By Ranjan K Baruah
New restaurants and bars are being opened in different parts of Meghalaya and other parts of the North East. There are several bars and pubs too. With this, job opportunities have also opened up. Bartending is a lucrative career option in today’s world.
One of the most eccentric and interesting careers in the hospitality industry is ‘bartending’. It is a part of the food and beverage department of the hospitality industry. A bartender (also known as a barkeep, barman, barmaid, bar chef, tapster, mixologist, alcohol server, flairman or an alcohol chef) is a person who formulates and serves alcoholic or soft drink beverages behind the bar, usually in a licensed establishment. Bartenders also usually maintain the supplies and inventory for the bar.
Bartenders are usually responsible for confirming that customers meet the legal drinking age requirements before serving them alcoholic beverages.
In certain countries, such as Canada, the UK and Sweden, bartenders are legally required to refuse more alcohol to drunken customers. Historically, bartending was a profession with a low reputation. It was perceived through the lens of ethical issues and various legal constraints related to the serving of alcohol.
The pioneers of bartending as a serious profession appeared in the 19th century. ‘Professor’ Jerry Thomas established the image of the bartender as a creative professional. Harry Johnson wrote a bartending manual and established the first bar management consulting agency. At the turn of the 20th century, slightly less than half the bartenders in London were women, such as Ada Coleman. ‘Barmaids’, as they were called, were usually the daughters of tradesmen or mechanics or, occasionally, young women from the ‘better-born’ classes who had been ‘thrown upon their own resources’ and needed an income.
The bartending profession was generally a second occupation, used as transitional work for students to gain customer experience or to save money for university fees in few countries. The reason for this is because bartenders in tipping countries such as Canada and the United States can make significant money from their tips. This view of bartending as a career is changing around the world, however, and bartending has become a profession by choice rather than necessity. We shall publish more in our next edition.
Updates:
Volvo Group Scholarship Program for Master’s Students in Business and Economics in Sweden: The University of Gothenburg is offering a scholarship to the students to pursue a postgraduate degree program. The scholarship programme covers 100 % of the tuition fee for a two-year Master’s programme for one student. The purpose of this scholarship is to attract top quality international postgraduate students to the university and to support Sweden’s research effort. The University of Gothenburg consists of future entrepreneurs, financial analysts, climate experts, top musicians, designers and many more. Application deadline is February 1, 2019.
(Ranjan K Baruah is a career mentor, skill trainer, academic consultant and strategic planner and can be reached at [email protected] or 8473943734 for any career related queries)