There are many factors to take into consideration when choosing a bartending school. You might want to do some research and first find out how long the school has been in operation. What is the reputation for the school? Ask about the curriculum. What is the teaching schedule? Do you need a school that offers day or night classes or a combination of both?

It is very important to know how long the school has been in operation. Bartend.CA is one accredited school that has long been in operation. It was founded in 1981 and is the oldest private bartending and table service institution in Canada. The courses are offered by the Master School of Bartending and are recognized by many employment establishments

A good bartending school will have classrooms set up just like a bar or a cocktail lounge. These classrooms should include the latest equipment such as ice machines and cocktail units, soda gun dispensers, blenders and professional glassware.  If you are able to take a tour of the school that is a good idea. Ask to see the training manuals and an actual class in session, or at least walk through the classroom. . The classroom should be clean, neat and look like a real bar.

A good bartending school can teach you how to do a successful interview for a bartending position. They should train you how to fill out an application, resume preparation and how to dress and respond to interview questions. Also find out if the school has a job referral service. Then you can be well on your way to a new and promising career as a professional bartender.

An older, more established bartending school is more likely going to provide the best training in all the latest bar techniques and mixology. The students will learn in a real bar atmosphere with professional bar tools and glasses, mixing equipment and  real lfe atmosphere.

The older, more established schools, like Bartend.CA offers a variety of different classes including table service, shots and shooters, bartending, flair bartending, wine tasting, and etiquette.

The more established schools, like Bartend.Ca have the best instructors. Like  Perrick LHotellier, who has extensive experience in the art fine wines and has held the position of Chief Executive Officer of the ”Nicolas” select wine cellar. Perrick has offered personalized wine tasting and his knowledge of fine wines. He is now the resident wine professor.

Another featured instructor is Ronnie Laliberte who has over 30 years experience as a professional in the hospitality industry. Ronnie has worked as a Maître D, bar manager and bartender in prestigious restaurants in Canada.

Older bartending schools have the experience to guide you through a range of issues such as professional etiquette, product knowledge and alcohol awareness. These ideals provide the graduate with the skills necessary to effectively and responsibly meet the demands of this thriving industry.

Bartending schools offer hands on training. Since a great bartender learns from experience “hands on” really helps. Bartend.CA is a school that also teaches “Theory” involving the alcoholic beverage. Some customers want to know where a drink originated and the history behind its creation. Sharing this knowledge with the client is a good way to get to know the client and make regular customers who increase your tip potential.

At Bartend.CA all of the Masters School of bartending instructors are professional, experienced and very supportive. They provide our graduates with the up to date bartending training and the speed skills needed to work in any establishment. In addition they’ll teach you all the tricks that will help you advance quickly in this career.

Bartend.CA also offers a Speed course in which the student learns to make many drinks very fast. This is a valuable skill especially in “service type “ bars where a waiter or waitress has many drink orders and you must be able to keep up with the continuous demand for high quality, quickly made drinks. You will be taught to prepare, serve and taste the drinks in a real bar setting simulating the real work experience.

Many employers will be more likely to hire a person with the certification then hiring someone off the street who has only worked as a bar back or no experience at all .Some of the schools offer job placement programs to assist the graduate in finding lucrative bartending positions.

Bartending schools usually have requests from local bars for “last minute hiring”. Many times a busy bar will have one or two bartenders call in sick on a busy Saturday night and they urgently need a trained bartender. You stand a greater chance of snagging up a lucrative gig when you are listed as a graduate with a bartending school.

When you receive your certification from a bartending school you will walk out with the confidence in yourself and you will be able to apply the skills learned in the classrooms to the real life and your true earning potential.

Typically a bartender earns on average of $9.00 to $11.00 per hour. Tips are where a bartender earns the majority of his/her income. It is a general rule of thumb that a bartender should earn 2-4 times their hourly salary. Therefore, if your base salary is minimum wage of $8.55 per hour you should earn in tips about $16.00 to $40.00 per hour in tips. A bartender in an average bar can easily earn $20.00 to $50.00 per hour with both wages and tips.

