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That I’m all about one thing, but about one thing: cocktails – alcohol – cocktails. After all, I didn’t create a blog for this … So I decided to come to my senses a little and tell you more significant things that will help you master the craft of a bartender, and in general, feel the “holy” spirit, so to speak =). After all, the work of a bartender is a storehouse of information and experience, which can bring considerable dividends in the future. I don’t have a lot of this experience behind me, but still, while working at the bar, I understood some things and it would be stupid not to share them, maybe someone will come in handy.
I write randomly, but I will try to systematize everything. This, I hope, is not the first collection of my tips, so you can safely expect more =).
Council number 1. Do not rush!
I did not immediately understand this common truth, and therefore, I am very sorry. You need to take your time in everything, from finding a job, and ending with dismissal from it. Bartender’s craft does not tolerate fuss. When choosing your future place of work, you should carefully study all the available offers, weigh all the pros and cons, ask around, find out, taste, so to speak. They offered an internship – there is no need to rush either. Sometimes it can drag on for a couple of weeks, or even more, but since the owners of the establishment need it so, it’s better to put up with it, of course, if the situation doesn’t smell bad.
In work, you should completely forget about the rush. Accept the idea that at first many things will not work out – patience will help overcome any barrier. First you need to patiently get used to working days, to capture and study as much as possible. More experienced partners will help with this, so it’s better to go first as an assistant bartender, and only then stand at the bar on your own. Over time, your movements become refined, correct, balanced and carefully considered. If you immediately grab onto everything in a row, nothing good will come of it.
Now essentially:
- Before you start your first work shift, try to learn as much as possible from a working bartender in an institution as many working moments as possible. Here you should be persistent and not be afraid to ask questions. Find out where everything is, who handles orders, how goods are received, how these goods are counted. Be sure to find out your powers and responsibilities, since in some establishments a bunch of incomprehensible responsibilities are dumped on the bartender. It would not be superfluous to learn about the preparation of branded drinks, if any. In addition, just in case, it is worth clarifying the preparation of some well-known cocktails, since some bars use their own recipes.
- During the first working days, try to get used to the environment. It is very important to feel the workplace, to love it, whatever it may be. Generally, bartender should feel at the counter, like a fish in water. From my personal experience, I can say with confidence that adaptation usually takes about 2 weeks. After that, you already have a complete picture of the chosen profession and place of work.
- During workdays, you must always be balanced. If the boss presses, just agree with him, but still do everything as before, of course, if they, that is, the bosses, are really wrong. The client brought it out – ask your partner to serve him further. The client is always right – this is a true statement, but he is your guest, so let him deign to behave like a guest. Rudeness and bad behavior is not welcome anywhere.
- Calmness is the main requirement from the bartender during the steaming. You are the master of the situation. It is understandable that guests want to get their drink faster and rest further, but the fuss will only make things worse. He lost his temper – everything immediately starts to fall out of his hands, drinks spill, layers in shots do not fall, everything behind the bar ends instantly. It is better to ask your partner to stand on the front line for at least a couple of minutes, and to retire yourself and calm down, smoke or just sit and take a deep breath. Working at the bar with a partner is the most beautiful thing in the bar trade. You always feel support, you always know that you will be insured and will not be offended – this should be cherished.
And in general, do everything quickly, but at the same time and slowly. You will immediately find your rhythm. If you understand that you are not made for certain conditions, it is better to look for a new place. But, nevertheless, any difficulty can be overcome, adapted and adapted.
Council number 2. Get ready!
Oh, this is a great bar truth. The bar should always be as prepared as possible for any situation. You understand this especially when it comes to steam. Even running out of cream in a bottle can cause so much trouble that you can’t even imagine. The most dangerous thing is to lose the rhythm – if you lost it, then everything, write – is gone!
- Make the most of the bar. If the warehouse with products is far away, then it is worth placing as much as possible behind the rack itself. Display everything that can be displayed in the window. Fill all lockers and shelves with the most popular elite, wine and other drinks. Fill refrigerators as much as possible with juices, vodka, beer, champagne, and other drinks that are served cold but without ice. In a XNUMX-hour establishment, this is usually done by a night shift of bartenders, most often one. In Crimea, we worked only at night, but one person remained to spend the day, so to speak, in an institution (this applies, by the way, to the first tip – we still performed the duties of watchmen). His job was to stock up the bar and make sure it was completely clean. The work environment throughout the evening and night depended on how well it was done, so we fought a lot with partners if someone didn’t do something.
- Prepare all the little things. In summer, it is better to pick mints for Mojito in advance. So that it does not wither by the evening and remains in its original form, put it in some container and cover it with a damp cloth or cloth, moistening it periodically as it dries. I would not advise cutting fruits in advance – they will lose their appearance quickly enough. Fill the siphon (cylinder) for cream. Pour coffee into the hopper, pour water into the boiler, put the tubules and skewers into the organizer.
