Chef de Bar Raygrodski Bar

10 questions for Stelios Kalemis

The then 17-year-old started his first job in a café in the Athens suburb of Peristeri. At the beginning, he primarily worked at the dishwasher, but a short time later he was already working at the coffee machine.

In the years that follow he rides the 3rd coffee wave. After his military service, he began working at The Clumsies in Athens, which opened in 2014. At the top address - the bar is currently number 4 on the World's 50 Best Bars list - he trains the staff in coffee preparation.

A short time later, the owners appoint him as manager. In 2018, he moves to Switzerland, more precisely to the ooo Rooftop on Bahnhofstrasse. During the Corona crisis, he moved to Raygrodski, where he is still behind the counter today.

The 10 questions

1. Who would you like to serve a drink to?
Tom Hardy an Old Fashioned with Kilchoman PX Sherry Cask.

2. The first thing you do when you start working?
I open the dishwasher and eat something first.

3. What do you love about your job?
Serving people and seeing that they are satisfied.

4. What gets on your nerves the most?
When guests touch my bar utensils.

5. A world without social media would be...
... that would be something. It would be harder to follow the trends and the news. But people would be more honest and authentic.

6. What was your craziest trip?
When we traveled to Shanghai with The Clumsies team for three guest shifts.

7. What was the most unusual cocktail you ever mixed?
I don't make cocktails that "crazy." But at Clumsies, we had a Clarified Strawberry Daiquiri on the menu. At the time, that was pretty out of the ordinary.

8. What was the last luxury you treated yourself to?
Dinner at Birdman in Athens on my last trip to Greece.

9. Which three characteristics would you use to describe yourself?
Uncomplicated, modest, disciplined.

10. What would you do with the last 100 francs and the last 24 hours of your life?
I would probably exchange them for beer....

Stelios' Mix Tip

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

4 clTequila Blanco
4 clSt Germain
3 clLime juice
0.5 clBénédictine
Top upCranberry Juice Ocean Spray

This article appeared in
Issue 3-2022

BAR NEWS magazine as single issue

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