Two hundred cocktails sounds like a number until you are the person responsible for making sure all 200 of them taste like the first one.

The Hilton Gold Medal Chefs Gala gave me an opportunity to serve my award-winning cocktail, Lavender Fields of Provence, to 200 guests. I was excited, of course, but almost immediately my bartender brain took over.

How do we execute this?

Because making one beautiful cocktail behind the bar is one thing. Making 200 of them for an event means thinking about every ingredient, every measurement, every container, every bottle, every garnish, every piece of glassware, and every set of hands that will touch that drink before it reaches a guest.

And that work started long before the gala.

There were emails, spreadsheets, measurements, conversions, bottle counts, ingredient lists and conversations about what the Hilton would provide and what I needed to bring. I had to think through the cocktail from beginning to end and figure out which parts could be prepared ahead without sacrificing the drink I originally created.

Then came the prep.

I made my lavender-raspberry syrup in batches. I prepared my saline solution. I worked through quantities and portions. Fresh lavender and raspberries had to be ready for garnish. Everything had to be packed, labeled and transported.

Even the shaking method mattered. Lavender Fields isn’t simply poured into a glass. The texture is part of the cocktail, so the process had to be communicated clearly enough that another person could help execute it properly.

That meant I couldn’t just know the recipe. I had to know how to teach the recipe.

That is one of the things I love about this industry. A great event will remind you very quickly that no matter whose name is attached to the cocktail, execution is a team effort.

The Hilton staff helped make the process smooth from planning through service. Donna and her team worked with me on the logistics, from glassware and refrigeration to the ingredients and equipment we needed on site. Aimee Brown and the Louisiana Hospitality Foundation helped coordinate the moving pieces leading up to the event.

Vessel supported the opportunity as well. What began as me being invited to prepare my cocktail grew into something bigger, including a Vessel table at the gala.

And then there were my daughters, Kaliyah and Jazmine — Halloween and Christmas — who got to experience the evening with me.

There was something special about looking around that room after all of the preparation and realizing how many people had played a part in getting us there.

That is what people don’t always see when they see the finished cocktail.

They see the coupe.

They see the foam.

They see the lavender and raspberry.

They see the finished drink being handed across the bar.

I see everything that happened before it.

I see the research that went into creating Lavender Fields of Provence in the first place. I see the practice that eventually helped that cocktail win the Four Roses competition. I see the calculations for 200 servings. I see the grocery runs, the prep containers, the syrup, the emails, the spreadsheets, the packing and unpacking. I see the questions I asked because I would rather confirm something twice than arrive unprepared once.

And I see the people who stepped in and helped turn all of that preparation into service.

That night reminded me of something I have learned over more than two decades in hospitality: work ethic isn’t just how hard you work when people are watching. It is how seriously you prepare when nobody is.

I have always been a worker. But as I continue growing as a mixologist, creator and leader, I am learning that hard work also means planning, communicating, delegating and trusting other people to bring their strengths to the table.

For one evening, all of those pieces came together.

And 200 cocktails made their way into the hands of 200 guests.

Not because one person did everything.

Because everybody did their part.

That may be my favorite part of the entire story.

We came together, and we made it happen.