Reuben Virasami is an amazing bartender.

COVID-19 has had a negative impact on the hospitality sector. Hotels, casinos, cruises, sporting venues, and restaurants were empty for months and they navigated the guidelines to stop the spread of the virus. As a result, many people have left the industry forever.

As the hospitality sector opens its doors to welcome customers, the consumer has changed. However, good food, good drink,s and great service are the key to any restaurant being successful.

I talk to Reuben who is an amazing bartender about the business and his passion.

Reuben, welcome to my blog. Let’s start by you telling my audience a little about you?

My name is Reuben Virasami. I’ve studied health administration, fashion business, and bartending. I feel fortunate to have grown up with parents that always supported what I did, but it also meant, I had numerous options in terms of what I wanted to do with my life. Thankfully, I finally found my true calling. I’m a huge sci-fi geek, I enjoy trying new food and drink, and love to travel. All but the first of these interests have led to me spending a couple of years abroad.

Tell me about your passion for bartending? How did you get into it?

I’ve spent most of my life working in the service industry, but I transitioned fully into bartending less than three years ago. Due to a family history of addiction and my parents’ strict religious beliefs, there was no alcohol kept in my home growing up. However, we have always had a strong connection to our extended family, many of whom did enjoy a drink, so it wasn’t completely taboo. Having to wrestle with these two viewpoints from a young age meant that I learned early on about both the positive and negative sides of alcohol.

A strong influence was my grandfather, a real spark of light in my family.  He spent a little time working in F&B at a golf club here in Toronto which really fueled his passion for people and hospitality. When I was a little boy, he built a bar in his basement that he used to serve drinks to his friends and family. The joy I saw in his service and in the people who received it across the bar left a distinct impression on me.

As I got older, I began to learn more about alcohol and my natural curiosity pushed me to try whatever new spirits and liqueurs I could get my hands on. Many of my friends can attest to me showing up at parties or get-togethers with a duffel bag full of bottles that I would use to mix people’s drinks. As I reached a point where these experiences accumulated, it made perfect sense for me to do this as a job and I’ve never looked back.

What do you as a bartender bring to the table? Do you feel there is anything that helps you stand out?

Passion, honesty, knowledge, attention to detail, and most importantly, a drive to do and be better than I was yesterday.

As I mentioned before, I have in my family those who are quite religious, those who drank heavily, and those who fell in between. I’ve spent much of my life reconciling what I saw as two extremes and it has helped me to understand the importance of moderation, which is still a growing concept in this industry.

How has the cocktail culture changed over the last decade?

In the last decade, people have come to expect fresh ingredients and well-made cocktails, but as the market becomes saturated with quality bars, owners need to find new ways to differentiate. As our culture becomes more environmentally conscious, many businesses, including bars, have been focusing on decreasing their carbon footprint by using more biodegradable products and choosing local ingredients.

We also have been looking at what’s going on in the food industry and borrowing ingredients and techniques from them. For example, never before in my life had I learned how to blanch vegetables or cook via sous vide until I started needing these methods for cocktail ingredients.

Bars in Toronto on the cutting edge, such as Pretty Ugly and Bar Raval have also created menus with delicious low and no alcohol cocktails as well as working on ways to reduce potential allergens in cocktails.

Bars and bartenders who stand as strong pillars in their community have been creative in finding ways to give back, such as the collaboration this past December between local bartenders and Miracle; they created a special Christmas cocktail bar pop-up that donated $1 from every drink sold to a local women’s shelter. Another example is the recent Speed Rack event here in Toronto, an all-women cocktail competition, where 100% of the proceeds went to breast cancer education and research.

I’m excited to see where cocktail culture goes in the next few years as general quality goes up and consumers demand more as they become even more educated about their purchases.

Do you consider bartending to be a glamorous job?

