September 29, 2025 • 33 mins
How does someone from Brittany end up in Britain, only to return to Paris and open—of all things—a pub? Don’t be surprised, though: this pub comes with a touch of oh là là.
I’m joined by Hyacinthe Lescoët, whose journey began in France, where his love for hospitality was first sparked while helping out in his mother’s pizzeria at just 12 years old. After earning his master’s degree in advertising, Hyacinthe made his way to London, igniting his passion for the craft of the cocktail.
He returned to Paris, where he championed seasonality, sustainability, and innovation. With this wealth of experience, in 2019, he teamed up with friends to open their own bar, The Cambridge Public House—a space that brings his philosophy of flavor, creativity, and hospitality to life. Today, he’s here to tell us how it all began!
We would so appreciate your support by signing up to our newsletter. You can get our advice on anything to do with home bartending, where to drink in every major city, special recipes, and even your very own Lush Life mug! Just head to alushlifemanual.substack.com and sign up!
Our cocktail of the week is called Cigarette After Sex.
INGREDIENTS
- 25 ml Siete Misterios Mezcal
- 15 ml Sloe Gin
- 90 ml Agua de Jamaica
- 10 ml Verjus
- Garnish: Lapsang souchong tea rim
METHOD
- Prepare the trim by making the side of a wine glass wet and dipping it into the tea
- Fill a wine glass with ice
- Pour in all the ingredients and stir well
- Add more ice if necessary
- Serve
You’ll find this recipe and all the cocktails of the week at alushlifemanual.com, plus links to most of the ingredients.
Full Episode Details: https://alushlifemanual.com/hyacinthe-lescoet-cambridge-public-house/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
>> Susan Schwartz (00:07):
How does someone from Brittany end up in Britain
only to return to Paris and open, of all things,
a, uh, pub? Don't be surprised though. This pub
comes with a touch of ooh la la. I'm, um, Susan
Schwartz, your drinking companion, and this is
Lush Life podcast. Every week we're inspired to
(00:30):
live life one cocktail, cocktail at a time. I'm
joined by Jacynt, uh, Lesquitt, whose journey
began in France, where his love for hospitality
was first sparked while helping out in his
mother's Pizzeria. At just 12 years old, after
earning his master's degree in advertising,
(00:50):
Jacynth made his way to London, igniting his
passion for the craft of the cocktail. He then
returned to Paris where he championed seasonality,
sustainability and innovation. With this wealth of
experience, in 2019, he teamed up with friends to
open their own bar, the Cambridge Public House. A,
(01:12):
uh, space that brings his philosophy of flavor,
creativity and hospitality to life. Today, he's
here to tell us how it all began. But before that,
if you love Lush.
Life, we would so appreciate your support.
By signing up to our newsletter, you can get our
advice on anything to do with home bartending,
(01:33):
where to drink in every major city, special
recipes, and even your very own Lush Life mug.
Just head to a lushlifemanual.substack.com and
sign up now. Let's join Jacent.
So it's really great to have you on the show. I'm
(01:54):
so excited to have you, especially right after
your global series. So we're. Why don't you
introduce yourself? Even though I've done a little
intro in the beginning and tell the people who you
are, where you work and then we'll start.
>> Speaker C (02:06):
Yeah. Well, thank you for having me. It's really
good to be here this morning. My name is Yassin
Espette. I'm the co founder of the Cambridge
Public House cocktail pub in Paris and also the co
owner of Little Red Door, also in Paris. And I'm a
bartender, owner and everything that's related to
this profession, this age.
>> Susan Schwartz (02:26):
Of time, all that great stuff. So here at Lush
Life, we always like to go back before we go
forward. It would be great to hear where you're
from and a little bit about your upbringing.
>> Speaker C (02:35):
Yeah, of course. So I'm from, uh, Brittany, from a
tiny island in the west of France. I've been going
there until I was 18. They went to university. I
studied advertising strategy, which brought me to
Italy, Germany, and then some internship that I
didn't really like. So I moved to London and
started to Work in, in cocktail bars and.
>> Susan Schwartz (02:55):
Oh, wait, wait, wait. There's a lot to unpack
there. All right, so a little town in Brittany.
And were you always bartending while you were
studying? Was this something that you were doing
for extra money or was that something that came
after?
>> Speaker C (03:07):
Yes. Uh, my mom had two pizzerias. So, um, I was
like 12, which is not really legal. I was working
there in the summer to just help and make some
money. And all the time throughout my university
time, I've been working in restaurants. Balls,
mostly. Drink, like waitering, not really
cocktails until London.
>> Susan Schwartz (03:27):
Was it something that you thought that you would
ever get into? I mean, was you. Did you have
parental pressure to say, come and take over our
pizzerias or was it, no way am I doing that, I've
got to do something completely different?
>> Speaker C (03:38):
No, there was no pressure at all. But it's just, I
guess a lot of people going in my age going to
marketing or communication, uh, studies was like
kind of where you go and you don't exactly know
what you want to do. So I think I've been looking.
I, um, didn't really know what I wanted to do. So
I've just been, okay, I'm going to study and
(03:58):
hopefully it will appear to me.
>> Susan Schwartz (04:00):
But you worked in IT for a couple years, you said.
>> Speaker C (04:02):
I wanted to get a master degree in Italy, and then
I moved a little bit to Germany, still in the
process of studying. So I've done some internship
throughout my university time and never actually
worked full time in there.
>> Susan Schwartz (04:14):
What was it about the drinks industry or what you
had been doing that was kind of so seductive that
you said, you know what, screw it, I'm going to
try my hand at this.
>> Speaker C (04:23):
On the first day in London, it was, uh, at the
radio bar and there was the bar backing. So I just
wanted to stay for the summer and I just got
interested. So I tried to push really hard to jump
behind the bar every time I see an occasion. I
tried to study cocktails. It just looked very, uh,
fun. And also the interaction with the guests and
(04:45):
the people and it was actually also really good
money. So there was a lot of factor that was
attractive to this profession. And then I was
lucky enough to push the right dolls and world of
like world, uh, class Cartel came to me and I hear
hand services. And um, yeah, I started at 69
copycrow and a drink factory. And that's where I
(05:08):
actually learned everything.
>> Susan Schwartz (05:09):
I know you've mentioned a few things about the
community, about making some money. The cocktails
at that Time. Did you realize that this could be a
profession? You know, was. Because it's a while
ago.
>> Speaker C (05:22):
Uh, yeah, for sure. I mean, the first year I was
like, okay, should I go back into what I've been
studying? So I don't like wasting it. I always say
the past five years of my life. No, I think also
my goal after doing some internship, I didn't
really enjoy the office of his job. I didn't
really enjoy having like, uh, the same schedule
every day and doing the same, like going to the
same office every day. So I think through
(05:46):
bartending and also seeing what could happen with
like events and guest shift and mostly also being
my own boss was something that really, uh,
interested me.
>> Susan Schwartz (05:57):
Especially working someplace like 69 Cobweh, which
was at the forefront of the cocktail renaissance
revolution or whatever you want to call it,
Especially here in London. Those you just. It
could blow your mind. I guess what they were doing
then.
>> Speaker C (06:12):
Yeah, definitely. It wasn't really about the. The
cocktails are really interested there. I mean the
cocktails were interesting, of course, but it was
more the. The way the service was going was such a
tiny space, but, uh, so many people are going
through it. Uh, working there was probably still
the best bar ever walked out because it was like a
dance with the team. I, uh, was lucky enough to,
(06:33):
to be there at golden age the bar as well. So it
was a really incredible place to, to work at. And
then after I entered the drink factory part where
you can actually see the lab and you can see
production. And so, yeah, I was lucky enough for
them to trust me to go in every single department
of the company.
