Welcome to our continuing series: Bar Mavericks where we get up close and personal with some of the industry’s shining stars responsible for the ongoing transformation of the bar and restaurant scene across Asia.
Join Chris Marshall as he goes in for a no-holds-barred Q&A with Victor Chirita, Restaurant Manager at Rabbit-Carrot-Gun, an East Coast favourite for foodie lovers of British cuisine.
Over a six-year journey in F&B and hospitality so far, the Victor’s work experience has taken him across America, Europe and Asia. This has given him excellent opportunities to nurture adaptability in service environments.
Victor considers his present position to to be his most outstanding professional achievement to date. And rightly so! Native to the small Easter Eruopean country of Moldova, a hidden gem little-known geographically, Victor has certainly come a long way from home. Passion, paired with hard work have made his career dreams a reality! In his own words, “regardless of where you come from, you can do anything.”
Accumulating knowledge from reading, travel, and meeting people from diverse walks of life have been key in shaping his career in the F&B industry. Being enthusiastic, understanding the importance of building relationships and staying self-motivated and results-oriented, have also highly contributed to his personal growth and development.
Looking back on his F&B starting point as a server for the Aramark Company in Alaska, Victor expresses deserved pride in his work and accomplishments since then — to having achieved his present management position at Rabbit-Carrot-Gun. Patiently and steadily working through a four-year period of commitment to excellence (which included learning bartending from scratch!), fuelled by driving ambition, and a willingness to train and learn; has enabled Victor to move up the ladder. He warmly appreciates the work culture and working alongside passionate people, and enjoying positive relationships with his co-workers, whom have become his family.
“Do what you love, and you’ll love what you do,” is a saying that rings true for Victor, as he acknowledges that “working in the F&B industry isn’t just a job, but rather a sub-culture and a way of life.” Victor admits that one of his biggest past mistakes was holding onto the mindset that ‘what he was doing wasn’t a noteworthy a job.’ This was influenced by challenges and conflict he initially faced early on, wondering whether F&B could be a stable career for him. However, overcoming this stigma turned out to be his biggest learning experience to discovering a newfound sense of deep joy, and purpose for the profession he now loves!
In Victor’s opinion, “a combination of qualities, attitude and hard work” are essentials that he believes engenders success in F&B. He highlights these three qualities:
- “Passion. Being passionate about what you’re doing makes the difference. People note, connect with and love the energy they see from someone who displays passion and enthusiasm in what they do.”
- “Curiosity. Curiosity leads to knowledge and improvement. One of the values at Rabbit-Carrot-Gun is CANI (Continuous and Never-ending Improvement). Never stop at one level, because you will never arrive. There’s always a constant need to learn, improve and move forward.”
- “Hard work. Hard work is channelled by genuine self-motivation and doesn’t require being dependent on being told what to do. My success came about by working hard and pushing my limits daily.”
Signing off, Victor spotlights one of his mentors and inspirations in F&B, RCG owner Richard Huggins — of whom he remarks; “Richard’s one of the most passionate, enthusiastic and hard-working people I’ve come across, and I’ve noted these qualities have driven him to success in both life and F&B. I’ve learnt a lot from him, and where I am in life today, is thanks to him.”
ABOUT CHRIS MARSHALL
Chris Marshall is a well-known cocktail aficionado on the Singapore and Southeast Asia bar scene, and partner at Distilled LLP, an independent, Singapore-based brand development agency representing spirit brands both locally and regionally.
