This is Zoe Bates, from Vancouver, a bartender at Bartholomew and Lao Wai.
Zoe is 23 years old and is originally from Scotland. She moved to Canada when she was 10 years old and has been living in Vancouver ever since. Zoe loves cats, she has one called Yami who lives with her mother, and really doesn’t like geese, which is a bummer when you live close to Stanley Park. She studied Marketing and Photography. Apart from working as a bartender, Zoe does professional photography, social media management, and artisanal candles as a side hustle.
Zoe started in hospitality doing club event photography when she was 16 years old. She loved working in a fast pace environment and loved the nightlife. She then started to work for a hotel group the following year. Starting as a hostess, she gradually became more interested in the different aspects of the restaurant work, especially the bar and the classic cocktails that guests would order. Eventually, Zoe started to work for the Donelly Group when she turned 19. That’s how she got so many opportunities to advance and learn quickly in her career, and it was through that group that she had a very quick progression into management. Today, Zoe works as a bartender at Bartholomew and at Lao Wai, alongside some of the best bartenders in Vancouver.
Overall, Zoe is one of these very young bartenders that have a tremendous amount of raw talent, combined with high organizational skills. Unlike many of us in our early twenties, she is actually very focused and ready to put in the work to achieve the goals she sets herself. One thing is for sure, watch out for this one, she’s gonna kick some ass very soon and is absolutely lovely.
A little bit more about Zoe...
The three words that describe her best: observant – calculated - dynamic
One cocktail to bring on a desert island: Negroni
The biggest lesson that working in hospitality taught her: Believe in yourself
The book that inspired her most: Asian wedding magazines (she’s never loved reading so the visuals were always more important)
Random fact about her: She has a rather large obsession and collection of jars