Thrills and spills at bartending championship
By Jules Bell
JAKARTA (JP): The crowd cheered and the drinks flew. Bottles of tequila and vodka spun through the air, and ice cubes and pieces of lime performed triple somersaults. The music pumped and the bartenders juggled glasses.
It was all part of the action on Saturday night at the Front Row Sports Grill in Senayan, Central Jakarta, for the Indonesian Final of TGI Friday's 1999 World Bartending Championship.
Competing in this year's final were four male bartenders, and a woman for the first time in the event's five-year history. The entrants vying for the 1999 championship included Ery and Merci from TGI Friday's Senayan outlet, Deny from the bar chain's Kebon Sirih establishment, and Baron and Firman from the Front Row Sports Grill and Italianni's respectively.
"Indonesia's greatest bartender", as the press release proclaimed, needs to be more than just a juggler of gin and tonic though. The competition comprises both compulsory and freestyle elements. The compulsory segment is designed to test the competitors mastery of bar mechanics, food and drink knowledge -- the bartenders must be able to recall more than 400 alcoholic and nonalcoholic drink recipes -- and skill and accuracy of drink making and pouring.
The showier freestyle component of the competition, held for the public on Saturday night, required the competitors to take drink orders from a panel of judges and then create cocktails in a spectacle of "barobic" maneuvers.
The judging criteria included accuracy of pour, organization, cleanliness, working flair, guest interaction and professionalism.
Drinks were made one at a time, with bottle throwing and catching tricks dominating the routines, including multiple spins of sometimes two bottles at once, behind-the-back tosses and balancing acts. Magic tricks closed some performances, which generally lasted 10 minutes to 15 minutes, after which a final drink was made by the competitors and auctioned to the crowd.
Ice cubes and straws also saw their share of the action -- as did the floor. The use of a soft surface beneath the competition area was prudent indeed. Sometimes, the event offered more spills than thrills with colored liquor flying around and full shakers finding the ground instead of an entrant's grasping hand.
The competitors' sense of humor usually saw them through any such mishaps, as did the encouraging, forgiving crowd.
Tom Cruise and Cocktail references aside, the crowd loved every minute of the event, cheering wildly for the more spectacular tricks and chanting "hebat, hebat" (great) during the more exciting routines.
Baron from the Front Row Sports Grill won the freestyle competition and the overall championship. His next challenge is the Regional Asia-Pacific Finals in Manila, the Philippines, on Sept. 1.
"I feel so happy, really, really happy," exclaimed the 24-year-old bartender, who came second in the championships last year.
The winner has been working at the Front Row Sports Grill for two years, and has been tending bars since 1995. He worked part time behind a bar while studying hospitality at university, before taking to the profession full time.
"I just want to do my best," said Baron, "for myself and for my country."
Like Baron, more than 1,700 TGI Friday's bartenders around the world have been shaking and juggling their way through competitions toward one final event and reward. The title of World's Best Bartender -- and associated prizes -- await the winner of the world final this year in Dallas, the U.S.