I’m sure many of you have sat in a bar, ordered a couple of drinks and left a $3.00 to $5.00 tip. That is just what happens in a matter of minutes. While your bartender is waiting on you he also serves a few more people and makes a few more dollars. All in a matter of 5 minutes or so, he may have earned $10 – $15.00.  I know you think that’s only a couple of bucks. You’re right but this goes on for most of the night and the bartender has waited on hundreds of people which add up to hundreds of dollars in just a few hours.

The trick to making good money is to work in a busy bar that has good clientele and serve as many drinks as you can while still providing great customer service. Try to get the best shifts and be professional, responsible and honest.

It’s also a good idea to be friendly with the customers, getting to know them and their drink habits. Add a smile or a joke with a well made drink. Get chummy, ask questions, talk up popular subjects such as sports with the men; compliment the women on their attire. Make their visit to your bar station a fun and entertaining experience.

“Bonne ambiance, beaucoup de plaisir !”
- Yannick Bourgeois

“Parfait! ”
- Ralph Vicière

“Très amusant”
- Laurence Deveault Valiquette

“Professeur très sympathique”
- Marie-Ève Martin

“Convivial et enrichissant”
- Annie Jean-Lauzon

“Très agréable, belle dégustation de cocktails variés”
- Marc Lemaire

“Belle étendue des alcools pour tous les goûts”
- Valérie Zambor

“Belle soirée, le temps a passé trop vite”
- Stéphane Lauzon

“Merci beaucoup l’École des Maîtres pour cette belle soirée”
- Martine Savard

“Professeur dynamique et passionné”
- Maxime St-Amant

“Professeur génial, excellents vins”
- Karine Desroches

“Cours donné dans un atmosphère détendu et agréable.”
-Borys Geguine

“Belle approche pour des débutants, langage simple etaccessible”
- Sonia Leroux

“Très agréable”
- Benoît Latullipe

“Prof drôle et compétent, vulgarise très bien l’art”
- Daniel Bernier

“Très agréable, le professeur est qualifié et passionné”
- Sophie Lalanne

“Très satisfait, très bien présenté”
- Yves St-Pierre

“Intéressant et dynamique”
- Sylvie Beaulieu

“Agréablement surpris. Dynamique, familier, très bonne présentation”
- Bruno Gaudette

“Très instructif, prof dynamique et intéressant”
- Mélanie Raymond

“Délicieux et agréable”
- Ariana Collas

“J’aimerais continuer pour en apprendre toujours plus sur les vins”
- Anne-Marie Tremblay

“Excellent”
- Nick Kaoulis

“Interesting and informative.”
- Maya Kosovalis

“Très bonne initiation, bien expliqué, animateur passionné!”
- Bélinda Doucet

“Cours pertinent et accessible”
- Émilie Therrien Fortin

“Très enrichissant”
- Johanne Rivet

“Fort agréable, celà donne le goût d’en connaître davantage”
- Myriam Arcand

“Ce fut une belle expérience, j’ai vraiment beaucoup appris”
- Maryse Lebescot

“Très accessible et convivial”
- Maryse Belleville

“Passionné, gentil, humble, compétent !”
- Sophie Paquin

“Très satisfait de mon expérience, j’ai apprécié les différents aspects de la dégustation”
- Pier-Luc Lemieux

“Très satisfaite, je veux revenir à l’École des Maîtres pour une expérience différente”
- Annie Bisson

“Présentation précise, concise, intéressante”
- Larry Yanakis

“Très agréable, présenté avec humilité”
-  Johane Haman

“Très intéressant, vins abordables”
- Marie-Claude Boucher

“Très bien”
- Yves Gervais:

“Très belle expérience”
- Nathalie Guay

“Super expérience! J’ai appris et j’ai rit dans une ambiance très conviviale”
- Jacques Aubin

