How Kitty Gardner built a creative role at one of the world’s best bars

Around the Bars is the weekly newsletter from Cara Devine, unpacking what’s happening in the best Melbourne bars (and what you can learn from them), sent every Tuesday to your inbox. Sign up here.

There is an old adage in hospitality that good service should be like a swan: floating effortlessly on the surface, paddling furiously underneath. At Caretaker’s Cottage, a fair amount of that paddling is undertaken by Kitty Gardner. Those of us who frequent the bar after dark might not get the pleasure of seeing Kitty very often, but she is an integral part of the award-winning team.

Kitty’s resume is a stellar one. After bartending for a while in Australia she moved to do a working holiday visa stint in the UK, landing her first cocktail bar job at the renowned Bramble in Edinburgh. “That role could have gone to plenty of more experienced people, but it pushed me to work even harder,” she says. She used it as a launchpad and has gone on to work in multiple bars that have featured in The World’s 50 Best Bars list, including Ruby in Copenhagen and our very own Black Pearl.

Nowadays though, at Caretaker’s Cottage (itself on The World’s 50 Best Bars list) her working requirements are a little different – a few years ago she became a mum. “Due to the lifestyle shift that comes with having kids, I now work mostly back of house and during daytime hours. My husband also works in hospitality, so this schedule is what works best for us right now,” she says. 

Her role was created specifically for her, thanks to understanding and supportive owners. 

“I didn’t start with this position right away – I definitely grew into it,” says Kitty. “I feel fortunate to work for people who are also parents. When I first began at Caretaker’s, I was working all night shifts while my family and I were resettling in Melbourne. After a few months, I considered other options because, as much as I enjoyed working there, it was tough balancing being a good mum and doing my best at work. 

“I had an honest conversation with the three owners, and they were open to creating a role that worked for all of us. Over time, the position has evolved as the business has grown.”

This is the kind of flexibility and open mindedness that we need to see more often in the wider industry if we don’t want to continue to lose skilled and experienced people, especially women. I’ve seen too many talented friends leave hospitality entirely, or end up in roles that they are vastly over-qualified for, to accommodate them wanting to start a family. There’s really no other career that I can think of where you dedicate decades of your life, work your way to the top, and still find yourself with very limited options if you decide to procreate. 

Kitty’s role at Caretaker’s means she still feels creatively fulfilled and very much part of the industry. “Most Friday evenings I’m on the floor in service. Monday through Wednesday I work nine to six, focusing on the creative side of things as our cocktail menu changes monthly. My role involves planning and developing new cocktails for upcoming menus, organising prep for events, managing weekly prep and orders, and ensuring everything is in place for the monthly cocktail list. It's always busy, but rewarding!” she explains. 

“I’ve always enjoyed the creative side of hospitality, so I feel very fortunate to have the job I do. I’m working alongside colleagues I admire and look up to, and there’s still so much to learn. I very much feel like I’m in exactly the right place.”

It's fair that she feels fortunate, but this utilisation of  a specific skill set makes good business sense as well. In a climate where staffing struggles are common and bar mentors harder to find, it's just plain short-sighted to discount a swathe of the population due to having to be a bit more adaptable around their working hours. 

“I think it's extremely important for employers to explore more ways to be flexible for staff,” says Kitty. “Hospitality thrives on creativity and diversity, and that shouldn't just apply to the drinks and service we offer, but also to how we approach staffing. Throughout my adult life, I've been told this can be a sustainable career, but the proof needs to be in the pudding.

“I think sadly there is still a long way to go. I have seen a lot of owners and senior management of hospitality groups start families and gain a better work-life balance but not the staff of these businesses. I hope to see in the future more focus on creating flexible roles that support parents at all levels, not just in leadership positions.”

I wrote a more detailed article on this topic a couple of years ago and while there were examples of employers making an effort in the right direction, it doesn’t feel like there has been wholesale change since I penned it. With a new generation of business owners (such as Matt Stirling, Rob Libecans, and Ryan Noreiks at Caretaker’s Cottage) coming to the fore, perhaps we have an opportunity to rethink the kinds of support we can give to parents in hospitality.

Having tried many of Kitty’s drinks, I for one am glad that she didn’t pursue other options – the world would be a much less delicious place.

Around The Bars

• There’s a new cocktail list at One Or Two, and as always it is excellent. That’s Quke is a playful, fresh martini riff that’s one of the best I’ve had in a while, and the firmly tongue-in-cheek Anchovy Toast is a perfectly balanced umami bomb which, yes, does come with a teeny anchovy toast garnish. Andy Chu is quietly killing it in Chinatown, make sure you get in there ASAP.
• You have one more weekend to take a jaunt out to Melbourne Gin Company’s pop-up cellar door experience at Gembrook. There are snacks and MGC cocktails, and an opportunity to taste owner Andrew Marks’ wine (we snagged a 2006 vintage Blanc de Blancs Sparkling and it was sublime). You also get to hang out with brand ambassador Kate Hoskin, so if that’s not a perfect way to spend a springtime afternoon I’m not sure what is. Get a spot at the link here.
• Talking of wine, there’s a new wine bar opened on Punch Lane (in the old Sunda space) – Circl Wine House. It has an incredible wine list (104 pages to be exact), with 150 wines by the glass. They’re all kept under Coravin and are available in smaller pours, allowing us to try a huge range of special international and domestic drops that are usually only found by the bottle. I have a feeling I’ll become a regular here.