At The Deck Cafe & Bar at Batu Karang Lembongan Resort & Day Spa, it is sometimes fun to let the cat out of the bag, and share some of the secrets to our success. And one of those (not so big) secrets to the success of our cocktail menus, is our character of an Italian mixologist, Luca. Born and raised in a small Italian village called Villa Musone, or more widely known is Ancona, Luca comes from a family who works very closely with the Church with his mother being a teacher of theology and father working at the large church in Loreto (part of Ancona). After pursuing his own path studying Accounting, Luca quickly learned this was not for him, and went for a professional life behind the bar (a few shades away from his family!). His first bar job was at the local water park, where he then worked as Bar Manager for one of the Heieneken Green Stages in Italy, then as a Barista/Bartender at La Dolce Vita in Porto Recanti. At 30 years old, Luca followed his heart to New Zealand, where his mixology skills got serious at Andiamo’s, learning from the best of the best. Once he tightened up his skills, Luca then moved back to Florence where he worked at the rooftop bar of the famous Ferragamo Lungarno Collection, then finally on to London working at The Den in Soho where he just got better and better. Luca then wanted to get out of the hustle and bustle, and work on his surfing skills where he found us on Nusa Lembongan and he has not looked back since. Why Lembongan? 300 reasons, he says. He loves the paradise, his boss, being challenged every day, and working in a place where he says not knowing something is not a problem, but not wanting to learn something is a problem. Luca feels the most rewarding part of his job is seeing the staff, after months and months of training, finally shake the cocktails to his standard, when they actually “get it” – and that is what puts a smile on his face. Being The Negroni master, his recipe process always starts with one of the basics, and refines it using ingredients people wouldn’t normally think of. Please come visit us for some of Luca’s charismatic personality and unmistakably top-notch cocktails from a master of the art!
