Bartender Masterclass: On Mastery featuring Master Bartender Yael Vengroff (Part 2)

Training for Mastery takes years of work and dedication, and after a certain point there is no road map in any industry that helps the novice graduate to the journeyman, and the journeyman transform into the master. 

In our continuing Bartending Masterclass, host & Master Bartender Michael J. Neff, discussed the different phases of mastery. This time, we’re focusing on Mastery of the Heart with special guest Ms. Yael Vengroff (aka Yael Stormborn).

Yael is a long-time bartender who cut her teeth in some of the most storied bars in Houston (Grand Prize) & New York City (Pegu Club, Painkiller) before moving to Los Angeles to take over as Bar Director for The Spare Room in the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood and Genghis Coen. The group also has bars in Seattle and Nashville, which Yael helms, as well.

She has many accomplishments to her name, including winning the women-only charity speed competition Speed Rack, as well as being named Best American Bartender at the prestigious Tales of the Cocktail.

Some highlights from Part 2 of our conversation:

“I think that vulnerability is mastery. Vulnerability is Mastery of the Ego.”

“You have to be able to crush yourself to death and break yourself down enough to fully embody Mastery.”

“You can be vulnerable and logical at the same time, but it requires removing your emotions.”

Weird-tempo Banjo Tune: Katy Hill

Chapters

• 0:19 Introduction: Master Bartender Yael Vengroff
• 2:31 On Mastery & The Ego
• 5:01 Authenticity
• 5:55 On the Meaning of Music
• 9:49 Service vs. Humanity
• 12:56 How to Make a Badass Bartender
• 16:13 Why the Stools Have to Go
• 18:44 “My Arrogance is My Armor”
• 21:37 Building Up the Leaders
• 24:02 How the Staff Protects You
• 28:44 The Best Dive Bar in Houston
• 30:45 Downtown Houston vs. Downtown LA
• 33:04 Yael Meets Her Future Self at Warren’s