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Most bartenders are not “just” a bartender. They love what they do! For many people serving drinks behind at your favorite watering hole, they enjoy showing up to work every day and providing excellent service.
What do they love about it? It’s long hours, late nights, and it’s not often considered a prestigious career. Surely being a bartender isn’t what anyone aspires to do long term—or is it?
Let’s find out why some say bartending is a rewarding career. Here are nine reasons bartenders love doing what they do!
1. It’s flexible
Once you know your way around mixing drinks and the rules of bartending, you can work just about anywhere that serves alcohol. Plus, bartending often provides a flexible schedule. Some bartenders work their service job around school or a day job.
Do you need a license to be a bartender? Yes! Different states have different regulations for tending bar. However, once you have your license, you can work at almost any bar or restaurant. Be sure you keep your license active to maintain your eligible work status.
2. You Meet Interesting People
If you’ve spent any time at your local bar, you understand that people-watching is a prime activity as the drinks continue flowing.
Bartenders see it all, night after night. Many bars make a great place to meet new people, engage in conversation, and hear interesting stories from patrons. Depending on the type of bar, some bartenders might never see a dull moment during their shift.
If you like people and a social atmosphere, bartending is an excellent job.
3. It Pays Well
You probably know someone who paid their way through college by bartending. Depending on the bar and the clientele, bartenders can make great money working a few hours several nights a week.
On top of your base pay, you earn tips from tipsy patrons. As you learn your bartending craft, you’ll master the art of pacing drinkers to keep them engaged, yet not over-served. Serve your patrons well (and within the law), and they often reward with higher tips.
4. It’s Creative
Except for the occasional slow night, bartending is rarely dull. Mixing drinks can be fun and interesting. Learning new drinks creates your next bartending challenge.
Raise your creativity “bar” and develop your own signature drinks. As you learn the best combinations for different types of alcohol and mixes, your bartending talents can put you in-demand for your creativity.
5. It Boosts Your Confidence
If you need a way to build your confidence, bartending is an excellent way to do it in a comfortable atmosphere.
Learning drink recipes helps develop excellent memory skills. Talking with customers helps improve your social and small talk skills. Learning in a creative environment can help minimize the fear of making mistakes or striking up a conversation.
When you’re the man or woman behind the bar, you are automatically the most popular person in the room! Use that to build the confidence you can take with you when you leave the bar after your shift.
6. It Makes Others Happy
Do you like putting a smile on someone’s face? Serving alcohol can help you do that! Watching people celebrate over a few drinks can be rewarding when you have the opportunity to serve them their favorite beverage.
Talking with someone at your bar who is having a rough time can be the one good thing that happened to them that day. You never know when your role as a listener behind the bar can help someone get through a tough time.
Bartending is a service industry. While your tools are beverages, making sure people have a good time (safely) is the heart of your job. If serving others gets you excited about life, being a bartender is a noble industry for you.
7. It’s Fun
If movies like Cocktail or Coyote Ugly taught us nothing else, working at a bar is fun!
Mixing drinks, telling jokes and stories, and developing friendships with your coworkers make a fun working environment. Plus, there’s usually music, dancing, games, and other things that make your bar a fun place to work or spend time.
A desk job is not fun. If you prefer a more fun and relaxed environment, you need to step out from behind the desk and get behind a bar.
8. It (Often) Offers Free Drinks
If you enjoy having a drink almost as much as serving them, bartending jobs often come with the perk of free drinks.
While your bartending training and licensing discourage drinking on the job, many bars or restaurants allow employees to enjoy a few free drinks after a shift or on your days off. If you enjoy where you work and who you work with, grabbing a drink with them after work makes your job more fun!
9. It’s Different
Bartending is a different job than your average 9-5 job. You don’t need a college degree. It’s a skill you can take anywhere around the world. With enough experience, you can also learn the ropes of managing a bar staff or running your own bar or restaurant.
Choosing a career as a bartender gives you options, community, and the opportunity to be creative in an environment that can change daily. If you enjoy doing something different, give bartending a chance!
Bartenders Are In Demand!
With training, a license, and the right skills, bartenders rarely have trouble finding a job. Bartending is an in-demand career for the food and beverage industry. Have fun while you work, learn a marketable skill, and be everyone’s favorite party guest when you work as a bartender.
Did you enjoy this article? We hope you’ll check out more of our food and drink blogs!
The era of food photography is upon us thanks to social media. Most people cannot scroll through their Facebook or Instagram without seeing at least one food photo posted by a friend.
That doesn’t even include all the food blogs that you can find online. A good portion of those more than 500 million blogs that exist happen to focus on food.
So what makes certain food photos stand out versus others? Learn how to take pictures of food that will impress your social media followers with the 5 tips below.
1. Plate Your Food
Take the time to plate your food interestingly or elegantly. A study conducted by Montclair State University’s Department of Psychology found that well-plated food made participants rate the taste and care in preparation higher than dishes with no plating.
Pick the right surface on which to display your food like a classic white dinner plate or a wooden cutting board. Start in the middle and move to the outside to create a sense of symmetry.
Don’t be afraid to play around with different platings so you figure out what looks best.
2. Choose Soft, Natural Light Over Artificial
Always choose natural life over artificial light when photographing food. Artificial light gives both the plate and the dish an unappetizing yellow or orange hue.
Aim for soft, diffused light to prevent harsh shadows that mess with the look of your food.
3. Consider the Angle
Think about what part of the dish you want to emphasize or draw attention to.
