John deBary, drinks expert, co-founder of Restaurant Workers’ Community Foundation: Covid Covid Covid. And unions. And hopefully also more people realizing how harmful apps like DoorDash, Grubhub, and UberEats are for the industry and coming up with alternatives that do not fuel money into overpaid Silicon Valley executives whose companies pay hundreds of millions of dollars fighting legislation that protects workers.
Eater - The Restaurants That Stepped Up For Their Communities in 2021
“John deBary, drinks expert, co-founder of Restaurant Workers’ Community Foundation: Ursula, for providing a safe, queer space in an industry that is often not safe for LGBTQIA+ people. Ditto for KIT.”
Eater - The Neighborhoods Dominating NYC’s Dining Scene in 2021
“John deBary, drinks expert, co-founder of Restaurant Workers’ Community Foundation: My own: The Lower East Side.”
Eater - The Restaurants We Became Regulars at in 2021
“John deBary, drinks expert, co-founder of Restaurant Workers’ Community Foundation: I tried to be vegan this year and I made it most of the way through and the proximity to Fat Choy was a huge factor in my success. Even though I’ve dropped the dietary restriction I still go there all the time.”
Eater - 2021’s Saddest Restaurant Closures
“John deBary, drinks expert, co-founder of Restaurant Workers’ Community Foundation: Hunky Dory, no question.”
Washington Post - How to host a cocktail party you can enjoy as much as your guests do
John deBary, creator of nonalcoholic beverage company Proteau and author of “Drink What You Want,” echoes this sentiment. “The key is to make things really easy on yourself and find recipes that you can batch,” deBary says. “If you want to create something that’s a bit more unique and special, seek out recipes that rely on infusions that you could do a couple days beforehand, such as an infused syrup or spirit, so it feels really fancy.”
Wine Enthusiast: 40 Under 40 for 2020
Through his nonprofit advocacy organization, Restaurant Workers’ Community Foundation (RWCF), deBary tackles the industry’s “quality-of-life crisis” that includes low wages and racial injustice. Since March, RWCF has raised more than $6.4 million for hospitality worker relief related to the novel coronavirus pandemic. The former bar director at New York City’s Momofuku, deBary published his first book, Drink What You Want, an empowering guide to making cocktails, and he continues to develop Proteau, the zero-proof drink brand he launched in 2019. “I wanted to prove that you don’t necessarily need an alcohol-based drink to have the same intellectually engaging, food-friendly experience that’s accessible to all,” he says.
Columbia Magazine: How About a Mocktail?
But while deBary certainly knows — and loves — his spirits, he also firmly believes that you don’t need alcohol to make a great cocktail. After leaving Momofuku in 2018, he launched Proteau, a line of non-alcoholic botanical beverages, and published Drink What You Want, a recipe book with a full booze-free chapter. And deBary is practicing what he preaches — he decided not to drink alcohol in 2020, a pledge that he kept despite the challenges of quarantine. “I actually found that I rarely missed it,” he said. “There are so many ways to create unique and exciting drinks without relying on the traditional tools.”
Columbia College Today: Be Your Own Bartender
deBary honed his philosophy of cocktail making during a decade behind the bar at some of the hottest spots in the world, and as the bar director of the Momofuku restaurant group. His egalitarian teaching approach focuses less on arcane details like drink history or science, and more on helping people better understand what they like in a beverage. “I want people with no experience to be able to make drinks,” he says. “I want to bring more people in.”
Bon Appetit - Big Alcohol Is Bracing for a More Sober Future
https://www.bonappetit.com/story/big-alcohol
“As more open-and-pour products come onto the market—including a line of alcohol-free botanical aperitifs from former Momofuku bar director John deBary—bartenders will be saved from having to steep 23 different ingredients before service to try to level up their n/a drink selections.”
Liquor.com - Seven Trends That Defined How We Drank in 2021
“John deBary, a champion of “Drink What You Want,” gave the world “two-ingredient cocktails” à la pineapple soda and Montenegro, absinthe and Yoohoo, Gatorade and yellow Chartreuse.”
Gawker - Ask Tammie: What Is a Good Party Cocktail?
“Tokyo iced tea is a Long Island iced tea that uses Midori melon liqueur instead of Coca-Cola. Here is a recipe from my friend John deBary.”
What Can Danny Meyer’s Hospitality Ethos Do For Panera Bread Workers?
In an op-ed for Food & Wine, the restaurant activist John deBary writes that “the worldview presented in Setting the Table represents a fantastic North Star, but like the star, it is unattainable as an actual destination, and it is unfair to act otherwise… for people looking to educate themselves on the realities of working in restaurants, it’s important to look past the rosy picture Setting the Table paints and to question the bend-over-backwards mentality it champions. It might be great for the customer, but it comes at a real cost to the employee — a cost that is too high.”
8 Boozy Gifts to Give This Holiday🍸 | The Happy Hour Gift Guide - Drinks52
The holiday season is upon us and Food52’s Resident Drinks Expert John deBary is here to share 8 boozy gifts you can give to friends and family. Check out the full guide here: https://prf.hn/l/rGN5dmZ
The 10 Best Alcohol Gifts for Cocktail Lovers - Wirecutter
https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/gifts/best-alcohol-gifts/
“We love how this panel of pros aimed to broaden our idea of what a good drink can be, whether it’s a shared tiki cocktail or a sophisticated, nonalcoholic tipple. These experts included: Nima Ansari, spirits buyer at Astor Wines & Spirits in New York City; John deBary, author of Drink What You Want: The Subjective Guide to Making Objectively Delicious Cocktails and the founder and CEO of Proteau, a line of zero-proof botanical drinks; Cha McCoy, founder of Cha Squared Hospitality, LLC and beverage director for the Charleston Wine + Food Festival; and Sother Teague, beverage director at Overthrow Hospitality, a restaurant and bar company whose venues include Amor Y Amargo and Etérea in New York City.”
Sesame Boulevardier, The Holiday Drink You Need | Drink What You Want with John deBary - Drinks52
Just in time for the holidays, Food52 Resident Drinks Expert John deBary shows you how to make The Boulevardier, a cousin of the iconic Negroni that can be prepared ahead of time. Get the recipe here: https://prf.hn/l/K9DVwAk
The Gibson: The Easiest Fancy Drink You’ll Ever Make | Drink What You Want with John deBary - Drinks52
Food52’s Drinks Resident John deBary is back with another episode of #DrinkWhatYouWant, to share his version of the classic Gibson just in time for Halloween. Get the recipe here: https://prf.hn/l/7DDyd4Z
John and Hana’s Apple, Grains, & Maple Syrup Challenge 🍁 | Show Off
In this latest episode of #ShowOff, join Food52’s residents John deBary and Hana Asbrink as they fight to the...wait no...test their creativity with apples, grains, and maple syrup for this autumnal challenge.
John’s recipes here: https://prf.hn/l/7BDEmm3
Hana’s recipes here: https://prf.hn/l/7QN1abq
An Old-Fashioned with a Twist: The Mountainside Cocktail | Drink What You Want with John deBary - Drinks52
Food52 Drinks Resident John deBary shares his version of an Old-Fashioned with fragrant fennel syrup, orange bitters, and Japanese whisky. Get the recipe here: https://prf.hn/l/ryP5Nym
A Must-Try Italian Margarita | Drink What You Want with John deBary - Drinks52
With autumn just around the corner, Food52 Drinks Resident John deBary shares his version of an Italian margarita. Get the recipe: https://prf.hn/l/7QGmQXR