The Institute of Mindful Bartending

Famed bartender, instructor and columnist Gaz Regan has yet again challenged the bartending world to step their game. In addition to honing the craft, Gaz encourages bartenders to go the extra mile with customer awareness, courtesy and intention. See the story below for more on the Institute of Mindful Bartending.

 

From Ardent Spirits 

The Institute for Mindful Bartending is an entity created by Aisha Sharpe, Dushan Zaric, and gaz regan.  They spread the word of mindful bartending via blogs, newsletters, and workshops all over the world, and it is their contention that mindful bartenders are the happiest, most successful bartenders in the business.

What is Mindful Bartending? 

The mindful bartender sets his/her intentions to be of service to guests before each and every shift.  This is done in a 5 to 15-minute period of stillness or meditation.

Mindful bartenders strive constantly to be aware of what they are doing, to engage with customers in a manner that lets the guest know that they are the bartender's priority, and they try to react to each and every situation in the bar in a way that leads to the best possible outcome for all involved.

Mindful bartenders attract customer loyalty, bigger tips, and they help tremendously toward helping the people with whom they work come together as a happy team who genuinely care about being of service to others.

How Does One Become a Mindful Bartender?

There are already many mindful bartenders behind bars all over the world.  Some of them have never heard of the term mindful, but they're mindful all the same.

If bartenders want to learn how to put mindfulness into practice, however, they can attend workshops that will be given by Sharpe, Zaric, and regan in 2011 (dates to be determined).

Students who take a workshop will be asked to submit essays to the Institute of Mindful Bartenders after they have applied mindfulness to their jobs for a period of at least six months. 

The essays will serve to detail how their lives and jobs have changed since they applied mindfulness, and bartenders who do this successfully will be awarded a certificate of mindfulness by the institute.

The Workshop consists out of a detailed analysis and commentary of all the influences, attitudes, states of mind, and emotions that prevent a bartender to be mindful in during his/her service. Participants are guided through experiments, which clearly show the benefits of Mindful Bartending for oneself and the guests. Exercises are given on how to set intention, execute it and remember one-self in stressful situations so that they can be transformed into a pleasurable experience.

I'll be highlighting some mindful bartenders in the new Mindful Bartending column below.  Take a gander, why doncha?

Are you a mindful bartender?  Tell us what you are doing to benefit your guests and co-workers.  Please write to gary@ardentspirits.com