>> Susan Schwartz (06:54):
Having such a great experience there. Did you
always want to come back to Paris or, you know,
did you think that London would stay your home for
a while?
>> Speaker C (07:02):
Uh, London was a little too intense for me. So
it's a really major city and um, it's quite long
to go any place to commute. Paris seems to be a
big city, but it's actually quite small. And if
you want to go from east to west, I cycle there in
30 minutes. Uh, London, everything takes 30
minutes minimum in London, which is good, but it
(07:22):
just wasn't for me. I think I also cherished like
work, life, balance. So Paris was a, uh, bit more
that to me and also a business perspective. I
think it was easier for me to. To open a bar in
Paris because I've got like my people here and I
didn't know the market at the time, but maybe it's
one or so came back to Paris. So we had. And I
think the cocktail wasn't as developed as London.
(07:44):
So, yeah, a lot of factors.
>> Susan Schwartz (07:47):
What year are we talking about? When did you move
back?
>> Speaker C (07:49):
In 2015.
>> Susan Schwartz (07:51):
Okay. So a good 10 years ago when.
>> Speaker C (07:53):
I worked at the Bacon, La Marie Celeste, which is
part of the Quixotic Project. So Candelaria Group
and I opened the. A new business for them. And
after that, in 2019, we opened the Cambridge.
>> Susan Schwartz (08:05):
When you were in London, what do you think that in
your mind, being an inherent marketer and having
studied it for a long time, that you were
thinking, okay, my goal is to have this kind of
thing that you thought, when I get to Paris, I
want to do everything that I can to do that.
>> Speaker C (08:21):
Yeah, definitely. I think, again, the ultimate
goal was to not have any bosses.
>> Susan Schwartz (08:26):
All right, I forgot. Yes. I don't think you said
that before. Exactly.
>> Speaker C (08:30):
Yeah. It's to be free to do, like, whatever kind
of whatever I want. So that was. That was the goal
behind opening a bar.
>> Susan Schwartz (08:38):
Sometimes the bar can be the boss, you know?
>> Speaker C (08:41):
Yeah. There's always the bank.
>> Susan Schwartz (08:42):
So the bank and the bar. Right. There's always
some ball. All right, so. So you're working,
you're doing your menus. Did you have a kind of
bar in mind? Because it's. It's funny that you
started one that's named after some place in
Britain. Not Britain, but Britain, you know. So
what were some of your ideas before you started,
(09:03):
uh, the Cambridge?
>> Speaker C (09:04):
Well, to be honest, when we moved to Paris, we
were, like, maybe a little cocky. Was like, oh,
we've been to London. We're going to move to
Paris. We're going to. We're going to open the
best bar. Something like that. And then after one
week, we realized, like, we weren't ready. So we
pushed back the project for.
>> Susan Schwartz (09:20):
Okay.
>> Speaker C (09:20):
We didn't decide for how long, but we're like,
okay, we're not ready. Uh, you guys are gonna do
what he's doing. I'm gonna walk in different bars
and restaurants and see how it goes. We didn't
have the idea of the pub at first, but it's, uh,
with another. Our third partner called Greg, is
from London. We used to work together there. And,
um, we realized we. We miss pubs, so we are
(09:42):
meeting every week for some drinks. And then we
always talked about it. So the idea came. Came
like that, just by having something that we were
missing in Paris.
>> Susan Schwartz (09:51):
Now, you said we. Who was the other person?
>> Speaker C (09:54):
Uh, so a guy called Greg Inder.
>> Susan Schwartz (09:56):
No, no, I meant other than Greg. You said, we came
in So I wasn't sure if there were two of you @
Paris.
>> Speaker C (10:03):
My partner today is uh, called Hugo, uh, is uh,
doing more the back of house and the financials
development part of the company. It's not working
in bars. It's always working as uh, an
entrepreneur or in startup, something like that.
So he's my m business partner.
>> Susan Schwartz (10:21):
So the three of you, you got your two Frenchmen
and one Brit and you come up with this idea for a
pub type bar, right?
>> Speaker C (10:29):
Exactly.
>> Susan Schwartz (10:30):
Did you think there is kind of a rivalry between
the Brits and the French? How did you think the
Parisians would take to it?
>> Speaker C (10:40):
I say everybody, everybody loves a pub here. We do
have a lot of pubs but they all have the same
offers kind of so you can find the same beers and
the same food, etc. Uh, and it's not really well,
well seen. Sometimes it's a little bit dirty. It
doesn't have the same appeal as the pubs you have
in London and UK or in Ireland. So we want
(11:02):
something a bit more modern. We already saw some
cocktail pubs in London where it's a little bit
more of a modernized version of a pub. So we
really wanted to have this like, include cocktails
and into like casual environment. At the time it
was still very much a speakeasy trend. In Paris
you have a lot of speakeasies and we didn't want
to walk in the dark for our life. So we want
(11:25):
something very open, something welcoming. Cocktail
culture is a bit hard in France because we have a
big wine culture, beer culture, sorry. So to have
like a very uh, welcoming space to make everybody
feel like safe and welcome to enjoy your cocktail
beer they want, that was the goal.
>> Susan Schwartz (11:45):
Maybe you can talk me through not just your first
menus but maybe your kind of your mission for it
because you're a B corps now. I mean was this
always part of your plan to put sustainability at
the forefront?
>> Speaker C (11:59):
Well, the last, last project I worked at before
the uh, Cambridge was called Les Gros Vert. It was
the new bar restaurant of the quixotic groups in
Paris. And it was a goal to be to waste as less as
possible. Even with the kitchen, to the bar, to
the furniture was really well uh, thought of. So I
got a lot of inspiration from that. But it was
(12:20):
mostly to work with seasonality and I think was it
wasn't really nice everywhere but it wasn't that
much at the time. We always had the idea to change
the menu a bit every week. Also it's, I find it
boring sometimes to work in bar where you know,
you don't really have access to creativity and you
just replicate the menu for one year. So after a
(12:42):
few months it becomes quite monotonous. So
changing a little bit every week, working with
season because we have such a great terroir in
France. So it wasn't so much about being like,
okay, we're not going to waste anything away. It
was always to incorporate this in the creative
process. But some of it, you have fun and to be
playful with ingredients.
>> Susan Schwartz (13:04):
Uh, I don't know if you remember it's been a while
since you opened, but you know, some of those
first cocktails and how you felt that the people
who were coming into the bar and enjoying them, as
you said, how they took to these cocktails, did
they like them? Were they open to this? Was it
tough to get people thinking about the way or
thinking the way you thought?
>> Speaker C (13:23):
No, to be honest, it was quite easy. Uh, the first
menu was mostly some classic twists I've learned
from London that was maybe not very famous in
Paris. So we took a stone friends and worked with
quints. We took an army navy and worked with
seaweed. Uh, just having a little twist on this
classic. Mixing spirits as well into cocktails is
something like we always did. And slowly, slowly
(13:44):
we walked throughout the, the cocktail of the week
phase. So every week we have a, we have a new
cocktail. And it was a great way for us to um, to,
to work with Regulus to open the uh, cocktail
world to some of, some of the guests that were
just coming for beers and we became friends. So
after a few weeks, like, okay, we have this new
cocktail. Do you want to try it? It's on us. And
(14:05):
then, you know, slowly, slowly, they just come
every week to, to try the new cocktail. So it's
very, very easy and well received from a
community.
>> Susan Schwartz (14:15):
That's a great idea that cocktail of the week,
especially to get beer drinkers. Because obviously
you come to a pub here, most people drink it.