For example, if you’re photographing a burger, consider cutting it into two pieces and taking a photo that shows the cross-section. It reveals the tenderness and juiciness of the beef as well as the lovely layers.
This will not work with a salad or cheese board, however. Those shots work best when taken from overhead.
4. Try Selective Focus and Changing the Depth of Field
You can also emphasize different parts of a dish by using selective focus and changing the depth of field. Depth of field refers to the distance between the object and the camera and how your lens focuses on the food.
Try focusing on the dish while blurring the background or focusing on one aspect of the dish while keeping the rest blurred. You can also use close-up shots to emphasize the texture of a dish, like when photographing a saucy pasta.
5. Make It Warmer with White Balance
Finally, adjust the white parts of your photo by changing the white balance. This makes your image appear more “cool” or “warm”.
Always adjust the white balance so your food photos appear “warm” rather than cool. It increases the attractiveness of the food to make it more appetizing.
Use these tips to create a photo collage to exhibit your cooking skills or the dishes in your restaurant. Check out these photo collage templates for some great ideas on what you can do.
How to Take Pictures of Food at Culinary Festivals Around California
Although there are many more tips on how to take pictures of food, these 5 important ones will get you started. Great food photography makes the viewer feel as if they’re there with you experiencing the location and the dish.
Do you dream of traveling to different food festivals, photographing your culinary adventures?
Check out the rest of our blog! You’ll find lists of the best food festivals in and around California along with tips on culinary travel and cooking.
CBD has become one of the most controversial medical issues of the past twenty-five years. To some, it’s a pharmaceutical godsend that has lifted crippling depression and pain; to others, it’s the embodiment of old-fashioned snake oil and should be banned and wiped out of existence as a total scam. But the middle ground between these two extreme views seems to be where cannabidiol is headed these days, especially in states such as Utah, where it has only been legalized for the past six years. Nowadays CBD products can be found everywhere from grocery stores and gas stations to pharmacies, and even online.
Medical doctors continue to warn their patients who are considering using CBD that they should purchase it only from a large-scale and legitimate producer, not some mom-and-pop fly-by-night operation that does not guarantee the purity of their product. Otherwise, say medical and industry experts, there is a chance that the CBD will be contaminated with THC — the active ingredient in the ‘high’ that recreational users are looking for.
A recent report by the World Health Organization says that pure CBD holds no threat of addiction. It can be taken safely in any form without becoming habit-forming.
While the World Health Organization has compiled quite a substantial list of ailments that CBD may be able to help control, the United States FDA is still warning the public that many, if not most, CBD manufacturers are making promises about their product that cannot be substantiated by approved research at this time.
So it appears that much more CBD research needs to be done before the entire medical community, at least in the United States, will get completely behind CBD. Until then, consumers will simply need to make up their own minds, based on their own experience, as to the benefits of CBD for themselves and their loved ones.
Jimmy John Liautaud Stays Close To His Roots Even After Incredible Success In Life
Success can be measured in so many ways. For one person it’s about being able to continue to enjoy the world he started while at the same time pushing for quality and staying close to his roots. Jimmy John Liautaud began with a single idea in his life several decades ago. After careful investigation, he realized that business would be his home. Further investigation rapidly revealed that he wanted to make the world of sandwich making his own. Basic, delicious sandwiches made from quality ingredients are at the heart of his venture. They continue to be his passion in life. While some might be tempted to move on or to decide to retire, he’s not one of those people. He’s someone who knows that one should never rest. It is this passion that keeps him going and helps him retain the roots while continue to fly even higher in life.
Serving to College Kids
As a nineteen year old, Jimmy John Liautaud was in touch with what others of his age had in mind when it came to eating. He knew they wanted a hearty meal and they wanted it there quickly. It was this idea that led to the idea that he could fill that need. It was his idea to open up a sandwich shop with an emphasis on some basics. The idea was that he could serve simple food that would be delivered any time the college students wanted them. College students didn’t need to head out in the cold weather to find him. He found them. For a single quarter, he offered them delivery services that would bring them a sandwich made from single yet very fine ingredients. It was an idea that made sense to him and helped him connect with his peers in a real way.
Keeping It the Same
Not only was he able to work with peers to create something of lasting value, he was able to offer them something that would remain consistent. As he expanded into new markets, the goal became to create a store experience that would remain the same for every single store. This enabled him to create an experience that would let his clients get in and out as fast as possible. He spent a lot of time thinking about all the details. He wanted to stick to the tried and true and make sure that his clients had the sandwich they wanted. With only a small selection of meats as well as a single cheese, this task got easier and allowed all those who chose to franchise from him a blueprint they could follow. It’s a formula that has continued to work for to this day.
Moving Forward Productively
As his business began to take off, Jimmy John Liautaud realized he wanted to sell off a piece of it to outside investors. At the same time, he also realized that it was important in his life to continue to keep close to the roots that made him such a success in the first place. It is a philosophy that has continued to form his worldview today. He still makes time to see what ingredients are going on the menu. Once a week he attends a presentation at the test kitchen. It’s a place of greatness for him where he can hone his technique and demonstrate his understanding of the world of menu creation. He thinks about this process from the point of view of every person who enters his empire of stores across the country. It’s the key to success for him.
Now, whenever you need your endless meat fix, you can skip the drive to Beverly Hills and head down to Fogo De Chao’s new DTLA location. We checked out their grand opening to partake in their parade of protein.
As with all great AYCEs, the Market Table has more than just lettuce and ranch dressing. Cold cuts include a smoked salmon, Brazilian hearts of palm, an aged manchego cheese that has an interesting fruity note to it, prosciutto and more. Read More
