bottle liquid.
Season to taste. Make sure the cordial is well-balanced and has good acidity.