An Interview with Lucrezia Frosutto, Head Mixologist at PocketSquare
Situated in Whitechapel, PocketSquare has become a favourite for its inventive cocktails and unbeatable views across east London. For the bar’s seventh menu since opening over three years ago, the team looked back at their most popular cocktails since the launch and found them all to include gin. In honour of this, their latest menu celebrates the bar’s signature gin cocktails.
We were keen to catch up with head mixologist Lucrezia Frosutto to learn more about the inspiration behind the bars’ sustainable ethos and what inspired her to pursue a career within the hospitality sector.
Firstly, congratulations on the completion of a successful festive season. What’s been the highlights for you and the PocketSquare team?
The Christmas period was packed with parties and went very well, with great teamwork and smooth services, and the launch of this current Signature menu in the bar has been very exciting!
This winter saw the introduction of your seventh cocktail menu. How long does it typically take you and the PocketSquare team to curate a seasonal cocktail menu?
It takes us about 4 months from start, (deciding the theme and follow up with the stories), to finish (final product). So a long process of creativity and refining!
Gin provided the inspiration behind your seasonal menu. What other elements were you keen to incorporate into the mix?
Sustainability has been a key focus for us at PocketSquare since we opened in 2021, and in the past year, we have tried even harder to incorporate sustainable practices wherever possible. Sustainable practices on our current menu include reducing bar waste by reusing ‘waste’ ingredients, e.g., discarded coffee grounds and flat ZERO prosecco (non-alcoholic), when creating cocktails.
How do you balance creativity with taste when inventing a cocktail menu?
Balancing a cocktail is like a dance between flavours, so once you have picked your flavours and made sure they go together, or “fight” like in an angry dance, you can find your balance. Sometimes, a little sugar, lime juice or a few drops of bitters can go a long way in finding a balance of flavours.
How important has it become to reduce waste while still making eye-catching cocktails?
As a team, we are focused on driving down the waste from bartending, and we have poured time and creativity into finding new ways to repurpose ingredients from dishes and cocktails, using ingredients in their entirety and to creating as many ingredients as possible in-house to reduce what we buy in. Reusing ingredients to create eye-catching garnishes has also been key in keeping our cocktails aesthetically pleasing too.
What would be your signature cocktail, and why? Can you talk us through its ingredients and process?
For me, this changes often, but at the moment, it would be my first ever savoury cocktail, ‘Capsicum’. A cocktail that is a little eccentric and incorporates creative techniques that I have worked hard to develop.
CAPSICUM
Appleton 8
Yellow Chartreuse – herbal liquor
Yellow Bell Pepper Juice – sourced locally, we juice the bell pepper adding only a little water to extract as much juice from it.
Lemon Juice
Thyme and Coriander Syrup – made in-house like all our syrups, this was created using herbs grown on our terrace in PocketSquare
Garnish: Smoked paprika oil made in-house
When did you decide to take a career route into mixology and what other roles did you have within the hospitality sector?
I’ve always loved the idea of creating beautiful and especially yummy drinks since I was a teen, moving to London just facilitated the process. I believe that to know how to run a successful business, a person should touch base with all the different positions as they work their way up so as to have a better understanding of the challenges others might have or how to help colleagues in different sectors. I’ve been a barback, waitress, hostess and sommelier (to a certain level, as I have certification from the WSET up to level 2). I have spent time in the kitchen and in managerial positions like supervisor and assistant manager.
You’ve been in the hospitality industry for just under thirteen years. What’s been your highlights and what makes this sector so different from others?
That’s a tough question! I think top highlights would be: 1. The excellent service and learning how sustainable a business can be (learned at Spring Restaurant) 2. The fun of working in a busy cocktail bar in Brixton (384) 3. The freedom of creativity given here at PocketSquare from day one 4. EVERY SINGLE TIME a guest has said we made their night unforgettable – it means a lot to me knowing a guest has left the venue happy after we provided them with an experience – no matter if it’s for special occasions or for regulars.
What’s been your most memorable experience as a mixologist?
Very hard to pick from, but it would probably be a mix between creating and seeing how much people enjoyed my first-ever savoury cocktail; and seeing the surprised but happy reaction when they first tried it.
What advice would you give anyone looking to pursue a career as a mixologist, and what attributes do you think have helped you?
Be ready to always challenge yourself and experiment – even if an experiment doesn’t turn out well, learn from it or give it a different life/purpose.
You DON’T need fancy degrees to be a mixologist if you have curiosity and the will to educate yourself and research techniques and flavours.
And a little note to the female mixologist: the hospitality, especially bartender/mixology world, can be quite male-dominated, but don’t let that discourage you or make you think you can’t make it and be one of the top mixologists. Be strong, head up and show them your value after all, as my grandma always said, “Nessuno e’ nato professore” (no one is born a professor).
What are your hopes for the future?
I would love to explore more sustainable practices (some new ideas are in the bag already) and hope to influence and spread the message to people at home, starting with little steps. The dream used to be to have my own place one day, but it’s slowly morphing into creating a space where we can educate and help develop a similar environment to what we are trying to achieve here at PocketSquare in many other places around the world (yes, thinking a little big), and based the different environment they are surrounded by.
Can you give us any hints as to what ingredients you think will feature on your Spring cocktail menu?
One way for us to work with sustainability is by trying to work with seasonal fruits, vegetables and herbs…so seasonal spring and summer ingredients will definitely be key.
When you’re not creating must-drink cocktails, what do you like to do to unwind?
I have a lovely dog, Yorkshire Terrier named Dante, that is the best therapy in the world! (and he’s very famous across the hotel team too), I love to read books (thrillers, fantasy and mystery) and baking (as I have a sweet tooth), and recently picked up an old hobby, working with clay, and a new one, cross stitching!
Finally, apart from gin, what ingredient should every budding mixologist have in their drink’s cabinet?
A good vermouth and my secret not-so-secret ingredient: Bitters.
pocketsquare.london | @pocketsquarelondon
If you liked this interview, you may be interested to read An Interview with Richard Alston, Founder and CEO, Tūn Brewing Company