Actually, most people don't expect cocktails to be
that great at a pub. It's really. I won't say it's
rare, but they're definitely coming for the beer.
So if that's the same, and especially in Paris
where they weren't, as you said, so in tuned to
(14:36):
cocktails. That's brilliant. It's a great see the
marketing in you.
>> Speaker C (14:40):
And the cocktail of the week is always our best
sell, whatever it is. So even if we have a drink
with red onion, it will still be the best sell.
But people get really interested and I think they
kind of trust us now.
>> Susan Schwartz (14:51):
So, yeah, they're coming back for that cocktail of
the week. It's a brilliant one. So let's go on to.
Okay, you're chugging along. You're doing your
cocktail of the week. Why don't you talk about
what your global series is and why you thought it
was necessary to start something like that?
>> Speaker C (15:05):
Definitely it was more about community than
sustainability. I think we look more into, like,
community and responsibility, but it's just
because we've always been kind of grateful. We are
really lucky to be living in Paris. We have
everything we need. So, uh, very grateful to have
some food on our plates and, like, a roof over our
head. So we're always grateful for all of this. So
(15:26):
we really want to give back to our community.
Also, the first year we opened in Paris, we were
struggling, so we only survived because we have
communities. Always been very grateful, and we
kind of want to give back. So the global series
started as a fun project. We used to have this
amazing, amazing festival in Paris, Cocktail
Spirits, where they were really pushing education.
(15:46):
And this disappeared with COVID So we didn't have
really a, uh, platform for this in Paris. I think
it's also very, uh, for me, I mean, I'm super
happy to invite this, like, nine people, A, uh,
lot to say about. And there's three topics that
are very important to the Cambridge, which are
education, environment, and the social aspect of
the bar industry. So every year now, we invite
(16:08):
nine bartenders from all around the world to share
the story. There's three days of events and guest
shifts, but there's also one big day of education
where we do some roundtables about very, uh,
important topics. And it's super well received. We
had over 100 people this year, uh, attending the
(16:28):
seminars, which is very good for Paris, for
France. So, yeah, very happy about this. It was
just an idea at the beginning where the Rugby
World Cup. I wanted to do something with all the
cocktail pubs. And then we're like, okay, why we
don't do it with more bars?
>> Susan Schwartz (16:46):
Who comes to these?
Who attends them?
Um, are they geared towards on trade or also
consumers? Do any consumers come as well?
>> Speaker C (16:56):
It's open to everyone for the education part and
even the guest shift. Really, it's really fueled
by the industry part. So we have a lot of
bartenders, chefs, waiters, et cetera coming. But
we try to open it to Pakta schools as well. So we
try to have a lot.
>> Susan Schwartz (17:09):
Of students coming because I find, uh, you all in
the industry are just so conscious of it. So Hyper
conscious. I always tell people I think you guys
are really doing the most that I've ever seen in
any industry. Of course, I only know this
industry, but so much for sustainability. And I
(17:30):
wish that everyone could attend. These are, uh,
people not in the industry to hear and to be
influenced by you guys. And obviously that's why
I'm interviewing you, is that I also want to get
that word out because I find it so important. Do
you find that this is getting disseminated as much
as you would like to the greater world at large?
>> Speaker C (17:53):
I think it's just the right amount. Now we don't
want to stream it as a thing. We're really
conscious about greenwashing, social washing. So
everything we do is for us and the community. And
we have all the information on our website. If
people want to know more about it, we're happy to
share. If people want to know more about it. But
we don't want to put it in people's face and be
(18:14):
like, hey, listen, we are the first big. That's
what we. This is not really us. We try to be
humble about it.
>> Susan Schwartz (18:20):
Oh, gosh. Well, I'm going to shout it out, let me
tell you. Hopefully people like me do. Now you
brought it up, but I would love to talk a little
bit about your B Core status and what that process
was like and why you decided to take those steps.
Because a lot of people might not even know really
what a B Core is, of course.
>> Speaker C (18:39):
Well, B Corp is the certification that is all
about all the scopes of sustainability. So not
necessarily just the planet, but also community
and guests and, um, transparency, governance. So
it's all the parts of the company are taking into
consideration, which is why it was really
interesting to us because we had a motto, because
(19:02):
we always say, like, be nice in the planet, but
don't forget the people on the way. We're very
close to our community and we really want to push
this. So BICOP was a good structure for us to go
through and that's what we needed. The way Hugo
works as well, uh, it's always about trying to
find some structure to get better. So, um, the
goal was not to achieve it, but when we looked
(19:23):
through different structures and there was like
the Paris Agreement or the Sustainable Development
Goals of the United nations, we looked at all
these things and BCOP gave us, you have 200
questions to or 200 reports to do. And for us it
was 200 opportunity to get better in different
ways. So we just took them one by one.
>> Susan Schwartz (19:43):
Can you give us an Example of one or two of them.
>> Speaker C (19:46):
Yeah. Somewhere really simple uh, is to do like
transparency meetings with your, with your
employees and staff. It's something we do, we have
always done, we always meet every week. But we uh,
don't have any report, we don't have any, we don't
really follow up. We do it, we have a small team
and we go on. But bcorp, uh, say oh no, you need
(20:07):
to have this report and structure. You need to be
uh, organized about it. So this kind of
organization really helped us to get better. It
was also some simple thing with like maybe uh, the
data of your guests, like how do you treat the
data of your guests? Or we went through a website,
we didn't know about this and went through a
(20:27):
website. Okay, this maybe we need to change
because you will be more secure for, for the
people that go through our website or with the
banks with the credit card details, et cetera. So
you have a lot of different things that you don't
actually know about. And some are very simple,
some are um, not that simple. It's definitely not
something that's easy for a small business and a
small team to accomplish but it's really rewarding
(20:49):
at the end.
>> Susan Schwartz (20:50):
And how do you feel that it's changed you? Was
there something on the list where you thought oh
gosh, I've never even thought of that and now I do
it completely differently. There may not be
because you may have been doing everything but I
was just wondering if there was something that it
just awakened in you to do more of.
>> Speaker C (21:09):
Well here's something really eye opening and
something that's ah, really hard for us to
improve. Like there's some categories with like
um, we sell alcohol so uh, with big copies like
not nice because you don't sell a nice product to
your guests. So this is really challenging. So
maybe we have to push more of a non alcoholic
offer or there's something we can try to do. We
(21:31):
also been doing our uh, carbon footprint audit so
to know exactly where we spend the most of our
footprint and this is really high opening because
we realize some small decision can actually have a
big impact. We knew beef was bad for m the planet
when you actually see the. But your spending is
(21:51):
incredible. And from one day to another we changed
chicken and we saved about 8% of our footprint. So
something like this, yeah, you can always get
better. And that's the nice thing we have about B
Corp. I don't want to preach about because I'm not
here for that but uh, you always have to get
better. Like, we have three years to, in three
(22:11):
years we have to redo the audit and we don't have
to go through the initial score, but we have to
get better than our score. So that's what's
interesting is that you, they always push you to
get better.
>> Susan Schwartz (22:23):
Uh, you're not preaching at all. No, it's really
interesting. And also I'm hoping that if any other
bars or anyone in the industry who may be
listening might want to do it, they can hear from
you that it is absolutely achievable. And it's
something maybe to have a goal for because it's,
uh, a really wonderful thing that you've been able
to achieve with this and it's really important for
(22:45):
the world. You should be so proud of yourselves.
There are a couple other things as well. I know
you started something called Shaken Leaf and I was
wondering if you could tell everyone what that is.
>> Speaker C (22:53):
Yeah, of course. It came from, um, from something.
