His dream was to be the general manager of a grand hotel, but fate had other plans. Here's how Andrew Ho has helped bring Mainland China’s cocktail scene to the global stage.
Andrew Ho is the bartending co-owner of Guangzhou bar Hope & Sesame, and the 2025 recipient of the Altos Bartenders’ Bartender award as part of Asia’s 50 Best Bars — a peer-voted accolade that shows not just how outstanding Ho is as a bartender, but also how admired he is across the Asian bar industry.
Hope & Sesame is revered and has garnered many accolades — as well as putting Guangzhou on the global cocktail map — but it very nearly never was.
In 2016, when Ho and business partner Bastien Ciocca were looking for somewhere to open their business, they were looking for a restaurant space.
Hope & Sesame began its life as a restaurant concept in 2016
“We found a space we really liked in the old neighbourhood of the city that was still close to the CBD,” Ho says. “You know when you walk into a place, you feel it — you’re like, 'damn, this is going to be a great spot'.”
Ho wanted to open somewhere that served food, having previously opened a Vietnamese restaurant for a year in the city. “We started drawing,” he says. “We were placing a kitchen here, and then trying to put the seats in, and it simply didn’t fit.”
The duo’s decision to stick with the space, rather than find somewhere else to open their restaurant, is a decision that changed the course of Ho's life forever.
“We didn’t want to waste the space. So we said, 'let’s open a bar and see how it goes'.”
From the Grand Hyatt to Guangzhou
Ho never planned to be a bartender. Originally from Hong Kong, he studied hospitality in Lausanne. “I went to a fancy hotel school in Switzerland,” he says. After graduating, a traditional hotel path was laid out for him: start as a management trainee, become an assistant manager, and then restaurant manager. He followed it diligently and worked his way up to be the assistant director for food and beverage at the Grand Hyatt Hong Kong.
Andrew Ho originally trained at a hotel school in Switzerland
“I was thinking, one day I’m going to be a hotel GM. That’s the dream,” Ho says.
His role took him to work in Guangzhou for a couple of years before he reconnected with Ciocca, who he studied with in Switzerland.
“Bastien [Ciocca] moved to Guangzhou because of his hotel job. We started talking and we’re like, 'hey, you know, let’s open something'. We were just very passionate about food and beverage.”
Shaking up the city
“In a city of 20 million people, there was one craft cocktail bar,” says Ho.
Mainland China's cocktail scene in 2016 was still in its infancy and Ho didn’t know if their bar was going to be well-received. “We put everything we had into Hope & Sesame — it was a gamble that had to work.”
The Black Garlic Manhattan is one of Hope & Sesame's fan-favourite serves
“There was always a safety net in going back to the hotels, but I had nothing left. We didn’t come from a lot of money, like the typical rich second-generation kids. We made our own money from hotels and we spent everything we had.”
When Hope & Sesame opened, Andrew’s bank account was empty.
“It was a day before opening, and I cooked a Spam and cheese sandwich on a little frying pan,” Ho recalls. “Just me and Bastien, and we thought, 'alright, we’re going to open, like tonight or tomorrow. We have to open'. That was one of the best moments that we had because everything felt real.”
The taste of success
And it worked. The media liked that the owners of the bar worked in the bar — they were there, making drinks and hosting, every night. They opened with just 30 seats, using fresh ingredients, and taking an innovative approach to their cocktails with modern, avant-garde touches. They taught themselves bar techniques, applying what they knew from the food world to drinks. “I love cooking,” Ho says. “I’ve always had this passion and sense for flavour pairings, knowing exactly how it’s going to taste.”
Those early days, with just Ho and Ciocca behind the bar doing everything themselves are in the past now. Today, they have 100 staff across five bars in Guangzhou and Shenzhen and a consultancy business — but their do-it-yourself ethos remains. “It’s just me and Bastien,” Ho says. “We have zero investors. That’s why we can always do whatever we want. That’s the only reason why we’re still going.
“We’re working towards what we think is cool, what we think the guests will like, and we’re working for our team.”
Hope & Sesame took the title of The Best Bar in Mainland China 2024
Ho mostly bartends on guest shifts and takeovers around the world these days, spending his time in their bars preparing the next generation.
“You have to lead by showing your team how it’s done,” Ho says. “I’m happy to win this award because I know that I have this ability to be a good bartender. I’ve made so many drinks. I’ve done so many shifts behind my bar… now I think it’s more about mentorship. I love that part.”
With scores of cocktail acolytes already under his care and a passionate focus on nurturing the next generation of bartending talent, Ho's Altos Bartenders’ Bartender Award is testament to the continent’s continued respect and admiration for his work.
The list of Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2025, sponsored by Perrier, will be revealed at a live awards ceremony at Wynn Palace, Macau, on Tuesday 15 July.
