Ali has been in hospitality for 15 years, starting at the age of 11 scrubbing dishes in a coffee shop in deepest, darkest Shropshire in the UK. After working his way from kitchen porter to various chef positions, Ali moved to the front of house and spent time watering before graduating to management roles.
Making the move to New Zealand four years ago, Ali has worked his way from the bottom again keen to learn the “kiwi” way of doing things.
Making the move to New Zealand four years ago, Ali has worked his way from the bottom again keen to learn the “kiwi” way of doing things.
Starting as a bartender/waiter at Viaduct in Christchurch, Ali quickly became keen to sink his teeth into something more demanding. A move to the adjacent di lusso cocktail bar, where personality, flair and great product knowledge were a big part of the role, proved to be the perfect launching pad for Ali’s next leap.
Ali moved on to The Concrete Club just over a year ago as the bar manager. This role has allowed Ali to wrap all of his various skills and experiences into one job and start making the next tentative steps towards his ultimate goal of one day owning his own establishment.
Ali is very passionate about both sides of the bar, not just loving his job but enjoying a moment or two with a South gin Martini or a spiced rum old fashioned. Ali is quite often spotted with a Heineken in hand or encouraging hapless punters into his drink of choice Pernod, an aperitif he is the biggest seller of in the world! Scary stuff indeed.
When out and about some of Ali’s favourite haunts are:
Double Happy (Cashel St, Christchurch)
Barmuda (Searle Lane, Queenstown)
205 (Manchester St, Christchurch)
Mo's Bar (Corner Federal & Wolfe St, Auckland)
The Twisted Hop (Poplar St, Christchurch)
A predominately self taught bartender Ali has read many books and practised at home in his early days before poisoning his customers. But along the way he has had the pleasure of working with and learning from, Chris Darby, Glenn “Dickie” Cullimore, Guy Randall, Clive Weston, James “Dub Dub” Wynn-Williams and more. Ali has always tried to stick to a motto that was drilled into him very early on in his career “manage by example, not by experience”, something that has put him, and his team in good stead.
Making the move to New Zealand four years ago, Ali has worked his way from the bottom again keen to learn the “kiwi” way of doing things. 
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