Zdenek Kastanek

Coming Up

The kitchen gave Zdenek Kastanek his first working grammar: timing, pressure, repetition, and the standard that service has to hold even when the pace does not. He has bartended as well, but the move from stove to bar reads less like a pivot than a transfer of discipline. In his own words: “I started off as a chef, but was always taught that the barman was the pinnacle of hospitality.” That frame stays visible in the way his career is shaped—hospitality treated as a craft of control, attention, and guest-facing calm. Since 2009, Zdenek is a bartender. The role suggests the familiar demands of the bar done over time: reading the room, keeping rhythm, and maintaining the standard while the service is in motion.

Where They Are Now

At ecoSPIRITS, Zdenek Kastanek is Managing Director, Customers, where the work sits between service, operations, and the larger mechanics of beverage hospitality. The progression from chef to bartender to director is cleanly legible because the same habits carry through it: care for the guest, respect for the team, and attention to detail as a working method rather than a slogan.

Signature

La Hermosa is the signature listed for Zdenek Kastanek, and it fits a profile built across kitchen and bar disciplines. A named signature in this context points to clarity of intent: something composed to hold balance, identity, and a distinct point of view.

In Their Words “I started off as a chef, but was always taught that the barman was the pinnacle of hospitality.”

Recognition

Zdenek Kastanek has received Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards — International Bartender of the Year (shortlisted) (2014).