Daniel Raynolds Tetteh
The job of a bartender is not a vocation meant for school dropouts, but rather a profession which requires special training and one reserved for those with the natural acumen for customers, Jean Lukaz, an expert trainer in the hospitality industry, has mentioned.
He explained further that a bartender plays a very significant role in customer satisfaction and that the profession is both an art and science which requires a good bartender to be able to investigates recipes, explores old recipes, invents new recipes, introduce new ingredients and know what quantity to serve.
Mr Lukaz was speaking at the inauguration of the Bartenders Association of Ghana (BTAGH), of which he has been made the Honorary Executive Secretary.
He said while Ghanaians generally underrate the job of a bartender, it is a highly respected profession in other parts of the world.
“I would like to refer to a job profile for a bartender at the Dubai Burj Al Arab Hotel (the one that looks like a sail). It requires the bartender to have customer service, operational and administrative competencies. These are not competencies for amateurs,” Mr Lukaz added.
His statement that the position of a bartender is not one for school drop outs was supported by the President of the BTAGH, Daniel Raynold Tetteh.
“Bartending is an art, a science, and a skill. It transcends flair, customer service, bar management, nutrition and food science, dietetics, bromatology, and sensory perception. I believe this is not a job that should be reserved for dropouts. If you will not consult waste management company for heart surgery why will you consult an untrained bartender to become an alchemist and mix drinks for your suicide mission?” Mr Tetteh stated in his address at the inauguration.
He explained further that the BTAGH would not only seek the welfare of bartenders across the country but would also work with stakeholders in the hospitality sector to ensure that the appropriate regulations are put in place.
Mr Tetteh raised questions of why the regulatory bodies for liquors and beers have restricted their scope to only the middle and high earn restaurants, pubs and hotels but deliberately turned a blind eye to the activities of local and street corner drinking joints where the drinks served there are believed to have been mixed with all sorts of materials.
The BTAGH president said his group hopes to become a member of the International Bartenders Association (IBA) so as to earn Ghana a representation in the Global Bartending Community.