A bartender is often needed to be the life of the party, so the job can certainly be perceived to be glamorous. However, I would consider ‘showmanship’ a better way to explain what we do. A form of bartending we call ‘flair-tending’ was created for this; an example would be a bartender that throws shakers in the air, juggles bottles, etc. However, every style of bartending creates showmanship, just in different kinds of ways. For example, Japanese-style bartending is full of practiced and deliberate movement as such to create a beautiful sensory experience.

Transitioning into other related fields, such as working as spirit brand ambassador, writing bar books, or simply becoming famous enough to warrant bars paying to fly you in for seminars is definitely higher to me on the ‘glamour-scale’.

To be quite honest, there isn’t that much glamour in this work. A bartender is often responsible for cleaning up messes, taking out trash, and plenty of other menial tasks that people don’t notice. Anyone getting into this job with glamour in mind is likely not going to get far.

Does a good bartender also have to be a good psychologist?

One doesn’t need to be, but as I’m sure you know from your experience in the service industry, the best hotels, bars, and restaurants in the world are filled with people who are able to anticipate customers’ needs. This is sometimes slightly more difficult for a bartender, who also needs to gauge a guests’ sobriety and their actual needs more than their perceived needs, such as cutting someone off or calling someone a taxi. Depending on where you work, belligerent and aggressive customers are also part of the mix and we need to be able to anticipate how people will act and react in different mental states.

Tell me about some of your favorite ingredients to work with?

Just like with food, I’m always excited to look at different regions and countries to see what they use locally. Especially here in Toronto, I enjoy going to markets and looking at exotic fruits, vegetables, and herbs and seeing what I can do with it. For example, when I lived in Vietnam, I had a chance to try betel nut, which grows in symbiosis with a leafy plant; they both have stimulative properties and are often wrapped in each other with limestone and chewed on for a similar effect as chewing tobacco. I was able to make a cocktail that uses just a portion of the leaf, with interesting effects on both flavor and how it affects the customer.

So, to answer your question, I don’t have a specific favorite, I’m simply excited to taste and learn from those who have already been working with ingredients I’ve only just discovered.

What about spirits? Do you have a favorite you like to work with?

As I mentioned before, I’ve always been curious about trying new things, so I enjoy discovering new spirit expressions and experimenting with them. However, my favorite spirit is rum, for a few reasons.

My family is Guyanese, of Indian descent. Due to political issues, most of my family emigrated from Guyana in the mid 70’s. It’s a complicated history and growing up, even in such a multicultural city, I never felt Canadian enough, and I certainly didn’t feel Guyanese enough.

As I started to become more educated about rum’s complex history, I saw a connection to my own heritage and have since begun to appreciate both in a way I’d never been able to before. This is a spirit with incredibly humble beginnings, originally drunk by slaves and the poor, so it hurts to see the truth and quality that can be found in some modern rum overshadowed by the marketing of multinational corporations and their poor-quality products. I now see rum as a medium through which I can share my own distinct understanding of my peoples’ heritage with my family, friends, and customers. My study of rum has been instrumental in bringing me to a place where I see in myself the full value of being both Canadian and Guyanese.

What is a simple cocktail I can make at home?

Like any decent chef, I will tell you this: the beginning of understanding the plate of food or drink in front of you is to try their components individually.

Now I’m not saying you must go drink spirits on their own, but some simple cocktails will definitely help you discern what your palate prefers and create a stronger understanding of these different products.

Do you like aged rum or whiskey? Try making an Old Fashioned:

2oz of spirit
0.5oz of simple syrup (more or less based on your palate and the spirit)
2-3 dashes of angostura bitters
1 orange peel

For the syrup, simply add a 1:1 ratio of water and cane sugar or demerara sugar to a pot, boil, and stir till mixed. Once refrigerated, it should last months.

To make the drink, simply add the liquid ingredients on top of one or a few big ice cubes and stir. Take the orange peel and squeeze the skin towards the top of the drink to express some oils, which will add to its complexity.

