Sven Almenning, the guy behind the Speakeasy Group (Eau de Vie Sydney and Melbourne, The Roosevelt, Boilermaker House), has been a busy guy of late.
Astute Sydney-based bartenders may have noticed a stream of interstate and international bartending talent stopping in for fly-in, fly-out visits — and now we know why: they’ve been working with Almenning as he puts together a comprehensive online bar training platform.
“The aim is basically to provide both novice and experienced bartenders with a reliable training resource that covers everything you need to know from working in a pub or nightlcub to a top-end cocktail bar,” said Almenning.
Almenning said that unlike other industries, the bar industry is one in which training is often done on the job.
“This basically means that most bartenders learn bad habits from older bartenders with bad habits,” he said. “It also means that bars, restaurants and hotels lose a small fortune every year due to inefficient bar tending, wastage, general mistakes etc, not to mention the cost of implementing and managing a proper internal training program; something most bars simply fail to do due to the lack of internal resources and the sometimes huge cost of bringing in external resources.
“I am hoping Ananas will change a lot of this. We have enlisted some of the best bartenders and industry professionals from around the world to curate our training content which includes hundreds of videos on everything from how to fine strain cocktails to throwing techniques, changing kegs and even how to make gin,” he said.
“As bartender, you’ll be able to set up a profile on Ananas, engage in great training material and earn various certificates that demonstrates your skills and knowledge to potential employers; whilst for employers Ananas will become a valuable management tool which takes care of a significant portion of your internal training and on-boarding.”
To find out more and when Ananas launches, follow their progress on Facebook (facebook.com/ananasacademy) and visit the website, ananasacademy.com.