ISSUE
Friday, March 21, 2025
Volume 16 . Issue 51
Mohit comes from a small village in Himachal Pradesh (India). Choosing the hospitality industry and specialising in flair and mixology as a career choice didn’t go down very well with his family. This is because at that time it was not viewed as a very reputable job. For his family being a teacher or engineer would’ve been something that made them proud.
After some serious discussions, they allowed him to choose the path that he wanted and since then, they have been very supportive during his ups and downs in the industry. He started working at the Holiday Inn Hotel in India as a ‘trainee’ after completing his diploma in Hospitality Management.
Despite being good on the floor, he didn’t really have much chance to work at the Hotel Bar. But he found bartending attractive and his interest grew over time. Eventually, he ended up in a school of ‘flair & mixology’. After that, his journey as a mixologist began.
Over time, he realised something was missing. According to him, he was missing international exposure. So he decided to move to New Zealand for further study. During his study at PBRS, he got a job at one of New Zealand’s most iconic restaurant in Parnell. It was a struggle at the start as the working style was very different.
Eventually, he started to understand the importance of knowing how to make a good cup of coffee, lemon lime and bitters, as well as learning some typical kiwi hospitality abbreviations such as savi, bubbles, etc.
Being in the hospitality industry now for such a long time prompted him to come up with the idea to be hospitality bar trainer. With this job, he could do office hours and still carry on with his passion.
"Mohit is full of motivation and skills while he teaches his students. He is a very well known personality in India as far as bar works go. No doubt Mohit brought different types of skills, experience, and innovation to PBRS never seen before. Mohit proved it by winning the Supreme Cocktail Championship in 2017 organised by Restaurant and Chefs Association.
"Our students and staff have benefited a lot from Mohit's knowledge and style of work. He is an asset to the company in a true sense."
- PBRS Hospitality Lecturer: Larson Menezes
Mohit considers he was lucky enough that he got the opportunity to teach at the same school where he studied. He became a hospitality tutor at Professional Business and Restaurant School. Even now, he still misses the buzz of the hospitality industry. To remain up-to-date with the industry, he started designing wine and cocktail lists as a freelancer.
As he was reasonably well-known in India and been involved in product launches, restaurant openings, and even made appearances on television. So he thought he would enter the culinary competition this year. He is glad that he was able to produce some good results for his personal and professional development.
"I was looking for a Bar expert for my new Restaurant and Bar called SPIZE and Mohit's name was highly recommended by my industry friends. After some initial meetings, he agreed to take up the assignment to design the whole Wine & Cocktail menu for SPIZE and assist with other Bar activities. So far, he has not disappointed us and delivered far beyond our expectations, shown very professional yet creative approach with advanced thinking for our restaurant SPIZE at Wynyard Quarters. Even his name has big space on our website. We hope to be associated with him for a long-term".
- Satish Shetty (Director) SPIZE RESTAURANT - Shamiana Ltd/Mumbai Express Pty Ltd
New Zealand is a very diverse country and that gives him the opportunity to meet people from different countries and religions. According to him, “We can see the same things from different angles and we can produce drinks that suit different palates.” This helps him to remain innovative, develop different types of cocktails, and keep experimenting. From a bartender’s point of view, it’s a good enough reason to keep mixing. This is in keeping with his personal philosophy as he believes that “there is a drink for every moment”.
"Mohit is a consummate professional. He brings to PBRS world-class skills, extensive industry knowledge, international experience, and highly developed teaching capabilities. He is able to easily and effectively communicate relevant, complex, and novel information to his students, who respond enthusiastically to his every word. He is truly an asset to this organisation."
- PBRS Hospitality Lecturer: Martin Bugler
"Mohit Sharma is an excellent bartender and one of the best trainers in New Zealand. He regularly conducts flair bar training for New Zealand Bartenders' Association what is always of the highest quality and the best in New Zealand. Mohit is very patient with his trainees and has vast cocktail mixing knowledge and outstanding bar flairing skills. I have known Mohit for several years, he is a pleasure to work with and I have asked him to assist with training, with cocktail events on numerous occasions. Mohit was a contracted star flair bartender at the opening party of the 5 star Grand Millennium Auckland hotel where we catered for over 1,000 executives, CEOs and NZ politicians. I have met, worked with a vast number of bartenders during my career and I can confidently say that Mohit is the most innovative among all. He has excellent ideas, thinks outside the box and understands flavour, colour, aroma composition like no others. We enjoy working with Mohit and we truly hope we will continue working with him for a very long time."
- Szilveszter B Toth (Director of Training) New Zealand Bartenders' Association