BCB 2022: Expertise brought to the Stages

Which talks inspired and what stuck the most? Angus Winchester, Director of Education, on this year's BCB Education programme.

Standing on Main Stage about to introduce the first of the talks that you, together with the other members of the BCB Education Board have spent months putting together is strangely similar to opening a bar. You have spent months debating and planning trying to find a programme that you think will wow experts and aficionados yet also be accessible to those who are not as knowledgeable. You have dived deeply into research to find out if this is the most authentic and best version available on the market. You have had to cut your cloth according to budgets and retreat slightly from the grandiose ideas you started with. And then in that opening few minutes – and let’s face it at every other moment of the show’s existence you are struck with the fear that no-one will turn up (both audience and of course speakers knowing the distractions that exist both in BCB itself and also in the city it is based in). Plus, you need to remember that however good you are it’s the speakers/staff that will really make the project work…

And this year, again, it worked. And it worked wonderfully.

Now this article is supposed to be a pseudo ‘highlights reel’ but that’s sort of like asking a parent to choose their favourite child. But this year was slightly different to previous years in that – as mentioned – I did not do this alone but was supported, challenged and occasionally outvoted by my marvellous Board Members Eleni and Damien. And the result was a beautiful mix of topics and speakers that fulfilled the notion that education should be practical, relevant and interesting plus also ispirational.

Inspiration by Jean Trinh

And for inspiration the talk by Jean Trinh, founder of Cartagena's Alquímico bar who was named the winner of the 2022 Altos Bartenders' Bartender Award was spectacular and bought me to tears as he explained how during the pandemic he could not pay his team after three months so invited them to move 1500km into the Colombian mountains to build and work on a farm. 25 of the 50 team members did just that showing such faith and trust in him. That is the hallmark of great leaders. Even with the end of the pandemic the farm thrives and provides many products for the bar as it has reopened.

Focus on practical elements

For the practical elements we had several talks that provided concrete steps to changing behaviour or results including an amazing talk by health and wellness expert Iain Bell who provided deeper understanding into how hospitality professionals eat and how to improve that behaviour from detox drinks to creating a meal plan that will turbo charge the nutrition and energy for the entire team. Common sense but not common practice and this laid it out simply and in a way all could understand and try. Similarly, the award-winning Joe Schofield and his lead doorman showed us many practical steps which they use in their bars to ensure the guest experience is enhanced and potential trouble is handled.

“Michelin stars for Bars” and Best Practices

The controversial topic of bar awards was dived into with the Founders of the Pinnacle Guide who talked about their six month long industry consultancy period of how to judge bars and what we as an industry believe makes a great bar. The so-called “Michelin stars for Bars” will be a game changer for bars in smaller markets not frequented enough by the current award judges yet also laid out a blueprint for all bars to self-audit.

And several bars came to lift the curtain on their operations and shared their best practices and ideas for growth and innovation. The session by Line/The Clumsies about how they are using sustainability to drive creativity was mind-blowing and am sure had many attendees checking out flights to Athens and the ever articulate Alex Day from the Gin & Luck group ni the US talked about how bars can expand with dilution and how successful owners these days change their focus from reading cocktail, books to reading business books to grow and improve the lives of their team members.

Social challenges

Finally, important social topics were explored with sessions by LGBTQ advocate Alex Negranza giving an eye-opening talk about the history of gay and lesbian bars as well as showing the challenges faced by LGBTQ staff and guests. The bizarre similarities between the 1920s and the 2020s was discussed by Claire Warner, Tess Posthumus and Lauren Mote in their talk about the Future of Socialising that made for sobering watching yet was delivered with passion and humour.

How to become successful in the bar industry

Finally, it seems no bar show is complete without the provocative thoughts and ideas of Danil Nevsky who outlined a path for bars and bartenders to work better with brands to win awards and provide a better lifestyle for the most talented and most committed. And yet his simple message that if you want to achieve something then “doing” rather than just “talking about doing” was vitally important and that showing up was half the battle.

We on the BCB Education Board know that few people decide to come to BCB solely because of the education yet we also know that it’s our responsibility to provide the best education we can so that we can celebrate – and continue to enhance – the professionalism of our industry. It may not be as sexy as guest shifts or opening a bar but we were proud of our efforts and judging by the attendance and feedback we did a good job.