Release your global Bartending pressure..

BAR MANTRAS striscia2

(Youtube Video Link – in English )

Buongiorno Bartenders!!

Finalmente sono riuscito ad iniziare ad allenarmi di nuovo la mattina e devo dire che non è affatto facile mantenerne la disciplina, soprattutto quando si è in diverse nazioni quasi ogni settimana per viaggi di lavoro.

Ho iniziato con un programma dove si cammina per due minuti e si corre per un minuto, poi nellla seguente settimana si cammina per tre minuti e si corre per due minuti e così via.

Sempre più in “alto”, per un periodo sempre più lungo, e proprio quando stavo iniziando ad essere soddisfatto dei miei risultati, ho iniziato a guardare alcune persone che stavano correndo più veloce di me, e mi superavano.

Così in quel preciso momento, da uno stato mentale di soddisfazione in me stesso, ho iniziato a fare il confronto tra i miei (apparentemente) buoni risultati, ed il risultato di altre persone

…ma quello non è il vostro risultato!

Non appartiene a voi, perché il più delle volte ci si paragona con altre persone soprattutto nel mondo bartending?

Critichiamo siamo gelosi, invece di concentrarsi davvero su ciò che si sta facendo

Stai lavorando abbastanza duro?

Stai mantenendo la tua identità, mantenendo le tue radici, mantenendo i tuoi valori?

..e davvero utilizzando al meglio la giornata nei riguardi di te stesso come persona e con i tuoi clienti al bar?

La maggior parte delle volte si sente un tipo di..pressione “globale” dove un attimo ci si sente soddisfatti e un attimo dopo ci si paragona agli altri..

Comportarsi da gelosi, invidiosi, pone una grande distanza tra voi e quello che volete raggiungere..come dire, quando vedi qualcuno che ha successo nel mondo del Bartending e odi quella situazione o ne sei invidioso, non lo raggiungerai mai quel successo perché generi un conflitto interno, dove una parte di te lo vuole ma l’altra lo spinge lontano e questo conflitto interno crea frustrazione e non ti prorta a fare nessun passo avanti in verità, sai?

Quindi sii te stesso, prendi ispirazione da qualsiasi cosa, proprio come io ho preso ispirazione da questo mio piccolo risultato correndo in questo bellissimo parco a Roma!

Volevo solo condividere con tutti voi un messaggio semplice..

..tutti noi diciamo di sapere queste cose, ma non ci fermiamo mai neanche un attimo per pensare su..dove vogliamo andare?

Sto facendo abbastanza? Sono contento dei miei risultati?

Sto dando il 100%? E dal momento in cui si sto dando il 100% e non mi sto giudicando (come sapete siamo i più cattivi giudici di noi stessi) continua semplicemente a seguire il flusso delle cose e vedi quello che arriva, perché cose bellissime arriveranno se solo glielo permetti, se solo lasci andare..

Vi aguro una spendida giornata e, a risentirci presto!

NAMASTE’

Max La Rocca

 

PERFECT SERVE COLLECTION by Stephan Hinz

Dear Bartenders, colleagues, friends and cocktail enthusiasts,

Spiegelau has created the perfect series for those who live and work to an extraordinary standard: The Perfect Serve Collection by Stephan Hinz.

Stephan Hinz is an internationally award-winning Bartender, owner of the “Bar Little Link”  and director of the first-class Beverage Catering Company Cocktail Kunst in Germany.

stephan hinz_header_collection_2

With nearly 500 years of expert knowledge in glass production, Spiegelau developed the Perfect Serve Collection by Stephan Hinz to satisfy the requirements of modern drinking culture.

The ten products within the series have been designed to cater to the needs and demands of a modern bar, with each glass expertly sized to accommodate every cocktail and beverage, whether classic, inventive, or whimsical.

stephan hinz_header_home

Thanks to their specially cut decoration, the glasses have a unique refraction and brilliance, and show the composition of all drinks with their simplistic design. From the brilliant optics, to each glass’ durable weight, to the sound of the glasses in cheers, all senses are stimulated.

The series ticks all the boxes: they are perfectly balanced in size and weight; fit into off-the-shelf coolers for pre-cooling; and are extremely resistant to scratches and breakage, as well as dishwasher safe.

stephan hinz_header_drinks_3

Watch the video below to experience the Perfect Serve Collection by Stephan Hinz, making every occasion a special moment of pleasure. (Youtube Link)

.

Thank you Stephan for this amazing piece of work!

Max

The invisible world of the Concierge

The cocktail world is full of characters, from bartenders to bar owners, to night party crowd, but if you look more deeply you’ll see a greater variety of different characters with truly inspiring stories.

The amazing Ben Reed goes through the top 5 things we can learn from a concierge in this video.

AAEAAQAAAAAAAAWKAAAAJGFjOTM5YWYzLWQ1YzYtNGJhNS05OGFmLTdlMDU2ZDAxMzY2NQ

1. Be connected
The concierge has their finger on the pulse of a city but it doesn’t come on a plate. Compiling a black book is a meticulous and systematic networking process that is constant and relentless. Dan’s voice is now recognized on the end of a phone right across the capital and this has been achieved through hard graft, always being on the ball and building lasting relationships ‘with clients, suppliers and fellow industry professionals.

