{"id":24198,"date":"2014-11-24T12:46:09","date_gmt":"2014-11-24T12:46:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/?p=24198"},"modified":"2020-11-06T11:10:12","modified_gmt":"2020-11-06T11:10:12","slug":"cardiff-character-shane-kennedy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2014\/11\/24\/cardiff-character-shane-kennedy\/","title":{"rendered":"Cardiff Character: Shane Kennedy"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Sat in a cosy corner of independent bar and music venue, Ten Feet Tall, the new assistant general manager Shane Kennedy explains with a soft Irish accent, \u201cMy general ethos is drink less, drink well.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He\u2019s only been there for two and half weeks, but it\u2019s clear Kennedy fits in as his new colleagues greet him warmly and he nods appreciatively whilst they pass by, preparing for the evening shift. Against the dim lights and ambient jazz soundtrack he looks every inch the dapper gentleman. Tall, slim and dark-haired the 26 year old cuts a sharp figure in tweed trousers, a white shirt and braces. He wouldn\u2019t be out of place in a 1920s swinging Jazz club.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2014\/11\/Shane-Kennedy-10-Feet-Tall-Profile-Shot.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-24201\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2014\/11\/Shane-Kennedy-10-Feet-Tall-Profile-Shot-299x312.jpg\" alt=\"Shane Kennedy 10 Feet Tall Profile Shot\" width=\"299\" height=\"312\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-24201\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2014\/11\/Shane-Kennedy-10-Feet-Tall-Profile-Shot-299x312.jpg\" alt=\"Shane Kennedy 10 Feet Tall Profile Shot\" width=\"299\" height=\"312\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Twiddling the end of his moustache Kennedy recalls how, whilst studying Fine Art in Bath Spa, he would regularly visit Cardiff with his brother, but saw it as \u201cA really grotty and grimy scene.\u201d However since moving to Cardiff when he graduated in 2007 he admits that it has become more homely: \u201cIt\u2019s a really nice city. People are friendly, quite similar to people where I\u2019m from.\u201d He does not see himself returning to settle in the village of Sion Mills, County Tyrone. Having lived in Cardiff for \u2018about eight years\u2019 (he is vague about the specificities of his own life, but ask him anything about the ageing of alcohol and there is no uncertainty), he is now well-established in the city\u2019s bar scene.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Challenging ideas<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Whilst working in Cardiff bars Kennedy has witnessed what he calls \u201cproblem drinkers\u201d. But rather than hauling out anyone who may have had a bit too much, Kennedy has a different approach: \u201cIf you\u2019re inebriated we won\u2019t kick you out. We\u2019ll politely ask you not to drink for half an hour and perhaps have a glass of water. We give people the opportunity to sober up a little bit.\u201d This is all part of his mission to encourage the public to understand alcohol better.<\/p>\n<p>Kennedy has earned an impressive reputation working behind the city\u2019s independent cocktail bars. After six months training at TGI Friday he moved onto Lab 22 and later Mocka Lounge, where he has had his own creation immortalised on the menu and where, until his recent departure he ran the monthly Pourfection Academy elite bartending competition: \u201cThe whole idea was to encourage Cardiff bartenders to look at alcohol in a wider breadth than the standard pub service. It\u2019s about making drinks interesting and challenging the whole idea of what a drink is.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Job dedication<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Whilst at Lab 22 Kennedy was inspired by the \u201ccreative and inventive element of cocktail making,\u201d and for him, as an artist (he still does occasional promotional work), cocktails are an art form. But the knowledge behind the process is as important as the outcome: \u201cIf anyone ever orders a gin off me God help them because they\u2019re getting a 25 minute presentation from me on which gin they should drink and why.\u201d Living in a house of bartenders, he lives and breathes the job. He admits that shifts are tough and he can \u201ceasily walk two or three miles up and down the bar.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>However, despite having spent the day ill in bed, Kennedy strides over to the bar for another evening at work.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With the drinking season underway one bartender in Cardiff is on a mission to improve our attitude to alcohol<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":252,"featured_media":24200,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[159,32,1304],"coauthors":[7147],"class_list":["post-24198","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food","tag-cocktails","tag-drinking","tag-ten-feet-tall"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.2 - 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