Self-employment
Tapping into a new careerWhen Eva and Jim Reeves decided to trade in their respective careers in payroll administration and information technology to open a restaurant, they knew they had a lot to learn. After completing franchise training, Eva decided to raise the bar even higher by learning how to mix drinks like the pros. |
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 [ 2006-12-13 ] |
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Eva Reeves learned the tricks of the trade at The Bartending School of Ontario in Toronto before she and her husband opened St. Louis Bar & Grill in Whitby.
In the weeks before opening St. Louis Bar & Grill in Whitby, Eva learned the tricks of the trade at the Bartending School of Ontario (B.S.O.) in Toronto. Licensed bartending instructors teach students how to mix more than 250 cocktails and lead martini, beer and shooters workshops.
DREAM COME TRUE
Opening a restaurant is a dream come true for the Ajax couple. "We've been going to St. Louis in Toronto since it opened in 1992 and are addicted to their wings," Eva says. "About three years ago, we learned about franchise opportunities from one of their placemats. It all evolved from there."
Attending B.S.O. is part of the couple's commitment to achieving success. "Through franchise training, I learned that you may need to jump right in and fill a number of roles, like hostess, server, bartender and manager," Eva says. "I decided to go to bartending school because I wanted to get to know that part of the business better."
B.S.O. students learn techniques like layering, shaking, flaming and precise pouring. "Each week you learn a different group of drinks: the screws, the bloods, the martinis," Eva says. "You have bottles with coloured water and your instructor watches you as you pour. It's a lot of fun."
The program also teaches open/closing procedures, credit card operations, juices and garnishing, glassware, glassware washer maintenance, safe service of alcohol, liquor laws and liabilities, customer cutoff, stock rotation and stock inventory control.
As part of the program, Eva attended a workshop at the Labatt training institute in Toronto and learned about the brewing process, how to pour draft, pairing beer with food and matching beer with appropriate glassware. A quick learner, she's already won a draft-pouring competition.
Preparing for the B.S.O. exam was intense. "You need to know how to mix 130 drinks off the top of your head. The exam asks you how to mix 20 drinks, but you don't know which ones you need to know. I studied so hard," Eva says. Her efforts paid off: she earned a perfect score.
Many of the bartenders Eva has hired to work at her restaurant have completed bartender training. It's the quality of service customers expect, she believes. Eva recalls ordering her favourite cocktail -- a blue lagoon -- at a competing restaurant. "The drink was green," she says. "I wanted to know how the bartender mixed it. It tasted okay, but just didn't look right."
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QUICK FACTS
The Bartending School of Ontario (B.S.O.) was established in 1974. Its hands-on training program is taught by licensed bartending instructors who have first-hand experience working as bartenders, floor servers, bar managers, bar owners or industry consultants.
Visit www.bartendingontario.com to view course content and to learn more about new progressive class times designed for easier learning and quicker employment opportunities.
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