Bartending: A fast growing industry for our HRS students

There are hundreds of drinks availabe in a bar and there are hundred ways of serving them.

To familiarize our students with the countless ways of bartending and provide alternative learning venues for our Hospitality and Restaurant Services (HRS) students, the senior students of STI Naga’s HRS class of 2009 together with their Instructor, Ms. Sandra Bueza, conducted a Comprehensive Bartending Seminar last September 27, 2008 at STI Naga.

HRS students came in full-force the whole day excited to witness the presentations and demonstration being done by the invited speakers who are active movers in the local hospitality industry.

The seminar begun with the School Administrator encouraging the students to initiate more activities of the same nature. He even offered the possibility of having activities outside the school, more so, outside the city. This is being done in the conviction that the most important part of learning happens in the actual immersion of the students in the industry. Real life education is witnessing first hand the workers and processes of the industry.

The first speaker for the day, Ms. Josephine P. Primavera, is an expert in the hospitality and restaurant services industry. She has been with the industry for almost a decade now. She holds the distinction of being one of the accreditors of Hospitality Services Programs in the Region. She talked about the ins and outs of bartending and presented the manpower demand in this field both locally and abroad.

In the afternoon, two more speakers followed suit. Mabeth Apring, a resident bartender of Lolo’s Bar, and Don Adolfo, now working in Rockwell Makati, flashed their skills in bartending by doing various cocktail mixing and flair bartending exhibitions in front of the students.


Flair bartending is the act of flipping, spinning, throwing, balancing, catching bottles, drinks, and various bar tools all while making cocktails. Flair bartending involves highly technical pours and cuts that ensure accuracy and no spillage while performing various tricks and moves. Their world-class flair bartending skills really inspired the students to make good in their craft this early.

Tom Cruise made bartending looked cool in his movie 1988 "Cocktail" . Now it's time for the real guys, out STI HRS students to take centerstage. Bartending, which includes bottle flipping and juggling glasses is fast emerging as a career choice with the increase in demand for bartenders both here and abroad.

This 'high spirited' vocation was not considered a very civilised profession until recently. "Bartending was looked down as a career choice. But with the pub and cocktail culture picking up, bartenders are in demand and it is picking up as a career among the youth," says Sandeep Verma, who runs the Institute of Bar Operations and Management, a training institute for bartenders.

STI Naga HRS Bar