Movers and shakers

07 August 2003 by
Movers and shakers

Can your bar crew mix it with the best? Or do they struggle with a screwtop? Whether you've employed new kids on the block or old lags who've served some serious time, the best venues are staying ahead and retaining their staff by empha-sising the importance of training. So if you want to get some life back behind your bar, get the experts in.

Not convinced about the value of that? Jonathan Downey, owner of the Match Bar Group, whose bars include Milk and Honey and the Player in London, is - and he's not alone. "If a customer walks into your venue and gets a blank look when they ask something simple, like ‘What Bourbon do you pour?', they can write you off and tell 50 people that you don't know what you're doing - that's how important bar training is," Downey says. "We have a compulsory in-house training day once a month for all our bartenders, and we test everybody after the session. We take it so seriously that, if you don't attend, without a very good excuse, you get a written warning."

Michael Filipi, operations director for Eclipse bars in London, agrees that training is top of the agenda. "Personnel must know their drinks but also other elements of the bar operation, such as the tills," he says. "We provide ongoing training because it reinforces customer service and also gets staff to want to stay with the company. They learn more and add that to their CV, while passing the monthly module we set entitles them to more money. Considering the industry we're in, we have a very low turnover of staff."

So what kind of training does your bar crew need, and who can provide it? The most visible training available is often offered free by the large drinks brands, such as Bacardi and Tanqueray. Companies such as these can send a representative from the brand to your bar, or employ a recognised trainer to talk you through their product.

Angus Winchester, from training company IPBartenders, has taught the Tanqueray Academy - a two-hour tour of the history, myth and lore of the martini - and also creates bespoke courses that don't focus on one brand. "Many bar owners are reluctant to spend, say, more than £1,000 on staff they feel may move on within a year," he says. "But it makes perfect sense for brands to pay for training, because bartenders will be promoting that product throughout their working lives."

Not all operators are happy with this brand promotion. Match Bar Group and Eclipse both pay for independent trainers to showcase the taste, flavours and uses of a range of products. "Brand training is just propaganda," Downey says, while Filipi, from Eclipse, recounts a recent story of a leading brand wanting to place some of its own bartenders in his venues for a number of weeks. "Frankly, I was insulted," he says. "I believe our staff to be among the best in London. Sometimes, I feel the big brands should take more time to get to know the different types of venues they're talking to."

However, someone in favour of brand education is Gerard McCann, manager of a recently opened Indian restaurant and bar, the Mint Leaf in London. He says: "We stock more than 40 different vodkas, and I need help from the producer or supplier in explaining the product to my staff."

Most bar training companies will work on behalf of big drinks companies at some point because these firms have the marketing money to spend, but a new training firm which claims to be independent is The Training School, at London's ExCel exhibition centre. "We offer a range of courses across the whole spectrum of bar work - from door supervision to wine, spirit and cocktail training," says school manager Andrea Horsfield.

All the reputable training companies can provide a basic, up to advanced background in the wines, beers, spirits and cocktails you should be providing in your bar. They will also discuss the "art of bartending" - the rules and guidelines of working behind a bar that aren't simply down to product knowledge. These range from the obvious things, such as lighting a customer's cigarette and always providing a clean tip tray, to more arcane information, such as never touching your face when you're behind a bar (don't ask me why, you'll have to go on the course).

Bar training is not just good for the staff and for stand-alone bars. As everyone interviewed for this feature agreed, it can really help that neglected area of the hospitality world - the restaurant bar.

"Restaurateurs don't pay enough attention to what a good bar can do for their venue," says McCann, formerly manager of celebrated bar-restaurant Ché. "Great staff and quality training can make the bar a focal point, and add an exciting buzz to a restaurant."

Winchester, who has worked at Will Ricker's E&O restaurant in London's Notting Hill, agrees. "Restaurants tend to have more time with a customer to explain or suggest a drink," he says. "This is a great opportunity for knowledgeable staff to provide a range of ap‚ritifs or digestifs."

Restaurants that have realised the importance of a bar include Michelin-starred Hakkasan. It did not place much emphasis on a drinking area when it opened, but now its cocktail bar, Ling Ling, is a destination in itself. Oliver Peyton successfully redesigned his Knightsbridge restaurant, Isola, to emphasise the bar operation, and Zuma's bar, with its extensive range of sake, is rated very highly by customers and critics alike.

One high-profile restaurant bar that hasn't gained as many plaudits is Jamie Oliver's Fifteen. "You've got to respect the food side of his operation because it's excellent," says Downey," but I think the bar area is cheap and cheesy, with a very short wine list."

