DRINKS ON ME

There is mixing drinks, and then there is Mixologist Seth. The man who turns flavour into feeling and a glass into a memory you cannot forget. He does not pour drinks. He creates moments. He does not follow flavour. He builds it. Bold. Unapologetic. Here to shake Harare awake, one blend, one pour, one unforgettable experience at a time.

But what is mixology?

"Mixology is my art. It is chemistry with a heartbeat. You take flavours that should not meet, you blend them, you balance them, and suddenly you have created something that makes a person stop, taste, and feel. I am not just mixing drinks, I am mixing emotions. I am creating a moment that lives long after the glass is empty."

But how did it start?

"I started my journey in the kitchen as a steward back in 2010 at Mulungushi Conference Centre, Zambia. Had no idea what I was doing, as strings had been pulled for me to get that job," he said.

Being a novice, the heat in the kitchen was too much. But quitting was not an option. He had to keep and maintain a certain posture. After spending a solid three years enduring the heat, Seth finally decided to fold his apron and head South despite the experience garnered around executive chefs, sous chefs and cooks.

In 2013, having travelled to South Africa, he became a jack of all trades, working as a delivery boy, packer and cook. Months later, barely settled but surviving, he went back to what he knew. South Africa was not one job. It was many classrooms. OR Tambo taught him speed. Monte Casino taught him pressure. He wasn't collecting jobs, he was collecting lessons.

In 2018, he was promoted to kitchen supervisor during a time he believed he had started mastering his own craft. Then back home, Victoria Falls taught him something else. How to perform for people who had seen everything. How to make a guest stop and actually taste. "Something shifted in me, and I realised there was a passion that lay hidden within me."

He started learning about espresso, coffee, cappuccino, old-fashioned signature cocktails, classic margaritas, milkshakes, smoothies and Cosmopolitans. "It was like a whole new world had opened up. My interest was piqued. That blend and fusion of flavour ignited a passion I didn't know lay in me. It was like the floodgates had opened." Though he didn't get it right the first time, he kept pushing for excellence.

"When you find something you really love, you can't help but work for it. Starting out was never easy. I didn't really understand flavour and balance." Not to talk of an audience watching, that gave him jitters, yet he kept his composure. He felt that inexplicable sense of belonging.

"This was my Damascus moment. Eureka! Eureka! I wasn't going to let this go," he said, with great satisfaction in his eyes. The process of mastering his own craft came at a price, yet he paid it all in full, no debt owed. "Some people gave me the nasty look, some raised eyebrows, some threw not-so-nice comments. Felt like throwing myself in the freezer or letting the blender just crush me. While others urged me on."

With time, he had mastered mixing, crafting, and delivering a solid experience complemented with skill and creativity. This was never just about drinks. It was about belonging. It was about finding the one place where he did not have to shrink. Behind that bar, Seth found himself. Now he is inviting Harare to find something in that glass too. One blend. One pour. One unforgettable experience.

It's Friday, and drinks surely are on our mixologist's weekend special.

Mixologist Seth