Worksmith Events –
Our Industry-Focused 2023
Trade events, from our all-singing all-dancing MCF Symposium next week to our monthly Worksmith Community Talks, are a crucial part of the Worksmith way of doing business.
Trade events, from our all-singing all-dancing MCF Symposium next week to our monthly Worksmith Community Talks, are a crucial part of the Worksmith way of doing business. They don’t pile up the gold coins in our bank vaults, but we think they’re worth every hour of staff time and more. And as we get into the depth of 2023, here’s what we’ve got in store for you, and why.
What’s with trying to get us all in a room together?
Honestly, our events don’t pay our wages or our Collingwood rent. We don’t say that to sound like we’re some generous billy-big-balls or the most philanthropic hospitality outfit going in the southern hemisphere. We say it to be transparent. We’re not in events because we want to make money from them (although we do want to make money - that’s just a whole other business plan).
So why are we trying to put on talks, workshops, debates and drinks for the hospitality industry? Firstly, and perhaps it goes without saying, we all feel incredibly lucky to know the intelligent, wise and experienced people in our industry that we’ve grown up bartending, cooking, distilling, fermenting, writing, managing and baristing alongside. Their knowledge is unquestionably worth downloading for new generations of hospitality, because, and here’s the real crux, we want and need this industry to keep growing, and continue to be an incredible place to spend a career in. For you, and for us. It can’t be that without discussion, reflection and knowledge sharing.
Secondly we know, despite the fact we’ve collected a fair bit of experience over the years, that we don’t know everything. And we can’t hope to be a leader without also growing, learning and adapting our approach and our business to wherever this beautiful industry is headed. So inviting you all into our space, our brains and our hearts is incredibly enriching for Worksmith.
Lastly, we’re curious. We want to know what the experts think, what it takes to get a mentor, if non-alc spirits are the future, or what can be done to get more Australian products into rails. We’re curious because we’re passionate about what we do. And we thought if we’re wondering this, maybe others will too. So here’s what we’ve been wondering lately.
James Irvine of Four Pillars Gin presenting at the 2022 MCF Symposium.
The 2023 List of Events
March - MCF Symposium. Happening next week (quick, get your tickets). We’re covering what bar ownership looks like after the first year, the task to get Australian spirits in the rail and what the future is for non-alc spirits.
May - Our next Worksmith Community Talk will look at food media and the relationship between journalists and the hospitality industry, which has never seemed more frayed. Who is responsible and do media outlets have some work to do?
June - Mental Health & Resilience, a deep dive into the brains of our industry and how we can foster their health as much as the physical bodies in hospitality.
July - what is the Future of Restaurants for Australia? We’ll help Square launch their yearly report into the topic. Will fine dining continue to lose its foothold, how will the innovators of our industry push through whilst making ends meet and can restaurants evolve to sustain themselves?
The Worksmith team behind the stick at Fostering Cultures in August 2022.
August - Interactive Food, in partnership with Monash University we’re bringing back the notion of playing with your food and drink - and why we should all be touching, smelling and tasting the world around us.
September - our Symposium will be on the road and busting out of Melbourne for the first time. Stay tuned as we travel north. This month we’ll also be hosting MCF itself, a huge celebration of Melbourne’s bars and cocktail culture.
November - Our first workshop will see us peel back the curtain for bartenders and industry who want to get their hands soaked in booze and pick up techniques from our in-house liquid wizard Darren Leaney. If you’ve ever wanted to learn how to unlock flavours and textures that regular shaking and stirring can’t, this one's for you.
Stay tuned as we announce the final three months of the year in the next month.