Jenn Smith

Jenn started working in food at 13, and in college passed on work-study shifts at the library in order to serve beer and shots in a biker bar, work the overnight shift at a bakery in Boston, manage a tea room in Oxford, master crepes in the Dordogne and make pizza in Yonkers. She had a decade-long stint in media and financial corporations focusing on strategic growth. A few years ago she ditched that career to return to the world of food, drink and good times, managing the bar at a Brooklyn tavern and cooking on the line at a restaurant in the East Village. She brought it all together at Astor Center, where in between managing operations and building the calendar of events and programming she attended the BAR 5-Day program and developed a passion for the history of spirits and cocktails. Recently relocated to the home of Fish House Punch, she frequently returns to Astor to share her love of cocktails made with creativity and quality ingredients.

Jenn's teaching style is funny and fact-based. She balances humor with detailed hands-on technique, so that people leave with a sense that they've not only had a really good time, they learned what they set out to learn.