- Prepare supplies. Press a small bottle of lemon fresh juice (so that it does not quickly turn sour, add a small amount of vodka to it, of course, if it will not go into soft drinks), prepare sugar syrup, if there is none factory-made (0,5 l of water per 0,5 kg of sugar – boil for 3 minutes and cool). We also prepared a small bottle of fresh orange juice at Caffeine – it helped a lot, as we had some cocktails with fresh juice.
- clean up. Wash all bar equipment before work, rub the dishes if you are doing this in your establishment (in some, dishwashers do this). If you have a coffee machine, soak and then thoroughly wash the holders. As necessary, clean the system itself in the car – I’ll tell you how later. Soak overnight or put on (as you will have there with the schedule) a cappuccinatore. Wash the bar well. If it is wooden, then it should be polished, if from other materials – first with a damp cloth, then dry, and then with alcohol – we did this in the Crimea, we rubbed the rack once a day with vodka. Then the rack will shine, all sorts of stains and other husks will disappear on it, and most importantly, it will become perfectly clean.
- Lay out the dishes. In coffee houses, it makes sense to immediately reserve a certain number of saucers: put a napkin, sugar, candy (if served). This helps a lot in a couple – you do not need to waste time serving. And during operation, you can re-serve empty places on the rack.
Council number 3. Remember!
This advice, of course, I already mentioned in the first one, but here I mean something else. First, study the bar card well and the calculation for all cocktails. Remembering the ingredients and their quantities should take seconds. In a good way, you should not go to work until you have learned the ingredients of all cocktails.
Second, remember your customers. What and who drinks, how he behaves, what you can talk to him about. Regular guests of the establishment are a real gift for any bartender. No need to waste time guessing the order, the guest of the establishment, as a rule, already knows what he will be. We sometimes got to the point that a person is still parking a car, and you are already starting to prepare his favorite drink. This is a real time saver. In addition, such guests constantly go to the institution for a reason – it means they like everything, and if they like it, then you can count on a good tip.
Council number 4. Clean up after yourself!
This is where it gets really annoying. A very, very big disadvantage of working with a partner arises when he is DIRTY. The workplace should always be clean, no matter what the steam does not happen. Spilled – wipe, dropped – pick up, turned on – turn off, dirty – wash, tired – no time =). These are the truisms of teamwork. One of your oversights will come out sideways with several of your partner. And if you work on your own, then even more so – there is no insurance, you have to rely only on yourself, so if you please do not worsen your life – there is no need!
Council number 5. Be handsome!
Here I mean neatness. People love it when the interlocutor looks good, and the bartender simply has to look good. Clean and ironed clothes are the default. I didn’t work in restaurants, and, probably, I wouldn’t want to, but there you still need to always be well-shaven, cut and combed. In clubs or coffee houses, you can afford a modest stubble and hair on your head, the main thing is that it looks like a hair, and not like a bum’s hair =).
Shoes, of course, are not visible behind the bar, but still I will give advice to the ladies: wear closed shoes, preferably with dense material on top. It would be nice if this material can be washed or at least wiped with a damp cloth. This I mean that something will constantly spill and fall on your feet – it’s better to be ready for anything. Of course, shoes should be comfortable – your feet will thank you after you stand another 15 hours behind the counter. In fact, in almost all establishments, you can be fined for your appearance, and if you are completely insane, you can be fired.
Council number 6. Learn to communicate!
Uncommunicative for staunchly not a place. Many guests come to establishments not to drink anything, but only for communication. Train competent speech – mat is not welcome. Notice what topics regular guests like to talk about, if you are not strong in it, then it makes sense to fix it. They talk about football – read about football, about finances – read a couple of Forbs magazines, about women – just talk about women, a woman says – just listen =). You should not enter into heated arguments with guests, if you think that the client is wrong on some issue, it is better to remain silent. Agreeing with everything is also stupid, but spoiling the attitude is not the best idea. Stick to the neutral side.
Council number 7. Learn to prioritize!
Everything is simple here: children are served first, then older people: first ladies, then men. If guests are crowding behind the counter, then it is worth serving a lonely guest first, and only then the company. If there are several people sitting at the counter who want to communicate with you, then there are several options. You can be torn between everyone and talk to everyone a little bit, or you can just introduce them and have a conversation with everyone at once, most often this happens on its own.
Tired. Here you can still write and write, but for today I, perhaps, will stop. Here I have touched only on the main aspects, some of which deserve special attention, but that’s later. Oh yes, out of turn – SMILE! The smile of the bartender works wonders =)
To be continued ….