If you’re interested in tequila, mezcal, or unaged rums, I’d recommend using the recipe skeleton of a Daiquiri:

2oz of spirit
1oz fresh lime juice
0.5oz simple syrup (more or less based on your palate and the spirit)

If you use tequila or mezcal, it might be nice to add a dash of salt to the mix, as it helps accentuate flavors already there. Add all the ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice (or a mason jar or water bottle if you’ve got nothing else), shake and strain into a glass without ice

These cocktails are great ways to learn some classics; after you’ve done this, try sipping 10-15ml of the spirit by itself, with or without a few drops of water if you need it. Are there any flavors you taste that didn’t make it into the cocktail? Perhaps you enjoy one brand over another in a cocktail, but vice versa when tried on their own.

This is a rabbit hole, but if you make at least two drinks and prefer one over the other, I’ve done my job.

What are your future plans?

This year I hope to make at least one trip out to the Caribbean and two to the US to visit some distilleries and make more industry connections. I’m also working on being part of the upcoming Toronto Rum Festival and Tiki by the Sea, a three-day educational session in the US focused on rum and tiki. Beyond this year, I plan to continue along the path I’ve chosen and further seek opportunities to work abroad, with Hong Kong, Taiwan, the UK, and Spain all being strong possibilities. My focus has also shifted from purely cocktail-focused, to looking at educating consumers and bartenders, especially concerning rum. Planning your life is like trying to hold water in your hands, so I’m not sure that everything will go as planned, but I’m here for the journey, not the destination.

The post Reuben Virasami: Bartender Extraordinaire appeared first on Four Columns of a Balanced Life.

The fermented juice of grapes is made into an alcoholic beverage called wine. Apples, cranberries, plums are also used to make wine. However, if it says wine on the bottle it is from wine grapes. Wine grapes are sweeter, smaller, and have more seeds than table grapes.

Have you ever heard of the saying ‘what a great vintage’? Hmmm… Vint means ‘to make wine’ and Age is the year it is made. It takes an entire season for wine grapes to ripen and hence it is produced once a year.

There are several factors and dimensions to a bottle of wine and its amazing flavor: aroma, sweetness, acidity, tannin, alcohol, and the aging process.

Candy Mah Executive Director at Cave & Cellar, Malaysia talks about wine.

Candy please tell my global audience a little about you?

I am a wine importer based in Malaysia for over 20 years.  I distribute throughout Malaysia in the HORECA, retail, and duty-free market.

Do I have to be a foodie and elitist to drink wine?

One does not have to be a foodie or elitist to enjoy wine. Anyone and everyone can drink wine anywhere.

I want to drink red with white meat, is it OK? Or, is it still white with fish and chicken and red with meats?

To be honest with you, there is so much creativity and fusion in food. People can do the wine pairing as they deem fit.

When I am at a restaurant and order a bottle, how do I know if the wine is good? Do I have to swirl the glass, smell the wine, have bread to taste it, and smell the cork? In other words how to drink wine with food?

Smell, swirl, and taste are the basics to find out if the bottle is good to keep or return at a restaurant.

Does having a cork make a difference in the wine bottle?

Not at all. The screw cap wines are just as good. 

When I go to the store to buy wine, should I always look at the score or buy something that I like?

I would always buy something I like, so I’ll suggest the same for others.

Is an expensive bottle always better than a cheaper bottle?

Price is not an indication of the quality of wines, but it depends on the type of wine. Normal drinking wines that taste better will always cost a bit more.   Grand Crus wines these days are overpriced. As a matter of fact, some Cru Bourgeois which cost less can be the same and sometimes even better.

If I want to have a few bottles of wine for the holidays for guests how do I build a collection?

One should know the preference of the guests. However, here is a guideline:

a.  Western guests you can keep some Pinot Grigio (white), or Rose (dry) for summer and preferably Cabernet Sauvignon or Pinot Noir.

b.  Asian guests, you can keep Chardonnay and/or Cabernet Sauvignon.

How do you balance food, faith, finance, and family in the 21st century?