We have something called the Community Plan within
the team, the Cambridge, where everybody, every
single person from the team works into either like
some team, um, sorry, education, part, environment
focus, uh, topics. And it was the goal of one of
our, uh, teammates called Julien. He was like,
(23:14):
okay, I want to share information and to collect
information and share to the world. So the first
goal was to interview pioneers from the world of
sustainability and responsibility. So we were in
art and interview people like Luke Worthy and Matt
Wiley and Agun from penicillin. And he was to have
this interview and put into poor advices. So you
(23:38):
can go on the website and go into like, um, I want
to improve my electricity, uh, spending on my
water concentration. So you can go through water
and you can find some tips and maybe they will
apply to your market, maybe they won't. But it's
to have all this thing really simplified for
everybody around the world to, to get some ideas
and to, to get better. Because sometimes you
(23:59):
don't, you don't know where to start. And people
want to get better, but there's also some pressure
to be like, oh, I want to, I want to be zero waste
or I want to, to be sustainable. It's a really
like step by step process. And the thing is to get
better every day or every week and not
necessarily, you can't, you can't get there in one
day or so. Simple devices. Yeah, of course, all
(24:22):
collected in a single platform. We also ask
people, anybody in the world to go and put the
information. There's like a form where you can,
you can share your story, you can share Some tips,
and then we will, we will go through it and put it
on the website as well. So it's a new project you
just started. Hopefully it will get bigger.
>> Susan Schwartz (24:45):
Yeah, it just shows how, um, after three years of
doing the um series, a lot changes within that
world. And it's great to have something that makes
it completely up to date. Now I would love to talk
about some of the things that you do in the bar.
You alluded to the fact that it was really tough
for your first year a few minutes ago. Why do you
(25:08):
think that was and why do you think things
changed? Is it just people became more aware of
what you were doing or what the world was doing in
cocktails?
>> Speaker C (25:16):
I think there was a lot of different factors.
Also. We struggle because we make some mistakes.
We are here like too much stuff. The stuff. Um,
rates in Paris are really high. You have a lot of
taxes. And because we really care for our staff,
it took a long time for us to, to, to restructure
the team and to let people go. So it affected a
(25:36):
lot of the money we had. But also in Paris it's
people like novelty. So over the first two months
we're doing really well. And then after you have a
big, big crash, which is pretty hard to, to deal
with. We didn't really have any money for PR or
communication. So it just, it just takes some
times. I think it's, it's a normal thing in Paris
(25:57):
to wait a year, year and a half, two years before,
uh, you actually see some, some improvement. Lingo
also was really hard for us that we've been
getting some awards right away. So we wear, wear
Smith pudding. So we won like best bar. And then
you win this award and you're like. But nobody's
there in the box. It's really frustrating. But
that after one year we had Covid. And so, oh yes,
(26:21):
for us in France, it was really, really easy. We
had some good help from the government. All the
staff were taken care of. We didn't struggle as
much as the communities or countries, but, um,
also give us a lot of time to reassess and to, to,
to take a step back and see our, uh, mistakes and
what we can do better. And yeah, we were seeing
some improvement before COVID but after that we
really. It's really when it started, uh, for us to
(26:43):
get busy. And of course three years ago we had
the. Or two years ago we had the first appearance
in the 50 Best World list. So that gave us a big
push. But also it changed a lot of the guests. We
have in the bar. So we used to be. Maybe we lose a
little bit of regulars. We sell more cocktails
(27:03):
definitely. But uh, we also had to adapt to this.
So I give way long answers. But you can.
>> Susan Schwartz (27:12):
Sometimes people speak for an hour and a half. So
don't. No, we want to hear you. It's all about
your bar. Also you had the Olympics, so that.
Sure, I'm sure uh brought some other people in.
But I love the fact that you're doing something so
new in the oldest part of Paris and Le Marais. Was
there a reason why you picked there, Sammy?
>> Speaker C (27:32):
We had a few areas in mind. The biggest thing was
to be in the area that were open to having a pub
of course, but also where there's the ratio of
consumers between 25 and 40 years old. Some
locals, both, some tourists, a mix of everything.
But finding that this bar in Marais was really
(27:53):
great because it was also in this little cocktail
hub of this little red dog on the layer like
Celeste. Everything is like five minutes walk. And
so it really helped us to be in this cocktail
world rather than just being like a pub in the
neighborhood.
>> Susan Schwartz (28:07):
So what are you doing going forward now? Now that
the global series I know just ended well with the
Cambridge.
>> Speaker C (28:15):
I think now we're looking for more stability. As I
mentioned we had this thing called community plan.
So we really try to push the team to work within
the field, uh arts in the bar, but outside of the
bar towards education, environment, some social
aspect. We haven't done as much as we wanted the
past year because we really got busy and we hired
(28:36):
new positions. So the team got bigger. We also
purchased um, a uh, Little Red Door last year. So
we went through a company of 8 to a company of 29.
So there were some big changes for us. I think we
were looking for more stability in order to grow
and to start doing again to community feels that
really matter to us.
>> Susan Schwartz (28:57):
And as you brought up you took over Little Red
Door. How did that come about?
>> Speaker C (29:02):
So Little Red Door was going through some. They
were under administration so not getting to
bankruptcy but looking for some state uh of France
or looking for some new owners. So we found it was
honestly a good opportunity for us. When does the
one of the best buy in the world next? 300 meters
from your embarclass. So it was not a good
(29:24):
opportunity uh, financially and to grow as a
company. But also we didn't really want to see
Little Red Door going to bigger groups or to be
just bola for the. For the image or for the brand
and not really after legacy it deserves. There was
a mix of these things that led us for. To just go
(29:44):
through it and to go for it. So we won the bid and
we had the keys, and in two weeks, we had to, uh,
was. Was still the sixth best Buy in the world at
the time. So a lot of pressure, uh, on the team
and from the guests. Like, I guess maybe 95% of
the of our customers weren't aware that actually
(30:05):
been a change. So we had to step into some
pictures.
>> Susan Schwartz (30:09):
Yeah, yeah, I'm, um. You are their angels. I mean,
if anyone should take over how fabulous that it
was you guys, because you certainly have the same
vision and ethos and missions, and so it's great
to see. So, um, thank you. I think, you know,
that's a great place to stop. Um, thank you. Um,
(30:30):
obviously you've got a great website where anyone
can find anything, and I'll have all the links on
the show notes. So, you know, everyone head to
Paris and go to the pub. I know that sounds funny,
but I.
>> Speaker C (30:44):
Think our website is also very interesting because
we are the. Every year we do an ESG report. I
think it's. It's nice to go through it as a
bartender, as a business owner, because you can
find a lot of tips, and we're very transparent and
we love data. There's a lot of information in
there that can be useful or not. But, uh, really
interested to see us. If you're a little bit
nerdy, Uh, I think it's nice to go.
>> Susan Schwartz (31:06):
Definitely. It is. I am a little nerdy, and I've
been through it, and it's fantastic. But thank you
so much for being on the show. It's great to hear
your story. It makes me want to get on your show
right now and come out and have a drink with you,
even though it's only, uh, 8:30 in the morning
here.
>> Speaker C (31:20):
Thank you so much for having me. It was great.
>> Susan Schwartz (31:22):
Sure.
It was great for me too. So, um, thanks and
abiento.
>> Speaker C (31:26):
Bye. Bye.
>> Susan Schwartz (31:28):
I so want to thank Yasen for.
Joining me on the program.
I must admit it, this may be the cocktail of the
week that might have my favorite name. Our
cocktail of the week is the cigarette after sex.
(31:49):
How French is that?
First you need a wine glass.
