With the launch of the new WFA Yellow Grade and now WFA Orange as well, WFA Gradings is coming on leaps and bounds. More and more bartenders around the world are embarking on their WFA Grading experience and walking away with new skills, knowledge and accolades to show off to potential employers. That is why whenever we get the opportunity to bring WFA Gradings to a new country we are always very excited. If you believe you would like to bring WFA Gradings to your country or city then please get in contact with our head of Gradings, Tom Dyer: tom@worldflairassociation.com
Visits to Central America for Skilled Flairbartender in Mexico, have allowed the WFA and Tom to meet and train up new WFA grading examiners. If there is one thing that is very clear from the Skilled Flairbartender competition in Mexico, is the amount of talent there is around this side of the globe. With various competitors from all over Central and South America it was impressive to witness the skill and passion for flair bartending that some of the guys and girls demonstrated. Combined with a visit to Chile the year before Tom was able to train up Artuo, Michelle, Romi and Ivan to become WFA Grading examiners.
The feedback we have been receiving from the bartenders in this region is a real thirst for WFA Gradings. Three South & Central American bartenders (Yonny Aguilar from Peru, Michelle Lopez from Meixco, and Lucho Cicery from Columbia) have already acquired either the Purple or Black WFA grades through their success in the Skilled Flairbartender WFA Grand Slam and understandably would like to take this further with WFA Yellow, Orange, Blue and Green grades.
All in all we are adding 5 new WFA Grading examiners across 3 new countries. All of these bar schools will also be WFA Grading centres meaning they can also train up new WFA Examiners, hold WFA flair competitions and more. We will go into more detail on some of the bar schools and what they off below, however the 3 new countries are Mexico, Chile, and Brazil.
BarShows: Escuela de Cocteleria & Flairbartending, Mexico – Artuo Botello
“We particularly like the WFA Grading system here as it is a great way of teaching a student to become a complete bartender. In order to be a true professional bartender you need to be able to excel in all areas, not just mixology or flair bartending for example. It is a fantastic way to start your bartending career on the right track, the WFA focus on being fast and accurate, but also how to create the perfect cocktail and look good behind the bar while you are doing it! For us as a bartending school WFA Gradings is very well supported and provides us with the confidence that we can pass on a quality bartending education based on international standards”.
BarShows: Escuela de Cocteleria & Flairbartending has been operating since 2010 in the city of Puebla, Mexico. They currently offer 8 different courses for people who want to start or further a career behind the bar:
– Professional Bartender, Classic Cocktails (Pre prohibition) , Bar Management, Craft Cocktails, Molecular Mixology 1, Molecular Mixology 2, Working Flair, Exhibition Flair as well as various focused cocktail classes.
In addition to this Artuo and the team also provide flair shows for private events, bartending conferences, cocktail design and creation in and around Mexico.
National Cocktail Institute: Professional School of Bar, Chile – Marco Urrutia
“We have been offering WFA Gradings through the National Cocktail Institute for a year now. We are very proud to offer this education system as it provides such a well rounded education to bartenders in Chile. We could imagine any of our WFA Grading students working in any bar in the world with this knowledge”.
Recognised and sponsored by the National Association of Bartenders Of Chile, the National Cocktail Institute is a centre for education around alcohol and the industry around it in Chile. Focusing on ensuring all students are able to provide a truly professional service and are educated around the personal responsibility of the consumption of alcohol and its effects.
Taught to international standards, the National Cocktail Institute offers programs in: International bartending, Professional Mixology, Cocktail Evolution Masterclass, Flair bartending and Barista Flair.
Escuela Flair, Mexico – Michelle Lopez
“Being part of the WFA Grading System and bringing this to bartenders in Mexico raises our expectations of growth in the country and the institution of bartending. Through the offer of the WFA Grading system we have been able to bring on board many different hotels and restaurants particularly in the Cancun and Riviera Maya with more than 50 now containing are own trained bartenders and waiters. We are just creating a smart phone App that allows hotels in Mexico to find local, qualified bartenders – looking at a photo as well as their CV. With WFA Gradings our trained bartenders are able to offer the different grades to their CV, which is very desirable for the hotels and bars out here. Cancun has a huge amount of instability in employment of bar staff in particular, so to find a well trained bartender isn’t very easy.”
Escuela Flair in Mexico operates as a bar school offering courses flair bartending, exhibition flair, fire flair, bar magic, and mixology. In addition they operate across Mexico giving seminars in gastronomic congresses as ambassadors of flair and mixology competitions at a National and Latin American level.
If you haven’t seen it yet, discover the new WFA Gradings Orange video below: