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Nguyen Hoang Tu Quyen (Brita) - a young female bartender who won the Asian regional championship in the 2019 Opirh Cocktail Competition. Few people know that the champion once had to skip meals for two days to save money for gas to get to work and pursue her passion. If you are struggling to find your passion, perhaps the following story is for you.
Nguyen Hoang Tu Quyen (25 years old) currently lives and works in Ho Chi Minh City.
Dropping out of school to find my passion.
After completing a law course, Tu Quyen felt it wasn't a good fit for her, so she decided to drop out and start working. She worked various jobs, including as a personal trainer and waitress at restaurants. Quyen began taking courses and investing seriously in her career when she had the opportunity to learn bartending while working at a coffee shop.
"At that time, a friend 'persuaded' me to become a bartender simply because it was an easy job to get." Although she said she had never been to a bar before and knew nothing about alcohol, she still decided to challenge herself. Her family and friends tried to dissuade her: "What woman should become a bartender? Working late and coming home late will make it hard to find a husband later. Just do it for fun; if you want stability, you should do an office job."
After six months immersed in bartending, Brita felt that this job truly suited her. However, according to her, it requires endurance, resilience, and dexterity, so she found it quite challenging in the early days.
The nature of bartending involves working at night, interacting with many different people, and being in an environment with a lot of cigarette smoke and alcohol.
She typically started work at 5 PM and finished at 3 AM. She said that standing continuously for many hours and constantly using her arm muscles caused her whole body to ache after leaving work and returning home. At this time, she also started living independently and working two jobs simultaneously. The burden of providing for her family and the pressure of a meager salary forced her to find ways to manage her finances well, but without success.
Tú Quyên accepted the trade-off. She decided to spend her money on gas to get to work, in exchange for eating only one meal a day. The worst part was that after skipping two consecutive days of eating, she suffered from a terrible stomach ache. The price she paid for pursuing her passion made Tú Quyên vow to always eat properly before starting any work.
"As an introvert, the most difficult thing for me at first was learning how to talk to customers," Quyen shared. She worked tirelessly for the first two years to overcome this biggest challenge in her job. Quyen said, "The biggest lesson I learned after working as a bartender is to always maintain a cheerful energy, regulate and balance my emotions so that even if I get home at 3 am, I don't feel exhausted."
The bartending profession opens up many new opportunities.
For Tú Quyên, being a bartender is a fascinating profession because it offers the opportunity to meet many different people: "I get to chat with them – people I've never met before – and broaden my horizons through those conversations. Most people who come to the bar have a lot on their minds, but with a little alcohol, they can confide in a stranger they've never met."
When asked what she found most memorable during her five years pursuing a career in bartending, she reminisced: "I feel fortunate that participating in the Opirh Cocktail Competition 2019 gave me the opportunity to travel to Europe at the young age of 22." It is known that Tú Quyên won second place in the national competition, then went on to win the Asian regional championship and compete internationally in Italy in 2019.
Tu Quyen and her mentor. It is known that, 5 years ago, this person was also a source of inspiration and support, encouraging her throughout her career.
Besides opening up great career opportunities, the bartending profession also brought her the chance to meet the person she loves. She said that when she entered the final round of the 2020 Song Cai Competition, she was confident of winning. However, when the results were announced, she was shocked that she didn't win. The person she least expected – Thanh Nam, her current boyfriend – won the championship.
Speaking to Travellive reporters, Quyen revealed that she only started noticing Thanh Nam after he won the tournament. She disclosed that she is attracted to men who are more confident and talented than herself. After chatting and getting to know each other for a while, she found him talented and interesting, so they started dating. The couple frequently attend events and workshops together, sharing their experiences in cocktail making.
Tu Quyen and her boyfriend Thanh Nam frequently share stories about their work on social media platforms.
Despite her passion for bartending, there were times when she felt she wasn't learning anything new by just staying in the bar. After five years pursuing a career in bartending, she decided to take a "gap year" to pursue a different job. Explaining her reason for the change, she said: "After a while, I needed a break to experience other jobs and explore myself more."
Over the past year, Tu Quyen has gained experience in various fields including media and marketing, event organization, etc. She realized that, besides bartending, this is also a field that interests her. She also affirmed that bartending is a long-term career path she will pursue. Therefore, Quyen and Nam have built communication channels on various platforms to share their bartending experiences more widely.
She also shared that in 2023, they decided to temporarily leave Saigon to travel across Vietnam. On this trip, they will visit different regions and provinces to both experience tourism and learn about the herbal ingredients used in their beverage preparation.
