Episode #15: Jen Queen 🇺🇸 🇰🇭 🇲🇲 🇭🇰

Who in the World

Today on the Who in the World podcast I’m super stoked to have on my friend Jen Queen, who I met around 2015 when we both we’re living in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Originally from Ohio before relocating to San Francisco, Jen is a world-class bartender and Mezcalier, the term for someone who’s an expert in Mexican mezcal spirits.

Similar to a sommelier with wines, my understanding is that Jen was only the 14th person in the world to earn that Mezcalier designation. She went on to establish herself in San Diego before taking the huge leap of faith to move to the capital city with high-wire energy in the Kingdom of Cambodia, Phnom Penh.

After years in PP working for La Familia, educating and collaborating with other local bars and industry folks, and plenty of ripping up the nightlife scene in a getaway tuk tuk, Jen moved on to Yangon, Myanmar (formerly Burma).

There, she picked up where she left off as a Bar Manager for 57 Below and Union Bar & Grill in the vibrant British colonial city shrouded in mystery, which had just recently opened to the outside world again.

But political unrest in Myanmar forced her and her new bride to relocate, taking refuge during the pandemic back in the U.S. and Mexico.

Now, Jen Queen has a bright and bold new chapter to her story in Hong Kong, the preeminent hub of everything food, drink, and bar related.

From discussing her concepts on building culture to what makes a great bar to her day-off ritual (Fresh Cut Fridays and a bottle of So Co and lemons in a dark piano bar), seeing the world through Jen’s lens of experiences makes me want to pack my suitcase again – and order another round.

Enjoy this podcast and all hail the (Jen) QUEEN!