Sunshine and smiles Hivers! I'm back again for another new blog for this week! In today's blog, I am excited to share with you our bar-making setup for our prelim in bartending class.
In February 2024, our bartending instructor informed us that our prelim would be bar setup. As a whole section, we carefully planned this since our output will served as grades for the prelim. Before the said event, we stayed at the school for the longest time so we could finish the decorations for tomorrow's event. As shown in the picture, we finished half of our bar design by 10 PM, while some designs will be finished tomorrow, as the event is scheduled for the evening, allowing us to have time in the morning to finalize our preparations.
At this stage, a few of our classmates are assisting each other in completing the tasks assigned by our leader. We chose to allocate tasks to each person individually to make the process more manageable. Some classmates are unable to participate in the finalization of the design because they are attending an NCII course for bread and pastry. We feel quite exhausted and somewhat fatigued at that moment, even though the event has not yet begun. At 5 PM, we get ourselves ready and finalize the setup for the bar.
As you can see, this is the completed appearance of our bar setup. We selected a Hawaiian theme because it aligns with our signature drink. Our mocktail was named "love potion," as it resembles a potion due to the edible glitters added to the beverage. The decorations were either recycled or provided by our classmates, so we managed to keep the costs low for the setup.
These crochet flowers will be given to the faculty and staff who will try our drinks as a token indicating they experienced our mocktail. I collaborated with @renacris to create these crochet flower keychains. We completed them at the last minute since I was preoccupied with my NCII Bread and Pastry course, which prevented me from assisting her with the making of these in the morning. Fortunately, we managed to finish before the event commenced.
We also capture photos and selfies in our bar setup because we are impressed by how it turned out. We were surprised by its beauty and how stunning it looks. My friend snapped some photos of me, making it seem like I was a bartender. We also took some group shots with my friend, posing together in our setup.
As the faculty and staff approached our bar setup, my classmates and I greeted them, engaging them in conversation and dancing to keep the atmosphere lively. We continued to cheer and laugh along with them to ensure the crowd felt comfortable and entertained. Since we offered mocktails, we also served chips to complement their drinks.
The staff and faculty took pleasure in watching our bartenders mix beverages right in front of them. They expressed their happiness and enjoyment in our company. One of them mentioned that they awarded us flat uno points for both our bar setup and the mocktail selection.
This is us trying our mocktail since we are about to end the event. The taste is very delightful and very similar to the name of the mocktail.
After the event, we began to clean up all the trash and take down some of the designs from our bar setup before heading to the school. My friends and I opted to eat at the "topsilogan" near the school since we were feeling very hungry and exhausted at that time. Although we were quite tired, we still had enough energy to toast to the success of our bar setup. We brought along some leftover beverages to use as part of our celebration.
The bar experience I had is one of my most unforgettable moments of 2024. The insights and lessons from this day will stay with me as I pursue a career in the hotel or restaurant industry.
Thank you for taking the time to read my blog, and see you in my next blog post! Ciao!