I separate the working and non-working hours.  Once working hours are over, I relax and during the weekends spend precious moments with my family.  Work is never-ending. Time is in our hands to control to do the right things for ourselves and our loved ones.

Photo Credits: Kelsey Chance Caroline Hernandez  Brett Jordan chuttersnap Matt Lamers Amy Chen 

The post Wine: How To Drink It appeared first on Four Columns of a Balanced Life.

Janak Bhawnani, Vice President of Operations at Easton Group of Hotels talks about the hotel business and what to look for when you eat in a restaurant.

Janak, whenever I ask you about the hotel business, you tell me you are in the business of hotels not in the hotel business please explain?

At hotel school, it was all about being the maître d’maison, giving service, treating guests with care. It was never driven by the bottom line, but about guest satisfaction first and money second.   In the past, hotels were owned by the brands or by families that were proud to own the assets and they passed on the know-how and reputation from one generation to another.

Today, we have schools teaching students the “business” of hotels earning them the BBA & MBA designations.  It is all driven by the institutionalization of our trade. More and more REITs and pension funds are buying up the assets and are keeping them for a shorter period of time only to extract value and then sell to the next highest bidder.  The Joie the Vivre, maitre d’maison concept is less existent as it is all driven by the bottom line.

At your hotel you run a big food and beverage department, how important is food to your business?

Food is a very important component of our business at my current hotel. We are a big box; convention hotel and the food is about 30% of our overall revenues.  With people becoming world travelers, it is important that we cater to varying palates, hence our offering has to be geared seasonally to inspire our guests to dine with us consistently and use our catering facilities regularly.

As you enter your fourth decade in hospitality how has food changed?

Food is no longer just for eating and surviving.  It is now an experience! Chefs today are getting younger and more experimental.  We have a huge number of restaurants that serve “inspired”, “fusion” or “trendy” cuisine from around the globe. With human movement around the world increasing, so has the dynamism in the culinary world.  Gen X and the millenniums are so well-traveled and well versed with food and are internet savvy that they can make or break a restaurant’s reputation.

When you design a menu and source food do you keep local purveyors in mind?

Absolutely! We think global but also use most local purveyors. This is to keep the local economy strong. It also helps with consistency & freshness.  Examples: – tomatoes from Leamington, meat from Bruce County, foods and fruits from Foodland Ontario.

Fads come and go in food, what is something that will always be consistent?

I strongly believe that good quality fresh comfort food will always be in demand. In this part of the world, steak, salad, Chinese food, pizzas, and pasta will always remain in demand.

As a GM what do you eat daily to stay healthy and have the energy to work the long hours?

I eat a small breakfast of coffee and whole-wheat toast, a cup of soup and salad or a sandwich for lunch and an early dinner freshly prepared by my wife keeps me going for a 12-14-hour day.

You have bought and sold a few restaurants, what are the advantage of a franchise rather than starting on your own?

A franchise has a higher success rate as it is a proven system. They train you about the product, marketing, how to deal with staff, other aspects of their daily activities and give ongoing support to the business for success.

Franchises bring brand awareness with their names from day one. The customer knows what they are getting which will help increase sales. By buying a franchise, you are actually buying a turnkey business that is ready and waiting for you to start. Negatives are:  Fees for buying the franchise and ongoing fees that you need to pay to a franchiser. The entrance fees are usually very high and there are fixed costs every month/year for using the brand name. Also, you have no freedom to change the product line, the decoration of the store or anything else in a franchise system. It is very restrictive and you need to follow certain rules in order to protect your franchise license.

To start one’s own, you need innovation and creativity. Do it if you are a highly creative person full of different ideas and you want to make these ideas a reality. This will allow you professional freedom and growth. When you have your own business, you can work anytime you want. Also, depending on your business, you can work anywhere you want. You don’t need to report to other people.

Be careful of a higher failure rate, unfortunately, startups have a higher failure rate compared to franchise businesses. One in four fails within their first year, half of the remaining fail within five years and approximately 30 percent of the remaining in the last ten years. Therefore, it is very risky to launch a startup.