So, bar training adds value to your business and helps retain good staff for longer. Of course, one alternative to educating your in-house team is to splash out on a very experienced, and expensive, bar crew right from the start, but you're never entirely sure how competent they're going to be, not even if their CV says they've had a long stretch behind bars. But if you insist, I hear Jeffrey Archer's looking for a job…

No train, no gain

Restaurants where the bar's the star

Ling Ling @ Hakkasan 8 Hanway Place, London W1
020 7907 1888

Alan Yau, the entrepreneur behind Wagamama, employed uber-designer Christian Liaigre to create the Blade Runner-esque, East-meets-West neon style of Hakkasan in April 2001. The bar (pictured above) was not the original focus but, not too long after it opened, the 60-cover Ling Ling started to attract the cool crowd wanting to taste Saketinis - a sake cocktail - and the Chinese lychee liqueurs. Subsequently, the restaurant has won a Michelin star.

Mint Leaf Suffolk Place, London SW1
020 7930 9020

This newly opened Indian restaurant is already receiving praise for its bar operation - no surprise, as it's being run by former Ch‚ bartenders Mark Pratt and Danny Smith. They're successfully "shaking their thangs" behind a large bar area that, with its modern, accessible design, is becoming one of London's destination bars.

Isola 145 Knightsbridge, London SW1
020 7838 1044

Oliver Peyton originally ran two restaurants on this site but realised that his customers were interested in a drinking, as well as a dining, experience. He says: "A lot of our patrons expected to have a drink, go to dinner and then go back to the bar - and they couldn't do that in the original setup." After the necessary changes, the venue quickly became a favourite among the cocktail classes.

Introducing the experts

IPBartenders The International Playboy Bartenders, to give it its full title, might sound like a bunch of fickle, good-time boys, but they have a vast amount of bar knowledge between them. Founder Angus Winchester has 13 years of drinks industry experience and was once bartender-in-residence for Diageo, the world's biggest drinks company. IPBartenders provides training in partnership with Tanqueray gin and Bacardi, as well as bespoke courses for individual venues.

Cost: Contact for quote
Contact: Angus Winchester,
020 8962 2752
www.ipbartenders.com

The Training School
This ambitious project was launched this year in London's ExCel exhibition centre, and aims to provide independent training across every area of bar training. There is a purpose-built bar and exam rooms at the site, although training can take place at your venue.

The school has enlisted the help of well-known industry names in the creation, and teaching, of its courses, such as cocktail guru Dick Bradsell and spirits expert Ian Wisniewski. It also runs WSET and BII accredited courses and aims to open further schools across the UK.

Cost: £150 for one-day foundation course in cocktails or spirits
Contact: Andrea Horsfield,
020 7473 1818
www.thetrainingschool.com

Soulshakers The hottest cocktail shakers around at the moment are Michael Butt and Giles Looker, who have created training company Soulshakers. Butt set up the bar operation at the Elbow Room in Leeds and was trained by living legends Dick Bradsell and Dale DeGroff, while Looker reopened the Player in Soho and managed London's Sosho nightclub.

They concentrate mainly on training independent bars, and are currently working with Finlandia vodka and Southern Comfort brands.

Cost: Contact for quote
Contact: Giles Looker,
07940 651304

Liquid Assets
Based in Glasgow, Liquid Assets claims to have launched Scotland's first bar training academy. Its philosophy centres on the "five Ps" - people, pride, passion, preparation and professionalism. It also offers showbiz bartending (discretion guaranteed!), bar consultancy and brand promotion.

Cost: £350 for basic three-day course (including certificate and "bartending freebies")
Contact: Paul Torrens,
0141-559 5901
www.liquid-assets.co.uk

Behind Bars Created by Mark Bullerwell and Steve Dingley, this company is best known for its "flair" bartending. That's where bartenders fling bottles, breathe fire and generally seek attention - sorry, I mean provide excitement and a sense of theatre in the bar area. Training courses in general bar craft, as well as flair, are available.

Cost: Contact for quote
Contact: Steve Dingley,
0870 744 1325
www.behind-bars.uk.com

The Caterer Breakfast Briefing Email

Start the working day with The Caterer’s free breakfast briefing email

Sign Up and manage your preferences below

Check mark icon
Thank you

You have successfully signed up for the Caterer Breakfast Briefing Email and will hear from us soon!

Jacobs Media is honoured to be the recipient of the 2020 Queen's Award for Enterprise.

The highest official awards for UK businesses since being established by royal warrant in 1965. Read more.

close

Ad Blocker detected

We have noticed you are using an adblocker and – although we support freedom of choice – we would like to ask you to enable ads on our site. They are an important revenue source which supports free access of our website's content, especially during the COVID-19 crisis.

trade tracker pixel tracking