An Interview With A BarMax Cocktail Trainer

An Interview With A BarMax Cocktail Trainer One of Australia’s most acclaimed bartenders, Ben Blair is the lead trainer at BarMax, and the creator of the cocktail and bar courses that can help you get into the hospitality industry in Australia. Based in New South Wales, Ben explains what these courses offer in just one day, and lets us into his world in the hospitality industry.

What’s the bar industry in Sydney looking for from new applicants?
There are so many people out there who work in bars, that it’s a matter of sorting through the CVs and finding the ones that show promise or show that they’ve got the skills to step in and start without too much trouble.

An Interview With A BarMax Cocktail Trainer By promise, is it enough to just show enthusiasm?
Basically, you can’t train personality – if you’re looking at two job applicants, both have little to no experience in the bar, but one has a cocktail course under their belt, it shows that they’ve gone out and sought information and tried to better their skill set.

As no one can work in a bar without a Responsible Service of Alcohol certificate, what steps do you suggest for them to take?
Get the RSA before you even start applying for jobs. The Bar Skills Course teaches the basics, then the Cocktail Course takes that and builds on it. Many bars have got cocktails in them these days and it’s good for someone to have half an idea of what they’re stepping into.

What can first-timers learn at the Cocktail Skills Course?
If you’re starting out, you’re probably not going to know the equipment and how to use it, so that’s one of the first things. Little tips and tricks on ways to speed up and be efficient, and then practically using the equipment and making cocktails. We delve into the history behind them and use that to get people to remember them. We’re currently teaching 16 cocktails in different categories. Some are the most commonly ordered ones, your Cosmopolitan, Mojito and Daiquiri.

Many bars create their own cocktails or versions of cocktails; does the Cocktail Course help with this?
We have a booklet that covers sweeteners and souring agents, and gives a basic make-up of the different categories of cocktails. A friend of mine calls it The Mr Potato Head formula – you take one thing out and put another one in and it should work just fine. We teach the basics to people that haven’t done it before, such as the classic daiquiri of rum, lime and sugar, but once they’ve worked out balance, it’s quite easy to make alternatives.

An Interview With A BarMax Cocktail Trainer How would you advise someone to apply for a bar job?
In person is always going to be the best way – face time with the manager, present yourself, and show that you’re keen. You can now find most jobs on a Facebook page called The Sydney Bartender Exchange – handy little resource.

Would there be training involved?
There’s always going to be a trial shift to see how people work, whether they gel with the crew, and to find out whether they would like to work with you! Bars that have a bigger group will have more of a training programme; groups like Swillhouse and Merivale invest in training.

How would someone fair moving from somewhere like London to Sydney?
The cocktail culture in the UK and in London in particular is so much more developed than in Australia. There are great bars and bartenders, but the general populous in the UK would know so much more and drink more often than in Australia. Even if you think you don’t know that much, you’re already a step ahead of someone who has grown up in Australia.

What about someone on a Working Holiday Visa that’s just looking to earn some money to further their travels? Will an employer be put off that they may just stay for a few months?
An Interview With A BarMax Cocktail Trainer Seasonally, some bars are busier than others, so during summer in Bondi the bars are choc a bloc, and in winter it drops right off, so that’s the ideal time to travel. Unless there’s a specific role intended for the person, to become a manager or carry a bar forward, there’s always going to be a revolving door of people. It doesn’t mean that they can’t be an asset; it’s just for a short time or a long time.

Is there a big difference from regional to urban bar work?
In Sydney, there’s a lot of competition! All the quality bartenders have been spread out really thin, so the bars have to have something special like training or good pay to keep really good bartenders. Anyone that’s worked in a bar for a year or two can go and manage the nearest one. There’s a lot of moving around which isn’t great. But in regional areas outside of Sydney – Newcastle and Wollongong – they’re starting to pick up.

An Interview With A BarMax Cocktail Trainer Do you have a favourite cocktail to make?
An Interview With A BarMax Cocktail Trainer It depends on the time, place and whether I’ve got 1000 different customers in front of me! I do have one of my own, a crowd pleaser, which is only a few ingredients. It’s called a Quackery – a twist on a daiquiri – with 50ml of white rum, 7.5ml of Campari, 20ml fresh lime juice and 15ml of orgeat.

What are you doing outside of the BarMax courses?
I’m an international man of fun employment! I work at many events, I recently had a pop-up bar called Whisky Jerx in Paddington, I do little bits of consulting, I work in friends’ bars, and I’m moving down the coast soon to open something down there.

An Interview With A BarMax Cocktail Trainer About BarMax

BarMax provides Bar Skills Courses, Cocktail Skills Courses and RSA Courses in New South Wales. If you want to learn the tricks of the trade at a Bar Skills Course or Cocktail Skills Course for FREE, just enter our competition below!