Manuel Terron, the managing director of Elixir Group, gets to rub shoulders with the rich and famous - as he tells us about his encounter serving drinks to renowned pianist and musician, Stevie Wonder.

Manuel started out in hospitality as a waiter. He worked at the Spanish Club in Brisbane and had his taste of being behind the bar mixing and serving drinks when the bartender didn't turn up one night (even though Manuel was only the sweet tender age of 16!!!) He went on to travel a bit, but the events of September 11 forced him out of New York back to Sydney, where he took up bar management and eventually earned a reputation for his sake-infused drinks and speciality cocktails. In 2002, Manuel was awarded Cocktail of the Year for his creation, the “Parisian Dawn”. He henceforth won several cocktail awards, and worked to establish the Art House hotel in Sydney as a premium cocktail venue, before moving to a Kings Cross establishment called Tokyo Rose where he once again worked on creating new Asian-fusion drinks.

In 2002 Manuel and two of his colleagues launched the Elixir Group, a bar consulting company specialising in brand development, bar training, cocktail creation and photo styling. In addition to consulting to bars and clubs, Elixir also consults for events for brands such as David Jones, Nike and Sydney Fashion Week. In 2005 he was approached by The Lifestyle Channel’s ‘Mixing it with the Best’ to be the host of their new program, and travelled around the world shooting segments for it. He’s currently working on a new program about bars around the world.

In 2007 he was approached by the Ryde Institute of TAFE to develop a cocktail mixology course that should be available from June/July this year. In addition to all this he is also the Bar & Training Consultant for The Argyle at the Rocks in Sydney. He also regularly contributes to Bars & Clubs, Venue and Barfly magazines.

Bar people are always in demand in Sydney and other cities around Australia, and - as Manuel's case has illustrated - trained bar staff are able to travel around the world with their skill. So if you have a zest for making cocktails or enjoy pouring drinks for people, consider the multiple ways you can develop and apply your talents, which may reap life-changing and highly satisfying rewards!