How you find balance with your job and your family?

Over the years I have learned that both have to be in harmony to be successful. I as a rule do not talk about work with family and family at work. This helps me focus and make sure that I give 100% to each. Also, I use my outlook calendar to its fullest as I schedule my days and try not to change so that I do not miss any milestones in both.

One of my readers wants to know what to look for in a restaurant when they go out to eat?

When trying new restaurants look for harmony; in the décor, ambiance, service, food quality, presentation and of course imagination of the chef. Did it deliver what it promised!

Photo Credits: Kristian Angelo Nick Fewings Elle Hughes bantersnaps Monika Grabkowska Eugene Stephanie McCabe Alessandro Cavestro

The post What to Look for in a Restaurant When You Go Out to Eat appeared first on Four Columns of a Balanced Life.

This spring, my sparkling wine of choice is Prosecco. There is something about its light, lively bubbles that feels perfectly suited to warm sunshine, blooming gardens, and relaxed afternoons on the patio. Pour a glass, take a sip, and let the sparkle welcome the new season.

The Beautiful Home of Prosecco

Prosecco comes from northeastern Italy, in the stunning Venetian hills. This landscape is a rolling tapestry of volcanic hills that rise and dip like waves across the countryside. Medieval castles, quaint abbeys, and charming hill towns dot the region, giving it a storybook atmosphere.

It is here that Italy’s beloved sparkling wine is produced.

The area has a long and fascinating history. In the second century BC, the Romans established important cities such as Padova, Vicenza, and Verona, and the region was known as Venetia. After the fall of the Roman Empire, communities settled in the surrounding hills seeking protection from invading forces. Over time, these settlements evolved into thriving towns, eventually contributing to the rise of the famous seaport of Venice.

Wine has been part of life here since Roman times, though the Prosecco enjoyed today has evolved significantly from the wines produced in antiquity.

The Grape Behind the Sparkle

The grape responsible for Prosecco is called Glera. This green-skinned variety thrives in the region’s maritime climate and mineral-rich soils, conditions that help create the wine’s bright, fresh character.

Glera is a late-ripening grape, harvested toward the end of the growing season. Fermentation pauses during the winter months and naturally resumes in the spring. This process creates carbon dioxide, forming the delicate bubbles that give Prosecco its signature sparkle.

Two important appellations define the heart of Prosecco production:

• Prosecco di Conegliano

• Prosecco di Valdobbiadene

In 2009, the European Union officially recognized the grape’s name as Glera, and the Conegliano–Valdobbiadene region was elevated to DOCG status, the highest quality classification in Italy. At the same time, the Italian government protected Prosecco as a geographic designation.

Prosecco is Unique

While Prosecco is a sparkling wine, it is quite different from Champagne.

In 1868, chemist and winemaker Antonio Carpenè founded the Carpenè Malvolti winery and helped pioneer a modern method for producing Prosecco. Instead of fermenting the wine in individual bottles, he used large pressurized tanks for the second fermentation. This process, known as the Charmat method, allows carbonation to develop inside stainless steel tanks.

The result is a sparkling wine that is lighter, fruitier, and more aromatic than Champagne, without the heavier yeasty notes that come from bottle fermentation.

Prosecco is designed to be enjoyed young and fresh, when its lively fruit character is at its best.

The sweetness levels vary depending on the amount of residual sugar remaining after fermentation:

• Brut – up to 15 grams of residual sugar

• Extra Dry – 12–20 grams

• Dry – 20–35 grams

Despite the names, “Extra Dry” is often the most common style and slightly sweeter than Brut.

A Prosecco Worth Tasting

Recently I had the pleasure of tasting Adami Prosecco Bosco di Gica DOCG Valdobbiadene, and it was a delightful expression of the region.

Winemaker Franco Adami has created a beautifully balanced sparkling wine where the fizz, sweetness, and acidity work in harmony. The aroma carries subtle notes of peach and fresh minerals, evoking the very hills where the grapes are grown.

