26/08/2016
BTAGH INAUGURAL CEREMONY SPEECH BY PRESIDENT- MR DANIEL RAYNOLD TETTEH. 19.08.2016. MOVENPICK AMBASSADOR HOTEL,ACCRA.
It is an honour to have you all here not because of the occasion per se but for the reason you accepted that you drink, and that service of such drink, whether it is alcoholic or non-alcoholic, is also as important as its composition.
FROM BLUE KIOSK TO THE 5-STAR HOTEL
“Two guys walk into a bar....” and a million jokes continue from there. But why the bar? Many socialise, wind down, and even meet their marriage partners at the bar. Indoor or outdoor licensed stand-alone bars, restaurants, hotels, cafes, cafeterias, brasseries, bistros, coffee shops, juice bars and smoothies bars.
PROBLEM STATEMENT
Everyone drinks, because everyone thirsts! From water to wines, spirits, beers, blends, and even their own ‘piss' in urine therapy!
If wine is gulped down straight from the bottle will it taste the same as being drank from a goblet, calabash or teacup? And if dead flies and bees in palm wine add to the flavour and consumers even relish it without a complaint, will a housefly in a glass of wine or bottle of beer, receive the same accreditation?
Ladies and gentlemen, here comes the professional bartender! Not that Bartenders can keep flies from drinks but their knowledge, crafting and service of drinks at the bar add desirability to the whole drinking experience.
Bartending is an art, a science, and a skill. It transcends flair, customer service, bar management, nutrition and food science, dietetics, bromatology, and sensory perception. I believe this is not a job that should be reserved for dropouts. If you will not consult Waste Management Company for Heart Surgery why will you consult an untrained Bartender to become an alchemist and mix drinks for your su***de mission?
In the criteria for grading Restaurants by the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA), one waiter must be literate and have qualifications. At least one literate qualified waiter and 50% of total staff strength must have relevant training and experience. Fortunately, bartenders seem not to be included, neither are they required to be literate and qualified. Grade one and grade two restaurants, and by that, I do not mean Chop Bars, are to have a mandatory bar serving wide range of alcoholic and non alcoholic beverages and a good selection of wines, cocktails, in addition to drink and wine lists.
In the GTA Criteria for grading Hotels, staff are to be adequately trained and possess excellent skills for their duties in the limited-service hotels, and in the full-service hotels staff must be highly trained and must be highly skilled to provide excellent and impeccable levels of service and provision must be made by the operation for the regular training of staff, including Bartenders by implication, at recognized hospitality training institutes.
Ladies and gentlemen, unfortunately, with all the commitment and spend by both the sector Ministry, GTA, Ghana Tourism Federation (GHATOF) and sponsoring agencies, none of the training packages has had content for Bartending, apart from generic hygiene training programs. It is rather the beverage companies such as GGBL/Diageo that has been running occasional workshops for Bartenders in the mixing of their brands.
IMPORTANCE OF BARTENDING IN HOSPITALITY & TOURISM
For over two decades, Ghana Tourism Statistics indicate an average of fifteen percent (15%) out of individual tourist expenditures on food and beverages. This is income that makes up for Tourism being among the top four foreign exchange earners for Ghana in addition to creating jobs for Ghanaians.
The LIQUOR LICENSING ACT, 1970 (ACT 331) of Ghana, which we believe needs some review, regulates the business of Sale and Consumption of Wines, Spirits, Beers, Blends, and Compounds but is amazingly highly restrictive in the classification of Akpeteshie, Palm Wine, Pito and other local brews. This, I believe, should be cause of worry to all well-meaning Ghanaian?
In our sitting today, one may ask: WHAT IS A BAR
The above-mentioned Law defines a "bar" as “any open drinking bar on licensed premises or any part of the licensed premises exclusively or mainly used for the sale and consumption of spirits, wine and/or beer”.
The GTA, operating under the Tourism Act, 2011 (ACT 817), licenses and regulates the constitution of bars of various qualifications whether it is a mini-bar in a hotel room, a bar in a guest house or 1-Star Hotel, and Cocktail bars in 2-Star to 5-Star Hotels, Cocktail bars in night clubs, pubs or discothèques.
The GTA regulations define a “Drinking Bar” under Traditional Catering Establishments as “Any selling point or counter and consumption area for alcoholic and non alcoholic beverages with limited levels of service” and it is required to have a “Barman” with no definitive terms of reference.
