At Feels Botanical, we celebrate individuality and creativity coming together to create something extraordinary. This ethos guides everything we do, from crafting our spirits to collaborating with inspiring talents. This time, we’re thrilled to feature Taka, the creative mind leading the bar team at the iconic Bennelong Restaurant in the Sydney Opera House.
Taka’s journey from barback to an industry leader is a testament to passion, persistence, and an unwavering dedication to the craft. With a strong connection to Australian produce and an innovative approach to cocktails, Taka shares his story, inspirations, and how Feels Botanical's Rouse has found its place at Bennelong. Dive in to discover how logic, artistry, and collaboration come together in his creative process, and why a bowl of ramen might just be the secret to his reset.
Name: Taka
Where are you Living: Sydney
What you do: I lead the bar team -or as I like to think of it taking care of the kids!
Where do you work: Bennelong Restaurant
Follow along: @bennelong_sydney
How did you start out in your industry, and what venues have you worked in throughout your career? Even during high school, I was interested in the image of cocktail bartending. When I moved to Sydney for uni I started working as a barback, then started slowly moving into the bar at hemmesphere. Across the years I’ve learnt the most at the original Eau de Vie but all other venues around the town have taught me important aspects about Bartending and hospitality as a whole.
What did you feel, in an emotive sense, when you first came into contact with the Feels Botanical brand and product range? More than an emotional being, I’m much more of a logical person so my immediate reaction was “how can I make these spirits work?” and “It’s nice to finally have an Aussie take on uncategorisable drinks” and “will our guests be interested?”
What were the synergies between the Feels brand and your venues? Being in such an iconic Australian building, we always try to prioritise and push Australian products. Even more so if said products are well made, well thought out, and able to properly utilise the native botanicals.
How and why did you want to utilise Feels as a product offering to your clientele and which one are you currently using? Over the past year we’ve been running a program called Distillery Down Under where we create a feature page for one small high quality Australian distillery. We’re proud to offer our support to those who make our industry that much more versatile and exciting. For the next 2 months over the festive season, we’ll be featuring the Feels Rouse.
Tell us about the place you tap into when you work on bringing to life a drink within your venue? The creation of drinks in our venue is never done alone. We all individually start with an idea and try to make it come to life. Along the way we reach out to each other to see how we can make that idea shine brighter.
How has working on this project inspired, challenged and pushed your approach to your work? This project was initially thought up by our assistant manager and watching him come up with sometimes the most random ideas (which he says comes to him in the shower!) has been a breath of fresh wind, pushing me to keep up with the creations and techniques of the current generation.
During your creative process, what role does feeling and logic play? Is one more important than the other? As previously mentioned, I’m much more of a logical person overall. However, in saying that, once I decide to use an idea, I’ll try and make it work to the bitter end since I don’t enjoy the feeling of defeat…
Is there a person or artist(s) that first inspired you? I have had many inspirations across the years from all those who have taught me in my career. My biggest one however has always stayed the same which is the Japanese culture as a whole, rather than an individual.
When do you feel most creative...When I’m trying to sleep…problem is it takes me a few moments to actually remember what the exact idea I had in mind was…
When I’m feeling burnt out, I wind down and reset by…having a bowl of ramen from Ryo’s…extra noodles & extra eggs.
My favourite way to drink Feels Rouse is… fresh lemon, strawberry & saffron syrup, soda
Advice to those wanting to get into your field: Always make sure to learn the basics, do the self-study, and be flexible. I have seen too many young gung-ho bartenders who expect the world without the effort.
