Meet Keeli Cornelison

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Keeli Cornelison. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Keeli , really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?

I found my purpose by walking into a restaurant and freshly 21 and I was instantly drawn to the bar and looked at it like a playground I always wanted to create make people happy and do something that brought a smile to someone’s face and after a few months of being a server my boss Kelly at the time asked me if I wanted to learn how bartend I was absolutely thrilled and quick to say yes!! Then continued my journey and went on to a new roll in different styles of bars and I loved being creative fast and how cool it was to make someone day and be thier hug they needed a shoulder to cry on but also making someone feel like they belong and don’t have to be judged sitting in front of me and watching them smile and talk to me and belong somewhere cause you never know what someone is going through and sometimes all it takes is kindness I found my purpose through getting to make potions for people and be the reason someone smiled that day because I got to show them a compassion and have a stage to do it on and be able to me myself and get to love people and be apart of a memory for them I love to bartend because it brings people together

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

My name is Keeli Cornelison I am a SLO town native born and raised on the central coast of California. I have come up in the bartending world from being a dive bartender for many years working in different settings and styles of bartending from club bars, dive bars but I wanted more for myself then just doing the bare minimum I currently work at the alchemists garden in cute little down town Paso Robles ca in the heart of wine country there is a a place and 4 incredible people who changed my life for ever!! I get to go to work everyday and challenge myself and create things that make brings the coolest happiness when they take thier first sip of thier cocktail. I get to go to work and be a cocktail scientist every single day. I never thought bartending would be come part of the air I breathe being brought into the craft world if this amazing hospitality industry has been nothing short of incredible the amazing part about what I do is growing with the peop who believe in you when you don’t believe in yourself and pushing yourself to new heights imaging and creating and having the best time doing it we have hosted cocktail competitions industry events and the way that these events brings you other bartenders and the patrons together to take a little moment and get to step back and read the room is a inspirational feeling cause the feeling of everyone. Together and creating memories is magical. Finding yourself through the work you do and getting creative Freedom in creating cocktails and meetign bartenders from all around sharing the same passion weather you get to work beside them or get to have a conversation with them and learning something from them that’s gonna stick with you through your life is why I love what I do I walked into my work a year and a half ago not knowing how much my life was about to change for the better I can’t wait to see what this year brings and I am looking forward to competing creating and growing this year especially doing it along side people you are excited to grow with you aren’t successful on your own it takes a team that is supportive behind you and it’s cool to reach success together you would have told me a year ago that I would be where I am today in my career waking up everyday excited to go to work and grow and that I was a bartender who wants to compete in world class bartending one day and learning as much as I have this last year being a great bartender comes from being able to take your ego throw it out the window and be willing to learn and grow and make a impact on the you have around you I love what I do cause I have the power to make a difference in someone’s life every single day I’m a single mother of three kids I want them to see that I was successful and gave my all for them every single day show up for them and show them anything is possible through hard work dedication and commitment it was really cool to come home on August 18th of this year after we hosted a fernet branca competition at my work with bartenders from all over California and telling them I placed second place for my cocktail I created after they saw me working on it at home for weeks and seeing them jump up and down in excitement we knew you could do it mommy or hearing how proud my bosses were of me and hugging me tight brings tears to my eyes every single time this is so much more to me then a job it’s my life and it’s beautiful I can’t thank my bosses enough for believing in me the way they do and helping me get to where I am today upcoming in the industry is magic loving what you do is incredible it all comes full circle and I can’t wait to see what this year brings for me myself my kids my place of work and my community creating and working with crazy flavors you never thought you would see in a drink is pretty cool pouring your heart into something and seeing people enjoy it is amazing and why I do what i do. I hope this year I get to challenge myself even more and become better a little everyday for the consumer to enjoy creating memories and telling stories and sharing the knowledge that I have about the spirit of your cocktail your sipping and how we bind those flavors and created something form our hearts for you this is art science and love all in one and it is my passion to make peoples day and create a experience is what it’s all about for me I love serving people talking to people and creating for people I am a bartender and I love what I do why I chose being a bartender and how I know I’m on the right path in life

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

For me looking back in how far I have come and how much studying I had to do to better understand the fundamentals of bartending to be able to find out what flavors work with that spirit and what it takes to develop a cocktail and learning about “Mise en place” and that you have to have a flow more so a dance and everything has a place while your on stage and finding your flow for that dance being a entertainer with bartools is pretty cool also they all eyes are on you and every move you make someone is watching you all these have had a impact cause the first
Part of being a great bartender is perfecting your craft and creating a flow and looking like your doing it with ease and grace my advice for someone starting out on this journey is come in with a open mind a full heart and come hungry and wanting to grow everyday come challenging everything you thought you knew about your self and figure out how you wanna achieve your passion and love yourself and believe in yourself and be humble and prepared to pour into the others just as much as your self you matter and your part in this industry matters also start with studying a book called the cocktail codex to help you with your classic six core cocktails and blast the song unwritten by Natasha Beninfield for the days where your feeling blue and like your gonna have a mental breakdown cause life is a unwritten book and you just gotta keep going and pour into your own cup and love yourself and just keep going and never give up

Okay, so before we go, is there anyone you’d like to shoutout for the role they’ve played in helping you develop the essential skills or overcome challenges along the way?

The most influential people and helpful people where my bosses 4 dreamers who had a vision and created it as career bartenders them selfs they have taken their time to help me be successful and I learn something new from them everyday and they have seen all the seasons of me in me being better everyday when I interviewed for Tony one of the four owners we had a conversation over the phone and I said well before we continue I wanna let you know I have tattoos on my face and he giggled and said we don’t care about that we aren’t gonna judge you based on that and when he told me shortly after I was accepted for the position after my interview I cried happy tears when he offered me the job I will never forget those moments
They have had to have a lot of patience I’m sure with me but they give me what I need and more every single day and have never gave up on me and each one of them hold a special place in my heart and they are all incredibly talented and to see what they build is so inspiring and I am lucky to be part of thier journey and can’t wait to see what we do as a team in the coming years they pour their hearts into what they do and just the time they have given out of thier life’s cause they believe in me is more love then I have ever received from employers they are my family and I can’t thank them enough for all they have done for me and i can’t wait to make more memories with them

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Keeks_805
• Facebook: Keeli Cornelison

Image Credits

Photo credit Tony Bennett of the alchemist garden
Jessica smith of the alchemists garden