Then wet the side of it and dip it into some
lapsang souchong tea. Then fill that glass with
ice and pour in all the ingredients. 25 mils of
siete mistieros mezcal, 15 mils of sloe jam, 90
(32:15):
milliliters of agua uh, de Jamaica and 10
milliliters of verju and then stir well. Then add
more ice if necessary and serve. You'll find this
recipe and all the cocktails of the
week@alushlifemanual uh.com thanks for everyone's
(32:47):
patience. Seems like scheduling can be really
tough at this time of year. If you live for Lush
Life, then make sure you head out to the bars you
love and order a drink. Theme music for Lush Life
is by Steven Shapiro and used with permission. And
Lush Life is always and will be forever produced
by Evo, Terra and Simpler Media Productions. Which
(33:09):
leads me to say the wise words of Oscar Wilde all
things in moderation, including moderation, and
always drink responsibly. Next time we head from
Paris to Cinzi. Until then, bottoms.
Um.
How does someone from Brittany end up in Britain
only to return to Paris and open, of all things,
a, uh, pub? Don't be surprised though. This pub
comes with a touch of ooh la la. I'm, um, Susan
Schwartz, your drinking companion, and this is
Lush Life podcast. Every week we're inspired to
(00:30):
live life one cocktail, cocktail at a time. I'm
joined by Jacynt, uh, Lesquitt, whose journey
began in France, where his love for hospitality
was first sparked while helping out in his
mother's Pizzeria. At just 12 years old, after
earning his master's degree in advertising,
(00:50):
Jacynth made his way to London, igniting his
passion for the craft of the cocktail. He then
returned to Paris where he championed seasonality,
sustainability and innovation. With this wealth of
experience, in 2019, he teamed up with friends to
open their own bar, the Cambridge Public House. A,
(01:12):
uh, space that brings his philosophy of flavor,
creativity and hospitality to life. Today, he's
here to tell us how it all began. But before that,
if you love Lush.
Life, we would so appreciate your support.
By signing up to our newsletter, you can get our
advice on anything to do with home bartending,
(01:33):
where to drink in every major city, special
recipes, and even your very own Lush Life mug.
Just head to a lushlifemanual.substack.com and
sign up now. Let's join Jacent.
So it's really great to have you on the show. I'm
(01:54):
so excited to have you, especially right after
your global series. So we're. Why don't you
introduce yourself? Even though I've done a little
intro in the beginning and tell the people who you
are, where you work and then we'll start.
>> Speaker C (02:06):
Yeah. Well, thank you for having me. It's really
good to be here this morning. My name is Yassin
Espette. I'm the co founder of the Cambridge
Public House cocktail pub in Paris and also the co
owner of Little Red Door, also in Paris. And I'm a
bartender, owner and everything that's related to
this profession, this age.
>> Susan Schwartz (02:26):
Of time, all that great stuff. So here at Lush
Life, we always like to go back before we go
forward. It would be great to hear where you're
from and a little bit about your upbringing.
>> Speaker C (02:35):
Yeah, of course. So I'm from, uh, Brittany, from a
tiny island in the west of France. I've been going
there until I was 18. They went to university. I
studied advertising strategy, which brought me to
Italy, Germany, and then some internship that I
didn't really like. So I moved to London and
started to Work in, in cocktail bars and.
>> Susan Schwartz (02:55):
Oh, wait, wait, wait. There's a lot to unpack
there. All right, so a little town in Brittany.
And were you always bartending while you were
studying? Was this something that you were doing
for extra money or was that something that came
after?
>> Speaker C (03:07):
Yes. Uh, my mom had two pizzerias. So, um, I was
like 12, which is not really legal. I was working
there in the summer to just help and make some
money. And all the time throughout my university
time, I've been working in restaurants. Balls,
mostly. Drink, like waitering, not really
cocktails until London.
>> Susan Schwartz (03:27):
Was it something that you thought that you would
ever get into? I mean, was you. Did you have
parental pressure to say, come and take over our
pizzerias or was it, no way am I doing that, I've
got to do something completely different?
>> Speaker C (03:38):
No, there was no pressure at all. But it's just, I
guess a lot of people going in my age going to
marketing or communication, uh, studies was like
kind of where you go and you don't exactly know
what you want to do. So I think I've been looking.
I, um, didn't really know what I wanted to do. So
I've just been, okay, I'm going to study and
(03:58):
hopefully it will appear to me.
>> Susan Schwartz (04:00):
But you worked in IT for a couple years, you said.
>> Speaker C (04:02):
I wanted to get a master degree in Italy, and then
I moved a little bit to Germany, still in the
process of studying. So I've done some internship
throughout my university time and never actually
worked full time in there.
>> Susan Schwartz (04:14):
What was it about the drinks industry or what you
had been doing that was kind of so seductive that
you said, you know what, screw it, I'm going to
try my hand at this.
>> Speaker C (04:23):
On the first day in London, it was, uh, at the
radio bar and there was the bar backing. So I just
wanted to stay for the summer and I just got
interested. So I tried to push really hard to jump
behind the bar every time I see an occasion. I
tried to study cocktails. It just looked very, uh,
fun. And also the interaction with the guests and
(04:45):
the people and it was actually also really good
money. So there was a lot of factor that was
attractive to this profession. And then I was
lucky enough to push the right dolls and world of
like world, uh, class Cartel came to me and I hear
hand services. And um, yeah, I started at 69
copycrow and a drink factory. And that's where I
(05:08):
actually learned everything.
>> Susan Schwartz (05:09):
I know you've mentioned a few things about the
community, about making some money. The cocktails
at that Time. Did you realize that this could be a
profession? You know, was. Because it's a while
ago.
>> Speaker C (05:22):
Uh, yeah, for sure. I mean, the first year I was
like, okay, should I go back into what I've been
studying? So I don't like wasting it. I always say
the past five years of my life. No, I think also
my goal after doing some internship, I didn't
really enjoy the office of his job. I didn't
really enjoy having like, uh, the same schedule
every day and doing the same, like going to the
same office every day. So I think through
(05:46):
bartending and also seeing what could happen with
like events and guest shift and mostly also being
my own boss was something that really, uh,
interested me.
>> Susan Schwartz (05:57):
Especially working someplace like 69 Cobweh, which
was at the forefront of the cocktail renaissance
revolution or whatever you want to call it,
Especially here in London. Those you just. It
could blow your mind. I guess what they were doing
then.
>> Speaker C (06:12):
Yeah, definitely. It wasn't really about the. The
cocktails are really interested there. I mean the
cocktails were interesting, of course, but it was
more the. The way the service was going was such a
tiny space, but, uh, so many people are going
through it. Uh, working there was probably still
the best bar ever walked out because it was like a
dance with the team. I, uh, was lucky enough to,
(06:33):
to be there at golden age the bar as well. So it
was a really incredible place to, to work at. And
then after I entered the drink factory part where
you can actually see the lab and you can see
production. And so, yeah, I was lucky enough for
them to trust me to go in every single department
of the company.
>> Susan Schwartz (06:54):
Having such a great experience there. Did you
always want to come back to Paris or, you know,
did you think that London would stay your home for
a while?
>> Speaker C (07:02):
Uh, London was a little too intense for me. So
it's a really major city and um, it's quite long
to go any place to commute. Paris seems to be a
big city, but it's actually quite small. And if
you want to go from east to west, I cycle there in
30 minutes. Uh, London, everything takes 30
minutes minimum in London, which is good, but it
(07:22):
just wasn't for me. I think I also cherished like
work, life, balance. So Paris was a, uh, bit more
that to me and also a business perspective. I
think it was easier for me to. To open a bar in
Paris because I've got like my people here and I
didn't know the market at the time, but maybe it's
one or so came back to Paris. So we had. And I
think the cocktail wasn't as developed as London.
