‘There Is A Need For A Professional Beverage Tending Course’

Benny D Ezekiel, vice-principal of the Hotel Academy discusses their new course in bartending with Lakshmi Subramanian

EH&C: What was the purpose behind starting a professional bartending course?

We have been deliberating about introducing this course for a while now and felt this academic year is the right time to commence. We felt that there is a need for a professional bartending course as no other catering institute in South India offers such a course. There are several standalone bar tending schools in India but very few hotel management institutes provide such a course. There is a wrong notion that alcohol is used during practical training sessions of beverage tending courses. However, no bartending course worldwide utilises alcohol for the practical classes. The faculty use substitutes / syrups to train the students.

A modern bar tender is one who is a good orator, is able to converse with all kinds of guests, handle any situation, manage time apart from knowing how to mix drinks. A course like this would provide training to the students in all these aspects and more.

What is the duration of this course and what are the criteria for qualification? What is the fee structure?

The duration of the course is three months with classes three days a week. There are no criteria to apply for this course. The course is open to anyone be it students, hoteliers or corporate people. In addition, it is a short-term course and we have special timings for the hoteliers. Essentially, anyone with an ardent interest to learn beverage tending can join this course.

The three-month course costs Rs,15000 with a discount for students and hoteliers.

What are the key features of this course?

To begin with the student will be taught the latest trends in international beverage tending maintaining an equal balance of theory and practicals. The course will warrant several field trips to professional bars and vineyards, which is another major feature. In addition, the certification will come from City and Guilds of UK, which is recognised worldwide.

We have earmarked a separate in-house faculty for this course who would provide the required theoretical and practical knowledge. We have a separate area set up for this course with a bar and two classrooms. We are also planning to invite guest faculty from hotels / bars to enlighten the students on beverage tending. It would also make the course a bit more interactive and exciting.

What are the different modules of this course?

The course comprises modules such as history of beverage tending, basics of beverage tending, wines and their varieties, how to serve wine, preparation of cocktails, characteristics of a bar tender, performance bar tending, classic recipes, preparation of bar snacks, licensing and so on.

Have you tied up with any other organisation / institute?

We have tied up with City and Guilds in UK for certification. This certificate is valid in any part of the world. Apart from this we have written to the World Bar Tending Council in Canada for their support. Their support will be in terms of directing the right people from India itself, providing resource material and certification.

What is the kind of response for this course?

We have just introduced the course, therefore its too early to talk about the response. However, we have about 8-9 students from our own institute and other hotel management institutes. But, we are confident that more people will take up this course. It’s just a matter of time.

How will the students benefit from this course?

It is a course which every catering / hotel management student should undergo. I always felt there is a dearth of knowledge when it comes to beverage tending. When students call themselves students of hotel management institutes, they should have knowledge of beverage tending too. Therefore, a student who undertakes this three-month course will boast of the required knowledge of beverage tending. There is a separate syllabus for students who have completed a hotel management degree, as we do not want to repeat what they have learnt already.