Miranda Dickson
Name: Miranda Dickson
Age: 28
Job title: Vodka Princess (drinks consultant/brand and marketing manager) for the Revolution chain of cocktail bars.
Location: Inventive Leisure, Ashton-under-Lyme (near Manchester)
What was your first job in hospitality?
After finishing my degree in Theology & Egyptology at Manchester University, I promoted clubs for a while as I was into that scene. Then I got a job as events manager at the Cyberia café in Manchester. So, although based in a café, the job was really about mixing music and technology and doing stuff like web-casting. But I also used to run the café and manage its staff.
How did you get from there to your current job?
I became interested in the idea of running a café/bar and I was offered a job as manager of Revolution's first venue in Manchester. That meant managing 12 people and dealing with big volumes, managing profit margins, etc It was quite different from Cyberia and was a whole new learning curve.
From that job, I've found myself becoming Vodka Princess. That's the job title our chief executive gave me.
What are your main responsibilities?
I'm a drinks consultant to Revolution's 26-strong chain across the UK. I research the many types of vodka from around the world. Revolution isn't just about vodka - it serves food and is also a general cocktail bar - but around 35% of group turnover comes from our vodka sales.
I've been out to places like Russia and Poland, and I'm always on the Internet researching new brands and new vodka recipes. I also host tastings every week, and I run intense educational programmes for our staff. That allows me to show them the many dozens of types of vodka available, what's in them, where they come from and, of course, how to pronounce the names - research has shown that a lot of customers won't order something if they can't pronounce it.
I also stage two- or three-week promotions of vodka from specific countries, such as Poland or Russia. We'll discount the vodkas from that country and do things like run a competition with a prize of a weekend in St Petersburg.
What do you most enjoy about your job?
Being able to work with ingredients to create something with a new and exciting taste and flavour. And I love educating people about all this. The feeling is like a chef creating something in a kitchen, or an artist in his studio. I have this great thirst for knowledge and it's a great sensation to be able to constantly acquire it.
What do you most dislike about your job?
Very occasionally, I get vodka overload and the feeling that, after a day in the office, the last thing I want to do is go and taste vodka. Sometimes, I just crave a glass of wine! Otherwise, the most difficult thing is that, having acquired so much knowledge and knowing what fantastic vodka flavours are out there, I then go into a bar and see all those well-known but low-quality brands on show behind the bar. It makes me f***ing mad.
What attributes do you need to be a vodka princess?
A keen palate, a strong stomach and a passion for what you're doing. You have to really enjoy it. And you have to have a real passion to communicate it to others.
What's your next move?
To develop my knowledge further and go deeper into the world of vodka. Perhaps I could become a sort of international vodka princess and travel the world researching new flavours and educating people about them.
What's your ultimate career goal?
One day, I'd like to run my own very high-brow cocktail bar.