(07:44):
So, yeah, a lot of factors.
>> Susan Schwartz (07:47):
What year are we talking about? When did you move
back?
>> Speaker C (07:49):
In 2015.
>> Susan Schwartz (07:51):
Okay. So a good 10 years ago when.
>> Speaker C (07:53):
I worked at the Bacon, La Marie Celeste, which is
part of the Quixotic Project. So Candelaria Group
and I opened the. A new business for them. And
after that, in 2019, we opened the Cambridge.
>> Susan Schwartz (08:05):
When you were in London, what do you think that in
your mind, being an inherent marketer and having
studied it for a long time, that you were
thinking, okay, my goal is to have this kind of
thing that you thought, when I get to Paris, I
want to do everything that I can to do that.
>> Speaker C (08:21):
Yeah, definitely. I think, again, the ultimate
goal was to not have any bosses.
>> Susan Schwartz (08:26):
All right, I forgot. Yes. I don't think you said
that before. Exactly.
>> Speaker C (08:30):
Yeah. It's to be free to do, like, whatever kind
of whatever I want. So that was. That was the goal
behind opening a bar.
>> Susan Schwartz (08:38):
Sometimes the bar can be the boss, you know?
>> Speaker C (08:41):
Yeah. There's always the bank.
>> Susan Schwartz (08:42):
So the bank and the bar. Right. There's always
some ball. All right, so. So you're working,
you're doing your menus. Did you have a kind of
bar in mind? Because it's. It's funny that you
started one that's named after some place in
Britain. Not Britain, but Britain, you know. So
what were some of your ideas before you started,
(09:03):
uh, the Cambridge?
>> Speaker C (09:04):
Well, to be honest, when we moved to Paris, we
were, like, maybe a little cocky. Was like, oh,
we've been to London. We're going to move to
Paris. We're going to. We're going to open the
best bar. Something like that. And then after one
week, we realized, like, we weren't ready. So we
pushed back the project for.
>> Susan Schwartz (09:20):
Okay.
>> Speaker C (09:20):
We didn't decide for how long, but we're like,
okay, we're not ready. Uh, you guys are gonna do
what he's doing. I'm gonna walk in different bars
and restaurants and see how it goes. We didn't
have the idea of the pub at first, but it's, uh,
with another. Our third partner called Greg, is
from London. We used to work together there. And,
um, we realized we. We miss pubs, so we are
(09:42):
meeting every week for some drinks. And then we
always talked about it. So the idea came. Came
like that, just by having something that we were
missing in Paris.
>> Susan Schwartz (09:51):
Now, you said we. Who was the other person?
>> Speaker C (09:54):
Uh, so a guy called Greg Inder.
>> Susan Schwartz (09:56):
No, no, I meant other than Greg. You said, we came
in So I wasn't sure if there were two of you @
Paris.
>> Speaker C (10:03):
My partner today is uh, called Hugo, uh, is uh,
doing more the back of house and the financials
development part of the company. It's not working
in bars. It's always working as uh, an
entrepreneur or in startup, something like that.
So he's my m business partner.
>> Susan Schwartz (10:21):
So the three of you, you got your two Frenchmen
and one Brit and you come up with this idea for a
pub type bar, right?
>> Speaker C (10:29):
Exactly.
>> Susan Schwartz (10:30):
Did you think there is kind of a rivalry between
the Brits and the French? How did you think the
Parisians would take to it?
>> Speaker C (10:40):
I say everybody, everybody loves a pub here. We do
have a lot of pubs but they all have the same
offers kind of so you can find the same beers and
the same food, etc. Uh, and it's not really well,
well seen. Sometimes it's a little bit dirty. It
doesn't have the same appeal as the pubs you have
in London and UK or in Ireland. So we want
(11:02):
something a bit more modern. We already saw some
cocktail pubs in London where it's a little bit
more of a modernized version of a pub. So we
really wanted to have this like, include cocktails
and into like casual environment. At the time it
was still very much a speakeasy trend. In Paris
you have a lot of speakeasies and we didn't want
to walk in the dark for our life. So we want
(11:25):
something very open, something welcoming. Cocktail
culture is a bit hard in France because we have a
big wine culture, beer culture, sorry. So to have
like a very uh, welcoming space to make everybody
feel like safe and welcome to enjoy your cocktail
beer they want, that was the goal.
>> Susan Schwartz (11:45):
Maybe you can talk me through not just your first
menus but maybe your kind of your mission for it
because you're a B corps now. I mean was this
always part of your plan to put sustainability at
the forefront?
>> Speaker C (11:59):
Well, the last, last project I worked at before
the uh, Cambridge was called Les Gros Vert. It was
the new bar restaurant of the quixotic groups in
Paris. And it was a goal to be to waste as less as
possible. Even with the kitchen, to the bar, to
the furniture was really well uh, thought of. So I
got a lot of inspiration from that. But it was
(12:20):
mostly to work with seasonality and I think was it
wasn't really nice everywhere but it wasn't that
much at the time. We always had the idea to change
the menu a bit every week. Also it's, I find it
boring sometimes to work in bar where you know,
you don't really have access to creativity and you
just replicate the menu for one year. So after a
(12:42):
few months it becomes quite monotonous. So
changing a little bit every week, working with
season because we have such a great terroir in
France. So it wasn't so much about being like,
okay, we're not going to waste anything away. It
was always to incorporate this in the creative
process. But some of it, you have fun and to be
playful with ingredients.
>> Susan Schwartz (13:04):
Uh, I don't know if you remember it's been a while
since you opened, but you know, some of those
first cocktails and how you felt that the people
who were coming into the bar and enjoying them, as
you said, how they took to these cocktails, did
they like them? Were they open to this? Was it
tough to get people thinking about the way or
thinking the way you thought?
>> Speaker C (13:23):
No, to be honest, it was quite easy. Uh, the first
menu was mostly some classic twists I've learned
from London that was maybe not very famous in
Paris. So we took a stone friends and worked with
quints. We took an army navy and worked with
seaweed. Uh, just having a little twist on this
classic. Mixing spirits as well into cocktails is
something like we always did. And slowly, slowly
(13:44):
we walked throughout the, the cocktail of the week
phase. So every week we have a, we have a new
cocktail. And it was a great way for us to um, to,
to work with Regulus to open the uh, cocktail
world to some of, some of the guests that were
just coming for beers and we became friends. So
after a few weeks, like, okay, we have this new
cocktail. Do you want to try it? It's on us. And
(14:05):
then, you know, slowly, slowly, they just come
every week to, to try the new cocktail. So it's
very, very easy and well received from a
community.
>> Susan Schwartz (14:15):
That's a great idea that cocktail of the week,
especially to get beer drinkers. Because obviously
you come to a pub here, most people drink it.
Actually, most people don't expect cocktails to be
that great at a pub. It's really. I won't say it's
rare, but they're definitely coming for the beer.
So if that's the same, and especially in Paris
where they weren't, as you said, so in tuned to
(14:36):
cocktails. That's brilliant. It's a great see the
marketing in you.
>> Speaker C (14:40):
And the cocktail of the week is always our best
sell, whatever it is. So even if we have a drink
with red onion, it will still be the best sell.
But people get really interested and I think they
kind of trust us now.
>> Susan Schwartz (14:51):
So, yeah, they're coming back for that cocktail of
the week. It's a brilliant one. So let's go on to.
Okay, you're chugging along. You're doing your
cocktail of the week. Why don't you talk about
what your global series is and why you thought it
was necessary to start something like that?