It pairs wonderfully with shellfish, fish, and seafood, making it a perfect companion for spring and summer meals.

This Prosecco was also awarded Gold at The Wine Hunter Awards in 2017, a recognition that reflects its quality and craftsmanship.

A Toast to Spring

If you are planning a celebration, hosting friends, or simply enjoying a quiet evening in the sunshine, I strongly recommend reaching for a bottle of Prosecco. Its light sparkle and refreshing character make it one of the most enjoyable wines of the season.

Sometimes the best moments are simple ones: good company, warm weather, and a glass of something that sparkles.

Photo Credits:  Terry Timmins Raychan Lisanne van Elsen Mel Maldonado-Turner

The author would like to thank Giulia Medusa from Adami Srl for reviewing this blog post and for providing pictures.

The post What is Prosecco Sparkling Wine appeared first on Four Columns of a Balanced Life.

Introduction

After the COVID restrictions are lifted, we will all be dining out more often. I have outlined a few rules that will help you have an amazing restaurant experience.

Customer service is the main ingredient of an amazing restaurant experience. As customers, we expect the service to be friendly, personalized, be given suggestions based on our preferences, amazing food, out of this world presentation, dynamic ambiance, and great decor. However, as a customer, if you follow these strategies you will have a killer restaurant experience no matter what happens.

Make a reservation

A restaurant plans staffing, food preparation and everything else based on reservations. If you show up on a busy night without a reservation, chances are you will not get a seat. If you make a reservation and do not want to go, please cancel the reservation. Through reservations, the workflow is managed more efficiently and you get better service.

Check the menu online before visiting

It is important to check the menu online. In other words, you know if it has gluten-free, vegan, vegetarian or other options. As a result, you do not spend a whole bunch of time looking at the menu and are not sure what you want.

Be on time

Arrive on time. The manager has scheduled the reservations so that the service and kitchen have enough time to give you the best service.

The waiter is not your servant

It is important to know that the waiter is not there to meet your every whim and fancy. The waiter is there to make sure you have a great dining experience. Treat them with respect and you will get great service.

Go with a positive attitude

This is the most important aspect of going to a restaurant. Be positive. Go out there to have fun. Therefore, if you are looking to fill your Yelp or Trip Advisor review, you will not have a great experience. Do not go to the restaurant to take out your frustration on the waiter.

Do not ask to change the food

The menu is designed by the chef for maximum flavor. Do not ask to change the dish completely. Some modifications might be possible.

Spend money

Never go to a restaurant and be a scrooge. You see if a waiter is working from 5 to 9 pm, he is depending on having a guest from 5 to 7 and another from 7 to 9. Waiters work for tips. Waiters make below minimum wages. As a result, if you are just having a drink or a slight snack go to the bar instead.

If there is an issue let the server know

It is possible that many things can go wrong. If the food was not good or something is wrong, let the server know right away. The issue can be resolved. You will probably not be charged for the food, get a discount, get a free dessert or get a gift certificate for your next visit. But please do communicate.

The server and chef are human

The chef and waiter are human. Most chefs work sixty to eighty-hour weeks. The waiter is on his feet for eight hours and has probably not had a meal. Be patient, kind, gentle and considerate.

Tip well

I recommend fifteen percent to start with. The waiter has to give anywhere from five to seven percent of the total bill to the back house to be shared. Remember, waiters have good memories. Tip them well and they will go a mile to make your restaurant experience amazing.

Enjoy your visit to the restaurant, follow these strategies and you will have an amazing restaurant experience.

Photo Credits: Mojo Jojo  Louis Hansel  Persnickety Prints  Brooke Cagle Sasha • Stories Pablo Merchán Montes Adam Jaime Clay Banks Priscilla Du Preez Jonathan Borba Crew

The post 10 Strategies to a Killer Restaurant Experience appeared first on Four Columns of a Balanced Life.