By Denis Sheehan, Publisher, H&C News: Adam Handling: “NFT’s – it’s a bit of crazy game, isn’t it…”.
During the week I penned an article – Hospitality Metaverse: Could virtual hospitality really be a thing? – and it provoked quite a reaction, especially on social media.
The article hopefully, served as a brief intro to The Hospitality Metaverse and cited one early adopter, Adam Handling. Through Google Analytics I can see that the article has been well read especially by people searching for that type of information. Some of those readers may then have taken to social media to ask questions, there were many.
So, I called Adam Handling and asked him to provide some insight to his recent release of London’s first NFT cocktail collection into a Metaverse, via Opensea. His thoughts are below:
“NFT’s – it’s a bit of crazy game, isn’t it… and very confusing. I didn’t understand it until I did some research and, to be fair, even then it was an element of trial and error. There is a reason that big tech companies are pumping billions into the meta-verse. It’s here to stay, so I thought, why not try and find a bit more about it, and maybe even a dip toe into this world?!
“When I created Hame, my UK-wide home delivery service, I had lots of people, including other chefs, talk me down and moan, saying that no one wants to have to scan a QR code and watch me cook. If I didn’t launch Hame, during lockdown, my restaurant group would have gone into liquidation. So, I ignored all the negativity and was right to do so. It really was a vital move.
“Innovation is always knocked by people that don’t understand or people who don’t like change. This is, of course, fine – an opinion is an opinion but, for me, if you don’t understand, nor don’t want to understand, it might be better to keep the negativity to yourself.
Image by Bored Ape Yacht Club“There is no difference in having an NFT of a monkey, with glasses on its face, that is fetching a staggering amount of money to a hand-painted piece of art, inspired by a cocktail, designed by an outstanding artist.
“These cocktails, along with the other 12 signature cocktails that we are auctioning, aren’t solely recipes. They each come with a hand painted illustration by the incredible Zoe Zahava. North London grown artist, Zoe, has such a beautiful talent and it makes me really proud that we are able to share her stunning art pieces and promote her worldwide.
“Sustainability is at the core of my restaurant and bar group and, for me, sustainability isn’t just about reducing waste and supporting local, it’s about giving the opportunity to people who can really help to shape tomorrow.
“We have the capability of letting a young artist showcase her incredible work on a global scale and that’s an opportunity that’s too important to miss.”
In a nutshell: The NFT cocktail collection comprises 13 pieces, created by a local artist and Eve’s Bar bartenders. The collection includes pieces inspired by Eve’s Bar signature cocktails available for 2ETH -£5,000 each.
Every NFT from the collection will come with a unique recipe card to make the cocktail. The owner can also get the right to claim a number of the purchased cocktails, at the bar, in person.
The NFTs were created collaboratively by Eve Bar’s manager, Marco Grisafi, head bartender Giulia Gazzetto, and bar manager at Ugly Butterfly, Josh Linfitt.
Each cocktail comes with a closely guarded secret one of a kind recipe, that only the creator and buyer will know. The buyers then receive a one-to-one, digital or in-person private masterclass to create their cocktail with the NFT’s creator.
Thank you Adam, and thank you for the wider conversation yesterday. Like you I do not pretend to have even begun to understand – The Metaverse, Metaverses, Opensea, NFT’s, Bored Ape Yacht Club – and countless other elements of what seems to be coming together in the next wave of the totally unstoppable digital revolution. But I do intend to keep learning and as well as reporting on it, getting into it too.