Tennessean Article.Pub

By KETURA WALKER Bartending school grants students the training for a fun and flexible job that’s also lucrative Staff Writer

this year have finished the program. Requirements for entering Kim Barber, a 33-year-old certified public accountant bartending school from Hendersonville, recently completed the program to BELLY UP earn some extra money on the side. “I enjoy the atmos- Tennessee law requires a server permit to phere because this is less stressful and it keeps me be employed as a bartender. to a new career f\relaxed,” she said. Within the 40-hour course, she learned To apply for the permit, an individual must how to make 150 mixed drinks. The purple hooter-shooter complete an application and meet the fol- he lights are dimmed as the sounds of Aeros- is her favorite to prepare. lowing requirements; mith bleed through the speakers. A poster of In addition to mixed drinks, students learn about serv- • No conviction of any crime related to Tom Cruise in Cocktail graces the wall along ing beer and wine. Students can complete the course in sale of beverage alcohol or beer, with shrines to beers from around the world. one week or stretch it out to two weeks. Course tuition is schedules 1&2 controlled substance or sex-related crime or embezzlement TLiquor bottles sit against the wall waiting to be emptied. reasonable, but graduates can earn it back in tips within the in past eight years. Not only does the Professional Bartending School of first two weeks,” Edwards said. • No felony conviction over the past four Nashville provide its students with a barroom atmosphere, Final exams consist of mixing 12 actual concoctions years. but it grants them the gift of mixology, the scientific term for such as hurricanes, mai tais and frozen drinks in eight min- • Applicant is at least 18 years of age. bartending. utes as the instructor calls them out. • No other server permit revocation in a “Bartending is a very exciting career that contains flexi- “Once the students pass their exams, they're given a bility and fun,” says David Edwards, the school’s director. foreign jurisdiction within the past five certificate in mixology and are ready for job placements,” years. Its students, who come from throughout Middle Ten- Edwards said. The school helps find jobs for 95% of nessee, attend for several reasons. • No ownership interest in any estab- its graduates. Graduates have been placed at lishment or operation that has had its “Becoming a bartender helped get “Bartending The classrooms at Nashville’s Professional Bartending School don’t have desks and chairs. In- some of Nashville’s top hotels and restau- license or permit revoked in the past through school seven years ago,” instruc- stead, the school is set up like a typical bar, the better to teach students such as Jake Fant, who Helped me get rants such as The Wild Boar, Opryland Ho- hopes to earn a bartending license eight years. tor Rachel Krantz, 25, said. “You make tel and Hermitage Hotel. • Successful completion of alcohol- money on the weekends and work flexi- Through school To be a successful bartender, skills beyond awareness training for persons in- ble hours.” Seven years ago.” knowing how many ounces of this and how volved in the direct sale of alcohol, Murfreesboro native Jake Fant, 23, many ounces of that are needed. wine and/or beer (within one year of decided that rather than hang out at a -Rachel Krantz, “You need to be an outgoing person by figur- submitting application). bar, he might as well work behind one and ing out the person’s needs,” said Rick Moore, Server permits must be renewed every instructor three years. For more information on the get paid for it. “I’ve been a cook for two 54, a retired truck driver who, after 24 years on Professional Bartending School of Nash- years, but my goal has always been to open my the road, decided to try out bartending because he own bar,” he said. ville, call 615-885-5800; wanted something different from what he was doing, “After www.pbsa.com Students learn the nuts and bolts of serving drinks. truck driving for twenty-something years, you get burnt out,” Anybody can grab a beer, but it takes a skilled bartender to he said. “This may not do me any good, but at least I can prepare a grasshopper (a half ounce of green crème de say I tried it.” Responsible Alcohol Service is state mint, a half ounce of white crème de cacao and two ounces So, how are bartenders trained to handle someone mandated. of cream). “Students are taught to know all the traditional who’s had too many drinks? Before they complete the pro- In the profession of bartending \there is and trendy drinks,” Edwards said. gram, the bartending school’s students must take a five- w\always going to be room for everyone, Since 1978, the Cincinnati-based school has estab- hour class call Responsible Alcohol Service. “This class Edwards said. “The service industry is grow- lished over 80 schools nationwide and has certified 75,000 teaches you how to handle situations where a person has ing and people are going to drink. As long bartenders. At the Nashville school, at 2710 Old Lebanon had one too many drinks,” assistant director Emily Hope as clubs and hotels continue to open, there Pike in Donelson Plaza, 95% of the 320 students starting said. Ashley Kuzma practices making drinks at the Professional Bartending School in Nashville. will be a need for bartending.”