About
THE
TEAM
Stuart
Bale
After ten years on the frontline of the bar industry running and opening venues in Edinburgh and London, Stuart found himself as head bartender at seminal London bar, 69 Colebrooke Row. Colebrooke Row was at the forefront of the drinks industry at the time, using techniques and equipment borrowed from the world of science to develop flavour.
Armed with this knowledge, Stuart moved on to London-based drinks consultancy Strange Hill, writing education programs for global companies, designing cocktail menus and concepts and opening venues all over the world.
In 2017, he struck out on his own with Crucible, London’s first creative hub for the bar industry, becoming the go-to place for education and training programmes for brands and venues, drinks consultancy and award-winning new product development.
Aska
Hayakawa
After spending his childhood growing up in Japan, Aska’s hospitality career began at the age of 18, as a barback in Glasgow, where he quickly worked up to a bartender position. Having experienced and worked in various venues in Scotland, he decided to move to London.
He has since worked in some of London’s most notable establishments, like Hix, Dandelyan and Lyaness, and helped open multiple bars throughout his career, including Baccarat bar and The Lower Third.
Aska’s speciality is drinks development and establishing efficient back of house systems, a skillset he honed during his time at Dandelyan (World’s Best Bar 2018, TOTC ‘Best Bar in the World’ 2017 & ‘Best Menu’ 2018).
In 2022, he joined the Crucible team, where his role is mainly focused on drink development for brands & events, as well as drink menu development for various venues.
Maja
Jaworska
Initially starting her career in coffee, she worked in various venues gathering coffee knowledge along the way. She crossed over into the world of cocktails after running an experimental coffee pop-up at Hoxton-based cocktail bar White Lyan, after which she joined the Mr Lyan team, eventually becoming a venue manager (White Lyan) and a general manager (Super Lyan & Cub).
Maja left the Mr Lyan company in 2018 to become the Grey Goose Coffee Ambassador, bringing speciality coffee expertise to the cocktail world. In 2021, she returned to the world of coffee as the Advocacy and Training Manager for illycaffe UK, before joining the Crucible team full time in 2023.
Throughout her career, she has developed cocktail menus for various venues (e.g. The Slow, Bali; Paradise, Soho) and she worked on multiple new product development projects with Crucible as a consultant.
Stuart
Bale
After ten years on the frontline of the bar industry running and opening venues in Edinburgh and London, Stuart found himself as head bartender at seminal London bar, 69 Colebrooke Row. Colebrooke Row was at the forefront of the drinks industry at the time, using techniques and equipment borrowed from the world of science to develop flavour.
Armed with this knowledge, Stuart moved on to London-based drinks consultancy Strange Hill, writing education programs for global companies, designing cocktail menus and concepts and opening venues all over the world.
In 2017, he struck out on his own with Crucible, London’s first creative hub for the bar industry, becoming the go-to place for education and training programmes for brands and venues, drinks consultancy and award-winning new product development.
Aska
Hayakawa
After spending his childhood growing up in Japan, Aska’s hospitality career began at the age of 18, as a barback in Glasgow, where he quickly worked up to a bartender position. Having experienced and worked in various venues in Scotland, he decided to move to London.
He has since worked in some of London’s most notable establishments, like Hix, Dandelyan and Lyaness, and helped open multiple bars throughout his career, including Baccarat bar and The Lower Third.
Aska’s speciality is drinks development and establishing efficient back of house systems, a skillset he honed during his time at Dandelyan (World’s Best Bar 2018, TOTC ‘Best Bar in the World’ 2017 & ‘Best Menu’ 2018).
In 2022, he joined the Crucible team, where his role is mainly focused on drink development for brands & events, as well as drink menu development for various venues.
Maja
Jaworska
Initially starting her career in coffee, she worked in various venues gathering coffee knowledge along the way. She crossed over into the world of cocktails after running an experimental coffee pop-up at Hoxton-based cocktail bar White Lyan, after which she joined the Mr Lyan team, eventually becoming a venue manager (White Lyan) and a general manager (Super Lyan & Cub).
Maja left the Mr Lyan company in 2018 to become the Grey Goose Coffee Ambassador, bringing speciality coffee expertise to the cocktail world. In 2021, she returned to the world of coffee as the Advocacy and Training Manager for illycaffe UK, before joining the Crucible team full time in 2023.
Throughout her career, she has developed cocktail menus for various venues (e.g. The Slow, Bali; Paradise, Soho) and she worked on multiple new product development projects with Crucible as a consultant.
MEDIA
DIFFORD’S GUIDE — Creative Hub
IMBIBE — Exclusive: What will drinks lab Crucible do next?
WIRED — London now has a co-working hackspace for the booze industry.
THE SPIRITS BUSINESS — Crucible’s Stu Bale on pushing the boundaries of cocktail creativity.
IMBIBE — Crucible, the world’s first bar makerspace, opens in London.
FOOD + WINE — F&W Chats To The Cocktail ‘Scientists’ Behind Cafe En Seine
BBC RADIO 4 — The Food Programme
DIFFORD’S GUIDE — Creative Hub
WIRED — London now has a co-working hackspace for the booze industry.
VICE MUNCHIES — Meet the Bartender Making Buckfast Negronis.
THE COCKTAIL LOVERS — Kit & Caboodle
IMBIBE — Exclusive: What will drinks lab Crucible do next?
THE SPIRITS BUSINESS — Crucible’s Stu Bale on pushing the boundaries of cocktail creativity.
IMBIBE — Crucible goes on the road in the name of education.
IMBIBE — Crucible, the world’s first bar makerspace, opens in London.
FOOD + WINE — F&W Chats To The Cocktail ‘Scientists’ Behind Cafe En Seine