“Très intéressant et instructif”
- François Giroux

“Professeur dynamique, cours superbe!”
- Lise Amyot

“Le professeur a su me transmettre sa passion pour le vin”
- Jun Hao Li

“Belle soirée, cours très intéressant”
- Ronald Arès

“Très enrichissant et très dynamique”
- Rosalie Côté

“Les accords mets vins sont fascinants”
- Gabrielle Bélanger

“Beaucoup d’information pertinente et intéressante”
- Marie-Josée Hogue

“I truly enjoyed this course and recommend it”
- Megan Ilko

“BRAVO!”
- Sylvain Neveu

“Accessible et agréable”
- Sébastien Aumais

“This was enjoyable, I definitely recommend this course”
- Natalie Narine

“Great teacher !!!”
- Tara Martyres

“Très intéressant, je le conseille fortement”
- Sylvie Delisle

“Je pourrai maintenant mieux définir, déguster et découvrir les vins”
- Lorraine Beaupré

“Je n’hésiterais pas à le recommander à tous”
- Julie Landry

“Dynamique, professeur très compétent”
- Éric Rousseeau

“Belle diversité de vins proposés”
- Catherine Laramée

“Incite à ouvrir nos connaissances et nos horizons”
- Patrick Blais

“Professeur très dynamique”
- Louis-Phiippe Allard

“Très satisfait”
- Michel Gauthier

“Fantastic afternoon! ”
- Lise Dubois

“Intéressant et enrichissant”
- France Masson

“Belle équipe, dynamique et interactive”
- Anne-Isabelle Léonard

“Great, fun, engaging, informative”
- Michelle Auer

“Une formation à la fois amusante, professionnelle et personnalisée. Satisfaite à 100%”
- Émilie Couturier

“I had great fun and learned so much !!”
- Tanya Miller

“J’ai bien aimé le cours, le professeur est très compétent et il sait nous mettre à l’aise”
- Marie-Josée Lamothe

“J’ai beaucoup apprécié, très belle initiation, concrète et pas trop compliquée.”
- Yannick Munger

“The teacher is amazing, very warm and pleasant”
- Robin Wiviott

“Très bien introduit! Le professeur nous donne l’opportunité de choisir nos essences sans imposer les siennes.  Bravo!”
- Patrick Trottier

“Soirée très agréable et instructive”
- Sylvie Bonnoyer

“Le cours a rencontré et excédé mes attentes”
- Sophie Guindon

“Excellent”
- Alexandre Fournier

“Divertissant et éducatif”
- Jean-François Cartier

“The fact that the instructor is from France added charm to the experience”
-Viviane Ferrer

“Cours intéressant, professeur motivé et pertinent”
- Marilyn Hamel

“Le cours était informatif mais aussi récréatif. Après une longue journée de travail, le cours était d’appoint”
- Catherine Dansereau

“Belles découvertes”
- Floriane Bruchez

“Instructif et divertissant”
- Jacinthe Gagnon

“Très bon cours”
- Stéphane Lamoureux

“L’ambiance générale nous invite à revenir”
- Francis Gauthier

“Cette dégustation génère l’amour des vins”
- André Legault

“Teacher was great fun, good bilingual class! ”
- Jackie Barbieri

“Knowledgeable teacher, passionate about food and wine, makes me want to learn more”
- Kim Cassidy

“I am now inspired to truly appreciate wine”
- Catherine Brisindi

“J’ai beaucoup apprécié”
- Mélanie Desjardins

“Very good class quality/price! ”
- Julia Chabot

“Super intéressant! Dynamique, enthousiaste! ”
- Louise Rose

“Très belle expérience, professeur extraordinaire”
- Maria Loretto

“À recommander !!!”
- Katherine Girard

“Instructif et enrichissant”
- Martin Lemay

“Quite a delight ”
- Antonietta Mastrangelo

“I learned about more qualities in determining the differences between wines. Very interesting”
- Amalia Mastrangelo

“Cours très intéressant”
- Bun Daravibol

“Très intéressant, j’ai adoré tous les aspects du cours”
- David Roy

“J’ai apprécié le côté mets/vins que je ne connaissais pas”
- Yves Lemieux

“Excellente découverte, excellent prof. et une très bonne introduction qui donne le goût d’en savoir plus”
- Pascal B.

