In This is Life! Unfiltered, the F&B veteran invites guests from in and outside the industry for frank discussions on work and life.
Gagan Gurung is a familiar name in Hong Kong — he co-founded the tea-inspired cocktail bar, Tell Camellia, as well as Gleanealy Tower’s café-by-day, bar-by-night concept, Barcode. Long before he became an award-winning mixologist, Gurung mastered ingredients and flavours in the kitchen as a chef. And now, ever the overachiever, he’s diving headfirst into a brand new arena: podcasting.
Gurung kicked off 2022 by launching This is Life! Unfiltered, a new podcast designed for frank discussions and entertaining stories, hosting conversations with his long rolodex of friends and heavyweights across a variety of industries. The inaugural episode featured agave expert and Mezcal Mission co-founder, Andrew Davis, discussing life both in and outside the F&B world.
For the host, who has partnered with creative studio Twentyfour lane to produce the podcast, the goal is to have fun, but also to create a forum for topics that often aren’t discussed publicly by those in the industry that maybe ought to be. Hence, unfiltered.
“Our audience is everyone who wants or is willing to listen some unfiltered talk without having judgmental thoughts,” says Gurung. “I can share and maybe point out hidden issues — or fun stories. Honestly, nothing too serious.”
We reached out to Gurung to chat about what made him want to start a podcast and his plans for the future.
This is Life! Unfiltered with Gagan Gurung
What made you want to start a podcast?
As a bartender, I always loved talking to our guests or telling and sharing stories. This time I want to do it in front of a camera and record, so people outside of the industry can also listen, and at the same time, to share knowledge and get to know people.
What kind of guests do you plan on featuring?
For now, the plan is to invite people who are working in different professions, so we can have some new ways of seeing things and getting to know about other industries.
Do you listen to any podcasts yourself?
Yes, I listen to Joe Rogan and ON AIR with Sanjay Silwal Gupta — these are my go-to podcasts these days.
Is there a dream guest that you would love to interview someday?
I’d love to have a chat with Trevor Noah, Dave Chappelle — there are millions of names — but yes, I must say these two people are on my dream list, for sure.
Anyone else coming up that we should look forward to?
There is one person, an industry legend, his name is Anthony Damico. I really like the way he puts his content on his social media — do check it out.
With another wave of Covid restrictions, how can we do more to support the F&B scene?
Let’s support local business in any way possible before it’s too late. I know everyone is suffering, but especially small bars like us are getting the hit big time. There are so many great bars that have been closed, which we don’t want to see in coming days.
What else do you personally have coming up, in the bar and otherwise?
Besides new guests for the podcast, I am working on new menus for Barcode and Zzurra, plus some new concoctions for Tell Camellia. But apart from work, I am in more wilderness activities like hiking and camping. Let’s work together for a brighter future ahead and help each other; let’s share the positivity — this is my goal for 2022. And stay tuned for more unfiltered talk with Gagan!
We look forward to what Gagan brings to the space. Check out This is Life! Unfiltered on Apple Podcast, Spotify and YouTube.
(Images courtesy of Gagan Gurung)
Nathan Erickson
Editor-in-Chief
Born in Seoul and based in Hong Kong, Nathan has been writing about culture, style and food for some of the world's biggest publications for over a decade. He likes Canon lenses and the films of Chow Yun Fat.
