Bob Louison of Spirit It! has announced the opening of his bartender academy in the Temple complex in Beijing. Louison, who first came to Beijing to work with China Doll (see: No Sex, Please, I’m Thirsty) and has been a mainstay on the scene pretty much since then, is also consulting for Fez bar atop Agua restaurant in Nali Studio.
Louison says classes will be held during the day and options will range from one-week courses for those seeking basic skills to courses of three to six months for those serious about the profession. Louison says he plans to include internships in restaurants and bars for students taking longer courses The courses will be taught in English, though Louison says he expects to add instruction in Mandarin shortly. [Update: The manual is in English and will be translated into Chinese soon. Louison says classes will be available in Mandarin, English, Spanish and French.]
“I’ve had the academy in my mind but it look a long time to find the right place and the right people to work” with, he said. For more info, email Louison at bobspirit.it (at) gmail.com.
Bob should go back to Fez and teach them how to make cocktails again. I went last week and they were mostly horrible and overpriced.
Dear Tenner,
I’m sorry to hear that you had a bad experience in Fez. It is very rare that I get complains form customers there as when I’m there I always inquiry to the customers about their drinks. Usually everyone seems to be happy and satisfied with their drinks, but it’s true sometimes the drinks can be a bit too sweet, or sour, or some other problems and we adjust it according to their requirement.
I understand each person tastes varies, and sometimes it may be hard to please everyone’s taste.
I’m also aware that when you are not present the quality and hard work of the staff decrease.
Fez is open for 6 months only, so it’s quite a challenge to bring them on a high level of bartending in just one month training prior to the opening.But with regular and constant training through every day I believe we’ll get there.
Thanks to you for sharing your experience, so I can do my best to train them harder and hopefully reach everyones standards and taste.
I would like to ask you if you could be more specific in what was wrong with your drink so I can correct it in the futur ?
I hope you will give it another shot, and come back to Fez, and that this time it will be a very delightful experience for you. Please ask for me if I can help you in anything. I’m there around usually from wednesday to Saturday.
Regarding the pricing this is something not up to me. It is Agua policies who choosed to have those pricing to place themselves on a certain edge in order to target a line of customers. You could take your enquiry to the general manager of Agua restaurant in Nali Patio, 6/F.
Thank you again for your feedback, it’s with people’s opinion that we can built a better service and quality of drinks products. I take it to my heart to make this industry more professional, and I will do my best to please as much as possible the customers expectations and standards. Customer are always right ! N1 rule of this industry :)
The bartenders there are good guys, you could at anytime take your inquiry directly to them, and I’m sure they will listen to you and change your drink for you. They are very opened to learn and progress everyday.
Thank you.