>> Speaker C (15:05):
Definitely it was more about community than
sustainability. I think we look more into, like,
community and responsibility, but it's just
because we've always been kind of grateful. We are
really lucky to be living in Paris. We have
everything we need. So, uh, very grateful to have
some food on our plates and, like, a roof over our
head. So we're always grateful for all of this. So
(15:26):
we really want to give back to our community.
Also, the first year we opened in Paris, we were
struggling, so we only survived because we have
communities. Always been very grateful, and we
kind of want to give back. So the global series
started as a fun project. We used to have this
amazing, amazing festival in Paris, Cocktail
Spirits, where they were really pushing education.
(15:46):
And this disappeared with COVID So we didn't have
really a, uh, platform for this in Paris. I think
it's also very, uh, for me, I mean, I'm super
happy to invite this, like, nine people, A, uh,
lot to say about. And there's three topics that
are very important to the Cambridge, which are
education, environment, and the social aspect of
the bar industry. So every year now, we invite
(16:08):
nine bartenders from all around the world to share
the story. There's three days of events and guest
shifts, but there's also one big day of education
where we do some roundtables about very, uh,
important topics. And it's super well received. We
had over 100 people this year, uh, attending the
(16:28):
seminars, which is very good for Paris, for
France. So, yeah, very happy about this. It was
just an idea at the beginning where the Rugby
World Cup. I wanted to do something with all the
cocktail pubs. And then we're like, okay, why we
don't do it with more bars?
>> Susan Schwartz (16:46):
Who comes to these?
Who attends them?
Um, are they geared towards on trade or also
consumers? Do any consumers come as well?
>> Speaker C (16:56):
It's open to everyone for the education part and
even the guest shift. Really, it's really fueled
by the industry part. So we have a lot of
bartenders, chefs, waiters, et cetera coming. But
we try to open it to Pakta schools as well. So we
try to have a lot.
>> Susan Schwartz (17:09):
Of students coming because I find, uh, you all in
the industry are just so conscious of it. So Hyper
conscious. I always tell people I think you guys
are really doing the most that I've ever seen in
any industry. Of course, I only know this
industry, but so much for sustainability. And I
(17:30):
wish that everyone could attend. These are, uh,
people not in the industry to hear and to be
influenced by you guys. And obviously that's why
I'm interviewing you, is that I also want to get
that word out because I find it so important. Do
you find that this is getting disseminated as much
as you would like to the greater world at large?
>> Speaker C (17:53):
I think it's just the right amount. Now we don't
want to stream it as a thing. We're really
conscious about greenwashing, social washing. So
everything we do is for us and the community. And
we have all the information on our website. If
people want to know more about it, we're happy to
share. If people want to know more about it. But
we don't want to put it in people's face and be
(18:14):
like, hey, listen, we are the first big. That's
what we. This is not really us. We try to be
humble about it.
>> Susan Schwartz (18:20):
Oh, gosh. Well, I'm going to shout it out, let me
tell you. Hopefully people like me do. Now you
brought it up, but I would love to talk a little
bit about your B Core status and what that process
was like and why you decided to take those steps.
Because a lot of people might not even know really
what a B Core is, of course.
>> Speaker C (18:39):
Well, B Corp is the certification that is all
about all the scopes of sustainability. So not
necessarily just the planet, but also community
and guests and, um, transparency, governance. So
it's all the parts of the company are taking into
consideration, which is why it was really
interesting to us because we had a motto, because
(19:02):
we always say, like, be nice in the planet, but
don't forget the people on the way. We're very
close to our community and we really want to push
this. So BICOP was a good structure for us to go
through and that's what we needed. The way Hugo
works as well, uh, it's always about trying to
find some structure to get better. So, um, the
goal was not to achieve it, but when we looked
(19:23):
through different structures and there was like
the Paris Agreement or the Sustainable Development
Goals of the United nations, we looked at all
these things and BCOP gave us, you have 200
questions to or 200 reports to do. And for us it
was 200 opportunity to get better in different
ways. So we just took them one by one.
>> Susan Schwartz (19:43):
Can you give us an Example of one or two of them.
>> Speaker C (19:46):
Yeah. Somewhere really simple uh, is to do like
transparency meetings with your, with your
employees and staff. It's something we do, we have
always done, we always meet every week. But we uh,
don't have any report, we don't have any, we don't
really follow up. We do it, we have a small team
and we go on. But bcorp, uh, say oh no, you need
(20:07):
to have this report and structure. You need to be
uh, organized about it. So this kind of
organization really helped us to get better. It
was also some simple thing with like maybe uh, the
data of your guests, like how do you treat the
data of your guests? Or we went through a website,
we didn't know about this and went through a
(20:27):
website. Okay, this maybe we need to change
because you will be more secure for, for the
people that go through our website or with the
banks with the credit card details, et cetera. So
you have a lot of different things that you don't
actually know about. And some are very simple,
some are um, not that simple. It's definitely not
something that's easy for a small business and a
small team to accomplish but it's really rewarding
(20:49):
at the end.
>> Susan Schwartz (20:50):
And how do you feel that it's changed you? Was
there something on the list where you thought oh
gosh, I've never even thought of that and now I do
it completely differently. There may not be
because you may have been doing everything but I
was just wondering if there was something that it
just awakened in you to do more of.
>> Speaker C (21:09):
Well here's something really eye opening and
something that's ah, really hard for us to
improve. Like there's some categories with like
um, we sell alcohol so uh, with big copies like
not nice because you don't sell a nice product to
your guests. So this is really challenging. So
maybe we have to push more of a non alcoholic
offer or there's something we can try to do. We
(21:31):
also been doing our uh, carbon footprint audit so
to know exactly where we spend the most of our
footprint and this is really high opening because
we realize some small decision can actually have a
big impact. We knew beef was bad for m the planet
when you actually see the. But your spending is
(21:51):
incredible. And from one day to another we changed
chicken and we saved about 8% of our footprint. So
something like this, yeah, you can always get
better. And that's the nice thing we have about B
Corp. I don't want to preach about because I'm not
here for that but uh, you always have to get
better. Like, we have three years to, in three
(22:11):
years we have to redo the audit and we don't have
to go through the initial score, but we have to
get better than our score. So that's what's
interesting is that you, they always push you to
get better.
>> Susan Schwartz (22:23):
Uh, you're not preaching at all. No, it's really
interesting. And also I'm hoping that if any other
bars or anyone in the industry who may be
listening might want to do it, they can hear from
you that it is absolutely achievable. And it's
something maybe to have a goal for because it's,
uh, a really wonderful thing that you've been able
to achieve with this and it's really important for
(22:45):
the world. You should be so proud of yourselves.
There are a couple other things as well. I know
you started something called Shaken Leaf and I was
wondering if you could tell everyone what that is.
>> Speaker C (22:53):
Yeah, of course. It came from, um, from something.
We have something called the Community Plan within
the team, the Cambridge, where everybody, every
single person from the team works into either like
some team, um, sorry, education, part, environment
focus, uh, topics. And it was the goal of one of
our, uh, teammates called Julien. He was like,
(23:14):
okay, I want to share information and to collect
information and share to the world. So the first
goal was to interview pioneers from the world of
sustainability and responsibility. So we were in
art and interview people like Luke Worthy and Matt
Wiley and Agun from penicillin. And he was to have
this interview and put into poor advices. So you
(23:38):
can go on the website and go into like, um, I want
to improve my electricity, uh, spending on my
water concentration. So you can go through water
and you can find some tips and maybe they will
apply to your market, maybe they won't. But it's
to have all this thing really simplified for
everybody around the world to, to get some ideas
and to, to get better. Because sometimes you
(23:59):
don't, you don't know where to start. And people
want to get better, but there's also some pressure
to be like, oh, I want to, I want to be zero waste
or I want to, to be sustainable. It's a really
like step by step process. And the thing is to get
better every day or every week and not
necessarily, you can't, you can't get there in one
day or so. Simple devices. Yeah, of course, all
(24:22):
collected in a single platform. We also ask
people, anybody in the world to go and put the
information. There's like a form where you can,
you can share your story, you can share Some tips,
and then we will, we will go through it and put it
on the website as well. So it's a new project you
just started. Hopefully it will get bigger.
