Jack Wakelin AKA Cocktail Master at Public

“If we don’t protect our waters then what will happen to life?”

It’s the main source of all life. The lifeblood element that makes up 60% of our bodies. It’s the liquid that we don’t drink enough of, yet waste effortlessly.
 
We think there is an abundance, yet only one percent can be touched. If we don’t protect our waters, then what will happen to life?

“Sheffield has always been a city of makers, way before cocktail shakers”
 
Jack Wakelin AKA Cocktail Master at Public got into the industry accidentally but soon fell in love with working behind the bar. Six years later Jack is Drinks Manager for the Rockingham Group, the people behind three of Sheffield’s most loved bars – Picture House Social, The Great Gatsy and Public, plus brand new all day café Ambulo.
 
Nestled on the ground floor of the Millennium Gallery, Ambulo has been open just a few weeks but is already a firm Sheffield favourite with its chilled, family vibes. Much like the Rockingham Group’s other venues, creating a venue which is kind to the environment was a top priority when opening Ambulo, and sustainability runs through everything they do.

“There’s obvious things we can do to conserve water. It’s the little things.”
 
At Ambulo, wine is served on tap straight from the keg, saving around 120 glass wine bottles from the recycling bin every week. Cocktails are batch made too, to reduce the ice waste that comes from shaking each drink individually. It follows a pattern of sustainability in drinks which Jack has been championing since his time at Picture House Social.

When Public, a cocktail-lead bar in the former public convenience underneath Sheffield Town Hall, opened 15 months ago, reducing waste was at the core of everything done behind the bar. With menu inspiration coming from trips to the Peak District, branding inspiration coming from former council caretaker Paul Greenwood’s logbook handwriting, and sustainability at its heart, it’s no surprise that Public was soon winning awards, and became the Observer Food Monthly’s Best Place to Drink in the UK 2018.
 
“Waste at bars is absolutely disgusting. You can waste absurd amounts of water in a bar, I dread to think what big chains do.”
 
At Public, spent coffee is used to make sherry while unused and stale bread from the kitchens is infused into a gin, which goes on to become the key ingredient in a breakfast martini. Fruit peel and other citrus waste is transformed into cordials while the ends of charcuterie is distilled with a mescal. Bananas which are past their best are used to make cocktails, which taste exactly like their foam counterparts.

Cutting down waste is key for Jack, and something he believes all bars should be doing. And it’s not just on the cocktail menu that waste can be reduced. Energy can be harvested from coffee machines, waste water can be used to water plants or in toilet systems. There’s always an opportunity to save precious, water, energy and other resources, it’s sometimes just a case of being inventive. For Jack, it’s important to take that time to find ways to reduce waste.
 
“If we don’t protect our waters then what will happen to life?”Words by Molly McGreevy.