The DRiNK Magazine Face: Faye Chen

http://www.drinkmagazine.asia/2018/02/26/face-faye-chen-speak-low-new-york/

The former bar manager of Speak Low in Shanghai, and winner of Bacardi Legacy China in 2015, has packed her bags for a new adventure: her own bar in New York.

The reason I became a bartender was quite interesting. It was about eight years ago, I was still in Taiwan. I wasn’t working in Taipei, but a small city, Taoyuan, as a waitress in a local bar. I didn’t know anything about drinks. For the bar’s anniversary, the female owner invited a bartender to perform flair on stage, where there was usually live music every night. I was so amazed by the show that I went to ask him for his teacher’s contact. After that I decided to learn flair bartending.

I am from Taiwan. You know at that time, being a bartender didn’t make you lots of money. But I was really interested in it and I started to take it seriously as a career five years ago. When I told my family I was going to be a bartender, they didn’t really stand by me – traditionally, parents don’t consider bartending a real career. I think their view has changed a bit now, not exactly telling me they’re proud, but yeah, I can feel it.

I came to Speak Low because of my business partner, GN Chan. We used to work together at a bar back in Taiwan. He moved to New York later and joined Angel’s Share, where Shingo Gokan was the consultant at that time. After winning many competitions, Shingo was heading to Shanghai to open his new bar, Speak Low. I wanted to move to NYC to work in a new environment, but GN introduced me to Shingo and said, “Why not go to Shanghai and help him with this new bar?”, because he was searching for bar managers who could speak Chinese. I’d never been before and thought it would be such a good opportunity to learn something new.

When I moved to Shanghai three years ago, the venue was just a construction site. I doubted it was workable. Now, no matter that Speak Low has been recognized by many awards or the bar operation is on the right track, having been part of the team that saw its growth, just like seeing a baby growing up, is my happiest memory. The worst moments, I would say, were because of how tiring the job was – we all know that it’s a Japanese company. Sometimes, that work pressure was unbearable. I started to run recently – during those three years I didn’t have time for exercise, I just went straight to bed after my shift.

http://www.drinkmagazine.asia/2018/02/26/face-faye-chen-speak-low-new-york/