>> Susan Schwartz (24:45):
Yeah, it just shows how, um, after three years of
doing the um series, a lot changes within that
world. And it's great to have something that makes
it completely up to date. Now I would love to talk
about some of the things that you do in the bar.
You alluded to the fact that it was really tough
for your first year a few minutes ago. Why do you
(25:08):
think that was and why do you think things
changed? Is it just people became more aware of
what you were doing or what the world was doing in
cocktails?
>> Speaker C (25:16):
I think there was a lot of different factors.
Also. We struggle because we make some mistakes.
We are here like too much stuff. The stuff. Um,
rates in Paris are really high. You have a lot of
taxes. And because we really care for our staff,
it took a long time for us to, to, to restructure
the team and to let people go. So it affected a
(25:36):
lot of the money we had. But also in Paris it's
people like novelty. So over the first two months
we're doing really well. And then after you have a
big, big crash, which is pretty hard to, to deal
with. We didn't really have any money for PR or
communication. So it just, it just takes some
times. I think it's, it's a normal thing in Paris
(25:57):
to wait a year, year and a half, two years before,
uh, you actually see some, some improvement. Lingo
also was really hard for us that we've been
getting some awards right away. So we wear, wear
Smith pudding. So we won like best bar. And then
you win this award and you're like. But nobody's
there in the box. It's really frustrating. But
that after one year we had Covid. And so, oh yes,
(26:21):
for us in France, it was really, really easy. We
had some good help from the government. All the
staff were taken care of. We didn't struggle as
much as the communities or countries, but, um,
also give us a lot of time to reassess and to, to,
to take a step back and see our, uh, mistakes and
what we can do better. And yeah, we were seeing
some improvement before COVID but after that we
really. It's really when it started, uh, for us to
(26:43):
get busy. And of course three years ago we had
the. Or two years ago we had the first appearance
in the 50 Best World list. So that gave us a big
push. But also it changed a lot of the guests. We
have in the bar. So we used to be. Maybe we lose a
little bit of regulars. We sell more cocktails
(27:03):
definitely. But uh, we also had to adapt to this.
So I give way long answers. But you can.
>> Susan Schwartz (27:12):
Sometimes people speak for an hour and a half. So
don't. No, we want to hear you. It's all about
your bar. Also you had the Olympics, so that.
Sure, I'm sure uh brought some other people in.
But I love the fact that you're doing something so
new in the oldest part of Paris and Le Marais. Was
there a reason why you picked there, Sammy?
>> Speaker C (27:32):
We had a few areas in mind. The biggest thing was
to be in the area that were open to having a pub
of course, but also where there's the ratio of
consumers between 25 and 40 years old. Some
locals, both, some tourists, a mix of everything.
But finding that this bar in Marais was really
(27:53):
great because it was also in this little cocktail
hub of this little red dog on the layer like
Celeste. Everything is like five minutes walk. And
so it really helped us to be in this cocktail
world rather than just being like a pub in the
neighborhood.
>> Susan Schwartz (28:07):
So what are you doing going forward now? Now that
the global series I know just ended well with the
Cambridge.
>> Speaker C (28:15):
I think now we're looking for more stability. As I
mentioned we had this thing called community plan.
So we really try to push the team to work within
the field, uh arts in the bar, but outside of the
bar towards education, environment, some social
aspect. We haven't done as much as we wanted the
past year because we really got busy and we hired
(28:36):
new positions. So the team got bigger. We also
purchased um, a uh, Little Red Door last year. So
we went through a company of 8 to a company of 29.
So there were some big changes for us. I think we
were looking for more stability in order to grow
and to start doing again to community feels that
really matter to us.
>> Susan Schwartz (28:57):
And as you brought up you took over Little Red
Door. How did that come about?
>> Speaker C (29:02):
So Little Red Door was going through some. They
were under administration so not getting to
bankruptcy but looking for some state uh of France
or looking for some new owners. So we found it was
honestly a good opportunity for us. When does the
one of the best buy in the world next? 300 meters
from your embarclass. So it was not a good
(29:24):
opportunity uh, financially and to grow as a
company. But also we didn't really want to see
Little Red Door going to bigger groups or to be
just bola for the. For the image or for the brand
and not really after legacy it deserves. There was
a mix of these things that led us for. To just go
(29:44):
through it and to go for it. So we won the bid and
we had the keys, and in two weeks, we had to, uh,
was. Was still the sixth best Buy in the world at
the time. So a lot of pressure, uh, on the team
and from the guests. Like, I guess maybe 95% of
the of our customers weren't aware that actually
(30:05):
been a change. So we had to step into some
pictures.
>> Susan Schwartz (30:09):
Yeah, yeah, I'm, um. You are their angels. I mean,
if anyone should take over how fabulous that it
was you guys, because you certainly have the same
vision and ethos and missions, and so it's great
to see. So, um, thank you. I think, you know,
that's a great place to stop. Um, thank you. Um,
(30:30):
obviously you've got a great website where anyone
can find anything, and I'll have all the links on
the show notes. So, you know, everyone head to
Paris and go to the pub. I know that sounds funny,
but I.
>> Speaker C (30:44):
Think our website is also very interesting because
we are the. Every year we do an ESG report. I
think it's. It's nice to go through it as a
bartender, as a business owner, because you can
find a lot of tips, and we're very transparent and
we love data. There's a lot of information in
there that can be useful or not. But, uh, really
interested to see us. If you're a little bit
nerdy, Uh, I think it's nice to go.
>> Susan Schwartz (31:06):
Definitely. It is. I am a little nerdy, and I've
been through it, and it's fantastic. But thank you
so much for being on the show. It's great to hear
your story. It makes me want to get on your show
right now and come out and have a drink with you,
even though it's only, uh, 8:30 in the morning
here.
>> Speaker C (31:20):
Thank you so much for having me. It was great.
>> Susan Schwartz (31:22):
Sure.
It was great for me too. So, um, thanks and
abiento.
>> Speaker C (31:26):
Bye. Bye.
>> Susan Schwartz (31:28):
I so want to thank Yasen for.
Joining me on the program.
I must admit it, this may be the cocktail of the
week that might have my favorite name. Our
cocktail of the week is the cigarette after sex.
(31:49):
How French is that?
First you need a wine glass.
Then wet the side of it and dip it into some
lapsang souchong tea. Then fill that glass with
ice and pour in all the ingredients. 25 mils of
siete mistieros mezcal, 15 mils of sloe jam, 90
(32:15):
milliliters of agua uh, de Jamaica and 10
milliliters of verju and then stir well. Then add
more ice if necessary and serve. You'll find this
recipe and all the cocktails of the
week@alushlifemanual uh.com thanks for everyone's
(32:47):
patience. Seems like scheduling can be really
tough at this time of year. If you live for Lush
Life, then make sure you head out to the bars you
love and order a drink. Theme music for Lush Life
is by Steven Shapiro and used with permission. And
Lush Life is always and will be forever produced
by Evo, Terra and Simpler Media Productions. Which
(33:09):
leads me to say the wise words of Oscar Wilde all
things in moderation, including moderation, and
always drink responsibly. Next time we head from
Paris to Cinzi. Until then, bottoms.
Um.
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