Profile: The Calorie Counter

Calorie Counting Cocktails with Antonio Vigorito, head barman at The Rockwell, Trafalgar Hotel, London

Just as the Three Rs are the basis of children’s formal education, Antonio Vigorito has another triplet that he hopes will become as wide spread; the Three Cs – Calorie Counting Cocktails.

The new drinks menu comes part and parcel with the spruced up new-look of the Rockwell, described as its “Ten year face-lift”. The menu, which took two and a half months to make, has three cocktail sections; The Saintly which has non-alcoholic drinks, The Sinful (alcoholic), and The Wickedly Good which are the more indulgent options.

The idea was born as he noticed the avid attention people paid to the nutritional content listings on the back of food items and the increased interest in what exactly was going into their food. People are demanding to know more about the provenance, the production method and the basic ingredients that go into their food (think about M&S’ (possibly excessive) data on where their groceries come from, allowing shoppers to choose between eggs reared on a Gloucestershire farm by Bob the farmer, or Mike’s hens in Cheshire).

Given the increased interest consumers are taking in what they eat, coupled with the current resurgence of the cocktail, it seems surprising that marking calories on drinks menus is not more widespread; indeed The Rockwell is the only bar in London doing so.

Vigorito is not trying to position the Rockwell as a health-focused bar (the ‘Wickedly Good’ selection of more indulgent cocktails disproves that), he’s simply offering more transparency, giving people more with their drink, if not in terms of ingredients, then information.

That said, he is curious to see if there’s any change in clientele as a result of the calorie counting menu. He doesn’t expect to see any one deterred by the menu, but is intrigued to see if young metrosexuals and trend followers types might be more regular.

In terms of consumer reaction, so far so good. “The ladies love it,” explains Vigorito, “they get really excited about looking at the different options. The men are more concerned about the taste.”

This is, indeed, a crucial point. In shops, all ‘lower fat’ options have had something taken out of them (the best bit, usually). When coming for a cocktail in a bar like The Rockwell, people expect a good, well made drink, one with all the good bits still in there. The idea of a ‘low fat’ option might be off putting for some. But as Vigorito is quick to reassure, nothing good has been taken out of the drinks. Rather, he has considered which flavours he wants to use, what style of drink he wants to create, then has consulted his team of specially brought in nutritionists to work out which ingredients would create the desired flavour and still be made healthily.

His idea was to make pure, well-made drinks with good simple ingredients, cutting out the unnecessary fats.

One way in which he manages this is by creating his own fruit purées and syrups. Made only using fruit, water, lemon juice and sugar (if necessary), he can control exactly what’s going in his drinks, and the result is a really high quality and fresh flavour. Similarly, he thinks about taste alternatives, like lemon juice and soda water instead of lemonade. Reassuringly, his primary concern is the flavour; even if it is the healthiest, saintliest cocktail, if it doesn’t taste equally heavenly, it won’t make it onto the list.

Theory aside, the drinks actually taste really, very good. Normally one to steer clear of fruity long drinks (too easy to drink and too quick to induce a brain rattling sugar hangover the next day, in my experience), there was a hint of scepticism when the barman produced a Rosé Gin Blush with Edgerton Pink gin, blackberry syrup (made on site that morning), pomegranate and slim line tonic (187 cals). Despite any misgivings, the drink was very good. The blackberries tasted fresh, the pomegranate actually served a flavouring purpose (rather than simply looking exciting on the list of ingredients) and, more importantly, the flavour of the gin was apparent, and very much complemented.

While the calorie listings were of no real interest other than academic to me (my memory and maths are too weak to ever make a real stab at tracking and tabulating what I’ve consumed over the course of the day), the difference in the quality of the drinks was startling.

The interesting thing about calorie counting menus is not really the fact it empowers consumers, allowing them to monitor their intake. The law passed in New York in 2008 requiring all restaurants to publish calories next to dishes proved that the added information only had a marginal impact on people’s choices. The law rather acted as a catalyst for change in the menus; restaurants, rather than consumers, became aware of the high calorie content of their food and as a result produced a whole new selection of healthier dishes, and it was those restaurants that really saw a decrease in the number of calories consumed, simply because consumers opted for the healthier choices.

As an example, someone who regularly eats a double cheese burger from MacDonald’s is not going to switch to the skinny cheese burger option, because they know what they like from a cheese burger. That said, if there is a grilled chicken option rather than fried chicken, the difference is more marked, and people wouldn’t feel like their taking the wimpy health-focused option, instead they feel like they’re branching out and going for something wholly different.

This is very much the impression people will have from the calorie counting menu at The Rockwell. With the health benefits of the various ingredients included in the description of the drink, there is a sense of having completely new drinks, rather than ‘trading down’ in terms of calories, switching your favourite tipple for its lighter counterpart.

A month in, and the reaction is positive, so much so that Vigorito is planning his next calorie-counting plan which is to introduce an Illy coffee-based selection of winter calorie counting cocktails. We’re excited!