Join us for a series of 'CROSSIP Convos' as we shine a spotlight on the amazing bartenders, venue owners, ambassadors and hospitality heroes we interact with every day.

CROSSIP was born in a bar, not a boardroom, and it's about time our mates in the on-trade industry had an opportunity to share their stories of how they began their journey in this crazy and beautiful hospitality world and what being unapologetically bold means to them.

Now, the moment you’ve been waiting for … LUCAS PATERSON!

What’s your name?
Lucas Paterson.

Where do you work?
The restaurant at Dukes Hotel*.
*DUKES London will be going through a major refurbishment project which will see the hotel close its doors until the work is completed in Autumn 2025. During this time, our famous DUKES Bar remains open.

How’d you get into the bar / hospitality scene?
After finishing school, I wanted to get to the UK after growing up in Germany, and so I applied to a bartender position at the Four Seasons Hotel Hampshire; my reasoning being that I wanted a place that could give me a room while I found a flat! I didn't end up getting the job as a bartender, but I joined as a restaurant host and started learning as much as I could from the bar and restaurant teams at work while learning to make cocktails from home.

Your best bartending / hospitality story?
There's always too many to pick from, and most of them are just about meeting a guest who you really get along with or creating memories with strangers and colleagues, but my most memorable story that keeps me grounded is when I was still just starting as a waiter and we had a VIP family come to the hotel I was working at. It was a couple with a baby, and they joined the restaurant for the first time during a busy lunch service on a Friday or a Saturday - I can't remember. They brought along their baby as well, who was very well behaved, and they were lovely too. I thought everything was going very well serving them and trying to be charming and impressionable. All was good up until the gentleman ordered a Peroni, which we served in the signature tall glass and clearly, I was still not used to the silver trays we used to carry everything on because while serving them the Peroni glass slipped on the tray and all the beer spilled over the poor baby's head. In my memory now the entire pint was probably all over this baby, and myself, and the table. I was so embarrassed. I couldn't stop apologising and thankfully they were very kind and understanding. Few years on I am still luckily working in restaurants, and that is a memory that will never leave me when I need to remind myself that everyone starts somewhere!

Favourite bar in the world?
An impossible question, of course, but one that I can hypocritically answer with absolute certainty: Finnegan's Irish Pub in Berlin. No matter how many great bars I have visited across the world and how many fantastic experiences and drinks I have had living in London - and there are so many contenders - to me, hospitality is all about the memories created and the pub I used to visit growing up still holds that title for favourite place. Bar Antoine at Four Seasons Park Lane and The Connaught Bar at The Connaught (obviously) are both a very strong second place for me too, though.

Favourite way to drink CROSSIP?
I love CROSSIP Fresh Citrus with just tonic water. It is a simple, vibrant, elegantly bitter highball that can never fail. When you want something refreshing, easy and 'Low & No' it is fab.

What’s your go-to when drinking at home?
I think I have gone through phases but I am quite uninventive and lazy at home so it is usually plain Campari or Bourbon on the rocks - or an Italian red wine when I'm sharing the bottle.

What does UNAPOLOGETICALLY BOLD mean to you?
To me, unapologetically bold means to disagree when someone says you cannot do this, or you won't manage to do that. Stay humble and respectful but unapologetically believe in yourself and what you want to do.