Drink Me

Nick Perry is a lifelong hospitality professional who has secured a role in practically every department of the restaurant industry. Brought up in Greenfield, Greater Manchester, into a food-and-drink-loving family, he began working in pubs and restaurants as soon as his age would permit. After studying in his hometown, he took up restaurant work full time in Central Manchester before embarking on a two-year working holiday, which took in Asia and Australasia. Here his passion for great food and drink grew and, upon his return to the UK, he quickly moved to London to seek professional growth in hospitality. It was working for London restaurateur Jamie Oliver where Nick first crossed paths with Paul Rosser, becoming friends, and eventually going into business together curating pop-up cocktail and restaurant events as Paloma Drinks Co.Paul Rosser was born into a large Mediterranean family; as a child, he was surrounded by the tastes and aromas of traditional home-cooked food. He spent many years in the family kitchen cooking with his Nana, falling in love with fresh, seasonal produce, and learning an array of cooking techniques. As he grew older, Paul took these techniques and applied them to alcohol; experimenting at home by mixing his own cocktails with whatever ingredients were at hand, home-distilling spirits, and carbonating his own tonic water and soda concoctions.  This combined passion for food and drink would stand Paul in good stead as, at 18 years old, he moved to London to take up a management position at the Modern British Canteen in Spitalfields Market, a restaurant which aimed to revamp the idea of what British food could be by using the highest quality local artisanal produce. Paul delved into his work, developing his knowledge and skill under the tutelage of Mathew Horvath, now one of Gordon Ramsey’s right-hand men. Paul went on to become the restaurant’s youngest-ever general manager, at 20 years old, and helped to open and manage four more sites for them over the next three years. During this time, Paul developed his palate for cocktails further, moving beyond the classics, experimenting with unique and unusual flavour profiles, adding cocktails to the restaurants’ drinks menus with close consideration to the food on offer.   Paul went on to manage many other well-respected restaurants in the capital, including restaurants for celebrity chef Jamie Oliver. In 2014, Paul crossed paths with Nick Perry, whilst working together at said restaurant, they became close friends and soon realised they had a shared passion for cocktails, flavour, and experimentation, which eventually led to their founding of the pop-up cocktail and restaurant events business, Paloma Drinks Co.  Nick and Paul founded the Paloma Drinks Co. as remedy to the limited range of cocktails and flavour profiles on the drink menus of London restaurants. Their company began hosting pop-up cocktail events both in the UK and abroad, showcasing an intriguing and unusual range of cocktail flavours for an affordable price. These events were always centred on Nick and Paul’s shared vision of what a good cocktail should be; they ensured each event was unique, with a one-off cocktail menu comprised of new drinks focused on a range of herbal and savoury flavours. Paul and Nick continue to develop their company to this day, with a range of public, corporate, and private-hire events. They also provide hospitality consultancy to a range of businesses, from small independent street food traders to well-known high street brands. This book is the culmination of Nick and Paul’s work over the last few years, bringing together a range of flavours and techniques that will challenge the reader, whilst also being easy to produce from any home kitchen.