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Bartender Darren Defretes brings youthful energy to Jakarta's bar scene
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Point of sail: Darren Defretes cut his professional teeth bartending in the Maldives for a year before making his mark in Indonesia. (Courtesy of Darren Defretes) (Courtesy of Darren Defretes)
T
he 27-year-old bartender, mixologist and entrepreneur embodies the classic pearl of wisdom – that the young should reach for the stars.
Darren Defretes knows very well how young he is – especially when he compares his age and experience to the more seasoned bartenders in Jakarta. Ironically, he has one particular pet peeve: when people of his age group come up to him and ask how much money a bartender makes.
Even though Darren appreciates how his generational peers have started taking an interest in bartending as a vocation, he thinks that "passion" should remain a critical element in their minds before they start thinking about the money. After all, even someone as young and prodigious as Darren Defretes had to start from the bottom – both technically and mentally.
"There's no guarantee that a bartender or a mixologist will achieve success if they're not passionate about their work," said Darren in an interview on Tuesday. "Any vocation, as long as it is done passionately, will lead to success. Perhaps because they are exposed to bars and social media, [young people] nowadays see things way too far ahead that they forget the small stuff."
The young could be wayward at times. Nonetheless, Darren assured them that age did not and should not restrict one's capacity, as shown by what he had accomplished so far.
"Don't let anyone undermine us just because we're young. We can still be everyone's role model – with our achievements and hard work. Efforts will pay off," he said.
