Local bartenders are taking steps to raise the standards of their profession through a series of training programmes for new and practicing bartenders.
The Art of Bartending Seminars, which will be hosted by the Bajan Association of Rum Shops (BARS), are due to begin on September 23.
“We understand that rum shops, bars and restaurants whether you have a bar in a hotel or whatever, they are the first kind of contact for tourists and guests alike, whether it’s local tourists or international or regional tourists, they are the ones who are at the bars.
“So we find that if they are the first meeting point, we should have a particular standard a particular level. Of course that’s the aim of the seminar, to improve our standards, Manager of the association, Raeann Beckles told a news conference.
This will be the second such training session; she said a previous programme which ran from May to July this year was a “resounding success” in which 30 students were trained in both the beginner’s and advanced sessions.
“We had even some of the restaurants and bars calling for some of our students to be interviewed to be part of their staff,” she noted.
Instructor and mixologist, David Barker, said the course is not only about mixing drinks, but will also focus on other areas of bartending.
Mixologist David Barker will serve as course instructor
“We want to get them to the aspect even for rum shops, hotels, to think not only about mixing that drink but to be an entrepreneur at the end of the day also.
“We want to show them how to balance food costs, beverage control, how you write a menu, how you attract people, how you keep people coming, customer anticipation. All these things are aspects that go into bartending,” Barker said.
The BARS said the upcoming seminars have been endorsed by the Barbados Community College (BCC).