The man who knows where the best bars in the world are

Mark Sansom (London, 38 years old) arrives at the appointment wearing a smile, a Hawaiian shirt and sunglasses.

The terrace of the Hoxton hotel in Barcelona is already full of baristas, cocktail shakers, restaurateurs and the occasional clueless chef.

The night before, on October 3, he declared the Paradiso cocktail bar in the Catalan capital the best in the world, on behalf of the organization he heads, The World's 50 Best Bars.

He is not only the creative director, but also the master of ceremonies of the evening in which the list is unveiled each year.

Sansom is the center of attention and seems to know everyone, but he looks down at his (sizable) biceps with a certain squirm and then tells his story, that of a guy who had things not go as planned: “I was going to professional rugby player, but I had an injury.

So I studied English literature, then did a master's degree in journalism, worked in publishing, and then for

I was also editor of

which is the largest publication dedicated to the world of gastronomy in the world, for six years.

Finally, Tim Brooke-Webb, the boss of The 50 World's Best Restaurants, whom I have known for many years and had been insisting for a long time [laughs], convinced me to join this organization in 2019. And let me tell you, this is the best work of the world”.

The World's 50 Best Bars is one of the great awards in the hospitality industry in its most festive aspect and Barcelona has had a novel role in 2022: “This is the first year that we have left the United Kingdom since 2012. Why Barcelona?

It is a cosmopolitan city,

from all over the world work here or meet here, so Barcelona is unbeatable in that regard.

Also, we usually do it in December in London and you can imagine how fucking cold [laughs].”

When asked about his personal vision of the business and the prestige enjoyed by the brand he works for, the Englishman does not have too many doubts.

“Both personally and professionally, it is very important not to be cheap.

The key is to invest at all levels.

I have done it and my organization too.

The size of the team is big, and when you do well, more and more people want to be by your side: bars, sponsors, etc.

If you start with quality, you end with quality.”

He pauses and adds: "I think our hallmark is being a

brand , and I also think people see us as if we're something like Gucci in our industry."

The World's 50 Best Bars follows in the footsteps of its older brother, The World's 50 Best Restaurants, and in a decade has already become one of the great beacons of a sector in continuous evolution.

“Everything we saw a while ago in gastronomy is beginning to be applied now in the world of cocktails.

Many of those advances, of those experiments that led some restaurants to position themselves as the best, can now be tried in some of the best bars in the world.

It has all the sense of the world.

Now, if you ask me what someone should do to get on this list, this is what I believe: focus on hospitality, on the human factor.

It may be that I don't like your cocktails or I don't give a damn, but if I have a good time I'll come back.

A million times”, he concludes.

To finish, and in case someone wants to imitate the path of this executive who travels from bar to bar around the world, here is his particular advice for success: “The first thing I would say to someone who wants to follow in my footsteps is to be stay away from journalism [laughs].

Sorry, it's nothing personal, I loved magazines, I love paper, feeling it in my fingers, but stay away from journalism.

Meet as many people as you can, travel as much as you can, find the heart of what you want to do, drink, eat, gobble it up.

Open a bar?

What the hell would he do that for?

[laughs].”