The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) regulates the manufacture and sale of food for the protection of the health of consumers in cooperation with the GSA and through monitoring with Metropolitan and District Assemblies and other agencies. In the Food and Drugs Law 1992 “’food' includes any article manufactured, sold or represented, for use as food or drink for human consumption, chewing gum, water and any ingredient of such food, drink, chewing gum or water”. Where we, Bartenders Association of Ghana are concerned, selling beverages or bar food that is unfit for human consumption is an offence. Indulging in daredevil mixology concoctions with additives not permitted or in excess or adulterated is an offence under the Law.
The question is: ‘Who regulates the operations of the traditional non-licensed ‘Blue Kiosk' that sells the Akpeteshie, Palm Wine, Pito and various local blends that have sometimes infringed the laws due to presence of illegal psychoactive ingredients such as G***a, and others?’. Amidst all these “psychoactive mixology” being practised by the untrained Bartenders, who is to be blamed? And who regulates the juice bars and smoothies bars?
The Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) regulates Standards on the compositions of locally manufactured Wines, Spirits, Beers, Blends, and Compounds. Being Ghana's representative at the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Organisation of Legal Metrology (OIML), the GSA has the technical expertise in Metrology under which the composition of alcohol is regulated.
The OIML, in their publication International Vocabulary of Terms in Legal Metrology defined "legal metrology" as: "... concerns regulatory requirements of measurements and measuring instruments for the protection of health, public safety , the environment, enabling taxation, protection of consumers and fair trade".
Other definitions relate legal metrology as: "Ensuring accuracy and reliability of measurement where measured values can affect health, safety, or the transparency of financial transactions e.g. weights and measures".
EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES (in the Bartending Profession)
The Executive Director of the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA), the President of the Ghana Tourism Federation (GHATOF), Distinguished Guests, Ladies and gentlemen, New technologies such as the ‘Somabar', Nespresso Machines and the ‘Bar robo' are advanced Auto vending machines for the bar without the need for a mixologist or a human drinks dispenser. All the customer needs is their smartphone to key in prepaid codes via bluetooth or Wi-Fi and BINGO!
However, the robots cannot smile at you or refuse to serve an under 18years person who sneaks in, neither mix concoctions of cocktails for the adventurous alcoholic. Honourable Representations here present, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and gentlemen, we will still need the Bartender by these bar robots.
The role of the Bartender is timeless (not specific to any time period) and now limited only to anything that is not drinkable, non-potable or legally poisonous.
WHO IS A BARTENDER
Honourable Representations here present, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and gentlemen, to determine who a Bartender is, I would like to rather dabble in what makes someone a Bartender.
Bartenders mix and serve beverages and drinks. They are usually employed by restaurants, hotels, bars, taverns, banquet halls and other hospitality establishments. Supervisors of bartenders are included in this unit group. They might be known as a Bar Attendant or Bar Steward. Bartenders rise in rank to become bar managers and the ambitious continue to become Food and Beverage Managers even in 5-Star Hotels.
Bartending, simplified, means helping customers with the menu selection, taking their orders and serving food & beverages in a welcoming, courteous and efficient way to attain the utmost level of guest satisfaction. It also includes mixing and garnishing beverages, keeping bar well-stocked and organized, and maintaining cleanliness of bar area.
ABOUT BTAGH
The Bartenders Association of Ghana (BTAGH) was founded in 2014 as a non-governmental organisation for Bar Staff, Baristas, Sommeliers, Connoisseurs, and Enthusiasts, with a mission to take leadership of workforce development in professional bartending in Ghana through knowledge, innovation, service and skills transfer both locally and internationally, career progression pathways via lifelong learning, networking within the wider hospitality and tourism industry and to promote regional cultural drinking customs at competitive gastronomic events.
BTAGH is working to become a member of the International Bartenders Association (IBA) with the goal of giving Ghana International representation in the Global Bartending Community.
The Executive Director of the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA), the President of the Ghana Tourism Federation (GHATOF), Distinguished Guests, Ladies and gentlemen, i would like to conclude by inviting you all to JOIN US in the New Bartending Movement in Ghana.
Thank you.
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DEFINITIONS:
Bar Staff [Bar Manager, Bar Chef, Barkeeper, Barman, Bartender, Mixologist, Bar back]: An employee who mixes and serves alcoholic drinks at a bar
Barista: Person who makes and serves coffee in a coffee bar
Sommelier: A waiter who manages wine service in a hotel or restaurant
Connoisseurs: An expert able to appreciate a field
Enthusiast: A person having a strong liking for something
