As a true “cocktail steward” he showcases Neapolitan hospitality at L’Antiquario, now recognized as one of the best bars in the world. Strictly accompanied by his white jacket, Alex Frezza lives to make bartending an honorable profession, to which he dedicates himself until retirement “with pride and satisfaction”.
What was your first approach to Bartender.it? Do you remember your first event organized by us that you attended?
Many years ago, at the first Agave Experience organized at the Yguana Cafè in Milan. I had come specially from Naples just for that: at that time meeting the influential and important people of our industry was difficult and such occasions were quite rare. A beautiful memory with Dom Costa, Julio Bermejo and other tequila producers, as well as bartenders from all over Italy.
Since 2006, more or less the arrival of Facebook in Italy which coincided with the foundation year of Bartender.it what, what idea, concept – not people in particular – but trend, has changed the world of cocktail bars in Italy ?
The knowledge that cocktail bars were a global trend and that suddenly you had access to what your colleagues around the world were doing, practically in real time and not by reading a magazine or printed book months or years later.
What memory do you have, if you have, of Dom Costa, the first Italian bartender to connect the world of Italian cocktails with the world of global mixing in the last 30 years?
I have a very personal memory of Dom: I often met him for large events and demonstrations throughout Italy, but I was particularly keen to meet him when he came to Naples for the Tattoo Fest, at the stand of a rum brand. Every year I went there just to say hello, have a chat and have a shot of spiced rum. A totally out of context and funny situation, in which I always had a lot of laughs with Dom.
What would you change or design in the place where you work?
The bathrooms. I would make them like those of an atomic submarine.
Would you like to have your own place, in which you “decide”, thinking about it, building it (… and putting the money into it) to do it all by yourself?
Would be a dream. I would always start from designing the bathrooms. A real nerve center around which any activity that sells alcohol revolves.
Do you like being in the dining room as well as behind the counter and why?
I’m mainly in the hall. The bar is overrated in the world of hospitality: in the dining room you interact better with customers, you can read their needs better. From the bar you have a fixed perspective on the customer, from the dining room you can see the movement and flows of people, which are essential for understanding certain mechanisms.
In which other city in the world (compared to the one you are in now) would you like to go to work full time?
Sydney. I was there recently and it was the first place, in years of travelling, that gave me this stimulus. Otherwise I’ll stay in Naples or on my island, Procida.
How much more can your city grow in terms of mixing and – more generally – in terms of hospitality?
There are no limits, you can always do better. Organic growth is a continuous thread: it is not the goal we have to focus on, but the process. It takes time and patience. I am aware of being in this process and I know that, every year, we manage to improve something. The greatest growth is that of service and hospitality: we already have the best products and the knowledge to work them; what makes the difference everywhere, from pizzerias to hotel cocktail bars, is the way things are served, the attention to the customer, the study of details and the love that is transmitted towards those who choose you as a destination.
Besides your own, do you have at least three favorite bars (excluding the ones in the Magnificent 7!)?
Harry’s bar in Venice, my favorite bar in the world. For a thousand reasons, I tell you the dumbest: three-legged tables. Schumman’s bar in Munich: a giant! A bar that has been mixing for so many years in the city of beer is a miracle in itself. Doing it with the quality and the standard with which they do it… that’s an amazing thing. Aguardiente in Marina di Ravenna: when I want to remember what it means to “work without compromise” I go to Jimmy and I understand how much I am a nonentity.
Tell us an adjective for each of the other Magnificent 7!
Ago Perrone: Granitic / Patrick Pistolesi: Charismatic / Stefano Catino: Cataclysmic. / Simone Caporale: Focused / Allessando Palazzi: Excellent / Giacomo Giannotti: Modern
Is there anything you wouldn’t do again? Something you regretted in your professional life, beyond that all experiences lead to where you are now…
So many, it’s hard to list them all. I would risk more if I could go back.
To overcome the stereotypes of Italian (“pizza, pasta and mandolin” style), do you think it would be better to show how to make a perfect Negroni, or… change the cocktail?
I live in the city of stereotypes: stereotypes are everything, they are the first thing against which one must fight or confirm. Negative or positive preconceptions are the first baggage that customers bring us. The goal is to surprise them positively if they are negative or confirm them if they are positive. A good Negroni is always the right start: it’s better to start from the basics and then grow, than to immediately shoot high.
A favorite dish to eat and one to cook at home
To eat a nice gricia in Rome. To cook spaghetti garlic oil and lemon.
In your free time: mountain retreat? Bungalow by the sea or rustic in the countryside?
Parents’ house in Procida.
Are you an official brand ambassador?
No, I’m everyone’s woman. They called me rose mouth.
Is there anyone you consider your Master? And someone who considers you his?
I have few teachers: Sasha Petraske, Charles Schumann, Salvatore Calabrese perhaps among the most important. Then I have many examples that are closer to me: Patrick Pistolesi, Simone Caporale, Remy Savage, Martin Hudak, etc.
If someone has me as a teacher, I feel flattered but I’ve never been good at teaching. At best I can set an example.
Even you, as a child, will have asked the usual question “what do you want to be when you grow up”. What did you answer?
It’s been so long and I’ve changed my mind so many times I can’t remember. I have 38 exams in architecture and maybe that would have been a good career…
There is a lot of talk about artificial intelligence: in your job, what would you let a machine do and what would you never let it do?
I have been trying to make ChatGpt staff shifts for 3 months…. I still haven’t succeeded. When the AI can take turns for me, then I’ll worry about the future of humanity. Until then, we are safe.
At your level, the world of bartending is aimed at a “high” target. Would you like to “open” your creations to those with less possibilities? And how would you do it? After all, if Bottura invented the Refectories…
I thought about it a lot, especially during the lockdowns. My chef friends were involved in many positive and inclusive initiatives. We at the bar have never been considered at all…. I realize that alcohol is a topic that hardly fits into certain mechanisms and that, to do so, you need the hand of someone really expert, but I have some things in mind and sooner or later I’ll put them into practice.