The national bar group Be At One have become the first cocktail bar chain in the UK to introduce the WFA Grading System across the entire operation. As many of you will know, up until now you could only obtain your WFA Grade through recognised bar schools and instructors, with Be At One coming on board any bartender working for the group will now be able to undertake their WFA Grading training and test.
This step by Be At One promises to further increase the quality and variety of their bartenders during service. Already recognised as a ‘bartenders bar’, the prospect of more and better flair bartending from the Be At One bartenders is going to only further increase that reputation as well as offering a great unique selling point to the general public.
The announcement of the training certification comes just months after pub group Stonegate acquired Be At One in July this year. The group has taken over the chain of 33 bars across the UK, continuing the planned expansion with recent openings in Chelmsford and Birmingham.
Here is what @andycollinson had to say on the news:
“We’re thrilled to have such a large bar chain undertake our flair grading system. Flair bartending has recently re-ignited in popularity and having properly trained flair bartenders is certainly something that can really differentiate one bar from the next. Be At One has a menu of 100 cocktails and the group are committed to ensuring their staff are fully trained to become a market leader in the cocktail bar sector. The WFA grading system was formed to create consistent professional standards for flair bartending worldwide. Bartending differs from country to country, so the grading system allows comparison no matter where you are.”
As part of the flair bartending training, delegates work through the grading system as their skills, knowledge and experience increase. Each level requires bartenders to either pass a test or gain a top 6 finish in a WFA Grand Slam competition.
Gillian Lambden, People Director from Be At One commented: “Be At One Cocktail Bars are dedicated to the training and development of our people, putting it at the forefront of everything we do. We are proud to add the WFA development opportunities to the portfolio of training resources available to our bartenders. We look forward to delivering this accredited training to demonstrate our Flair Mastery to the industry.”
The WFA bartending certification and gradings are internationally recognised and used by some of the biggest bar schools in the world.
What are WFA Gradings?
The WFA Grading system is the most widely adopted and recognised qualification for professional bartenders with over 100 schools around the world and more than 10,000 students passing through the system. There are 10 levels which bartenders are able to progress through as their skills, knowledge and experience increase. Each Levels requires you to either pass a test or gain a top 6 finish in a WFA Grand Slam competition.
Every bartender will start on the White grade, with the first test being to advance to the Yellow grade. Yellow is followed by Orange, Green and then Blue. Yellow gives you a good basic understanding of how to use flair bartending during service and as you progress through the grades your understanding and skill level will get more advanced.