“Bel apprentissage”
- Valérie Tessier

“Très bien et très accessible, j’ai appris le vocabulaire et les cépages que je ne connaissais pas”
-Anastassia Kitsos

“J’ai passé une excellente soirée”
- Annick Paquet

“Professeur intéressant et très compétent”
- Eve Lamontagne

“Très enrichissant”
- Robin Charest

“Bon humour du professeur, explications claires, on passe réellement du bon temps”
- Valérie Boisy

“Instructif, intéressant, amusant, simple et efficace.”
- Lucie Perreault

“Super, le prof est dynamique, mon objectif est atteint”
- Benoit Doucet

“Teacher very knowledgeable and engaging. His passion for wine was evident”
- Linda Funnekotter

“Beaucoup appris en très peu de temps”
- Michel St-Onge

“Absolutely fantastic!”
- Gordana Milinic

“Very enjoyable evening, instructor knowledgeable”
- Margaret Lee

“Loved the anecdotes and  historic references on the wine regions”
- Vito Scandro

“Très bien et décontracté”
- Rémi Turcotte

“Excellente expérience”
- Mélanie Lazurre

“Accueil chaleureux, bonne atmosphère”
- Stéphanie Beauparlant

“Très agréable et très instructif”
- Geneviève Grenier

“Belle soirée! Merci!”
- David Vidal

“Vocabulaire et notions très accessibles”
- Martine Guérin

“Facile à comprendre, très bien expliqué”                                                                           – Michel Fontaine

“Ambiance relaxe, cours très intéressant”
- Jean Pomerleau

“Excellent choix de vins, excellent professeur”
- René Caron

“Superbe”
- Volodia Schneider

“J’ai beaucoup appris”
- Catherine L’Espérance

“J’ai beaucoup apprécié”
- Claudine Girard

“Interesting and informative experience. The teacher is entertaining.  I will let all my friends know about this great course.”
- Josie Bello

“Très belles explications sur les vins et le mariage des mets”
- Daniel Pellerin

“Le dynamisme et la présence du professeur rendent ce cours très intéressant”
- Valérie Magistrale

“Time well spent filled with fine wines and great information”
- Doreen Horen

“The teacher is very professional”
- Kitty Huang

“Vraiment intéressant, belles découvertes”
- Marc-André Ziziau

“Belle ambiance, professeur sympatique”
- Kim Joubert

“Cours très instructif et agréable”
- Stéphanie Baran

“Very inspiring, the teacher is very knowledgeable”
- Ruth Eliesen

“Beautiful experience”
- Nick Totarella

“Professeur expérimenté et dynamique”
- Geneviève Rocheleau

“Professeur accessible et articulé”
- Marc Desrochers

Annie Guillemette: “Très bon cours, professeur intéressant et dynamique”

Anne-Geneviève Genest: “Très intéressant”

Marie Yvonne Wooff: “Very much enjoyed this course”

Bozena Borthiewicz: “Excellent experience, knowledgeable instructor”

Maité Azam: “Intéressant d’apprendre à décrire les vins”

Nancy Allard: “Relaxing atmosphere, very informative”

Jonathan Goupil: “Beaucoup apprécié”

Yves Lachance: “Wow! Humour, passion, compétence”

Chantal Tanguay: “Vraiment super agréable, divertissant, à recommander”

By: Claire Champeau

Combine all ingredients in a shaker, shake well and serve in a martiniglass.  Decorate with a strawberry.

Pour all ingredients over ice in a highball glass. Serve with a slice of
orange and a swizzle stick