From Sibford ... to The Savoy
American Bar names first senior female bartender in a century
Pippa is pictured in The Savoy’s American Bar in her special white jacket. She explains: “In the 1930s our head bartender, Harry Craddock, introduced white jackets to the bar and since then it has become an iconic piece of our heritage. The Savoy had a custom white jacket made especially for me to wear. It’s great to put the jacket on and become a part of the bar’s ongoing history.”
Top right: School photo ... Pippa in her last year at Sibford.
Former Sibford pupil Philippa Guy (1998 ~ 2010) has become the first female senior bartender to be appointed to the famous American Bar in The Savoy in over 100 years. She follows in the footsteps of the famous Ada Coleman, who was senior bartender at the American Bar in the early 20th century. After leaving Sibford, Pippa went to Leeds Metropolitan University to study Sports Science. While still at university she took a part time job working for Arc Inspirations, which is where she learnt how to make cocktails.
After graduating and a gap year spent travelling she returned to Leeds to work as bar manager at Oporto and it was while hosting the ‘Leeds Love Cocktails’ event that she met Declan McGurk of
the American Bar. She relocated to London in August 2015 to join The Savoy as a server, becoming junior bartender in December 2016 and senior bartender in July 2017. “I love my job,” said Pippa. “I’ve
worked very hard to get to where I am and I consider myself one of very few, extremely lucky, people that can genuinely say I look forward to going to work every day.
“My workspace is a beautiful Art Deco bar within The Savoy. I could never work behind a desk, I don’t think I would be able to sit there for long enough! I love meeting new people and, daily, I meet people from different walks of life with completely differing reasons for visiting the American Bar. To me it’s fascinating.” A spokesperson for the Savoy
said: “In a city where female bartenders are the minority, impressively, Pippa has managed to break gender barriers at such a young age, through sheer determination and considerable passion.”
Favourite drink Pippa’s favourite creation is The Moonwalker. “I love making this drink,” she says. “It was sent to Neil Armstrong and the astronauts of the Apollo 11 mission and was the first thing they drank on arriving home. We still have the letter from Armstrong thanking bartender Joe Gilmore who created the drink.
The Sibford Rocket / 3
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