2. Be inspired
Everyone can learn from everyone else and it pays to have a mentor. In the early days, Dan was thrown in at the deep end: “It’s the best thing to do in life. I would listen to the older guys on the desk who were so charismatic. I thought, crikey, how can someone have so much confidence on a desk, have that amount of knowledge of London and be talking to Elizabeth Taylor.”

3. Be optimistic
“You can get anything for anything, can’t you?” Well, with that starting attitude, I’m pretty sure you can. The concierge’s cup is always half-full and it’s a good job too as the requests keep on coming. “Can you help me find out how to ship 21 live deer to the Middle East as a surprise for my 21-year-old wife?” asked the member of the Middle Eastern Royal Family. You’ll need to speak to Dan’s boss about that one but he’s not going to spill the beans for anyone.

4. Be collaborative
The job of a concierge has been around for centuries. The term is derived from ‘comte des cierges’ or ‘keeper of the candles’ which was designated to those who served visiting nobles in castles. The Golden Keys Society is the secret society (motto: ‘In Service through Friendship’) and now a modern-day global network of 4,000 concierges in 65 countries. To receive the cross-key lapel insignia that denotes membership, it’s a minimum of 5 years service, you have to be nominated by 2 members and sit rigorous exams to test your cultural expertise. Is it any wonder that the Concierge prefers collaboration over competitiveness

5. Be positive
And finally, to the golden rule… well you’ll have to watch the film obviously but there are two possible contenders: “I don’t know if I’ve ever said no to someone” and “If you don’t like people, don’t do it.” Both seem pretty obvious on the surface don’t they – that is until you match them up against your own performance perhaps? But for the record, we also like the story about those creative folk at Apple who are well known for taking ideas from outside their industry to improve their lot. “What’s the best customer experience you’ve ever had?” asked Apple CEO Steve Jobs when his business was ramping up to open their first ever Apple stores. The answer that always came back was invariably that of a 5 star Hotel. Hence the Apple Genius Bar was born and directly modelled on a hotel concierge station of course.

Thank you so much Ben for your amazing contribution to the Bartending World!

Original source & Creditscocktailcredentials.com

The big moment has arrived: WORLD CLASS 2015!

 

max Erik WCC

Dear European Bartenders the big moment has arrived!!

Join us on HERE to read what the 1st Challenge of the year will be and how to ENTER the WORLD CLASS Competition!

Don’t forget to watch the video blow

Explore also THE WORLD CLASS CLUB the brand new platform created exclusively for you to keep you up to date on all the bartender news, competitions and inspiration.

GOOD LUCK TO ALL OF YOU!!

And see you in Capetown for the WORLD CLASS Global Final!

Diageo World Class Western Europe Final 2013 – Madrid

Congratulations to all the contestant for being part of this amazing journey and to the 13 souls who will make their country even more proud at the Global Final.

YOU ARE ALL WINNERS!!

It was an honour organising such a great event for you all!

The entire competition and celebrations took place in the modern and luxury Teatro Goya in the central part of Madrid.

This is the second edition of the Western European World Class Competition and Madrid has been chosen, being a vibrant, artistic, modern wonderfully cosmopolitan city with an extraordinary reputation for gastronomy and drinking culture from historical bars like ‘Museo Chicote’ which opened in 1931 to the ultra-modern ‘Le Cabrera’ and ‘O-Clock’.

After two days of shaking, mixing, performing and celebrating Diageo’s Reserve spirits by 26 of Europe’s finest bartenders, the winners heading their way to the Global Final of World Class are:

Bert Jachmann, Austria

Carl Van Droogenbroeck, Belgium

Hasse Johansen, Denmark

Jérôme Kaftandjian, France

Atalay Aktas, Germany

Gareth Evans, Great Britain (also Cannes Red Carpet Challenge Winner)

Thodoris Pirillos, Greece

Mattia Pastori, Italy

Ivar de Lange, Netherlands (also Retro Chic Speed Challenge Winner)

Monica Berg, Norway (also Bartender/Barchef Challenge Winner)

David Rios, Spain

Emil Areng, Sweden

Laura Schacht, Switzerland

Click here to get a feeling through some amazing “MOMENTS” shared on Facebook’s World Class page

Below, a nice Video on Spanish Television for you to enjoy

A huge, honest, friendly, professional, human, passionate THANK YOU to Spike Marchant, Malin Möllerberg, Stephanie Jordan, Jorge Pineda & the Spanish Diageo Reserve Team and my biggest respect to the winners of last year’s Western Europe World Class who supported me, working hard behind the Event Bars and Guest Bartending in Madrid, all of us together to make this Final an unforgettable Event!!!!

Below, a nice footage of the competition

In no particular order Olivier Jacobs, Alexis Taoufiq, Jesper Høst, Rikard Enell, Giuseppe Santamaria, Fjalar Goud, Andy Mil, Kasper Riewe Henriksen, Vasilis Kyritsis, Dennis Zoppi and Armando Archundia.

Respect

Max