In November 2024, we hosted our 11th Independent Study Day of the year. This monthly event is all about spending time in a community with other bartenders and includes guest speakers, hands-on learning and peer-to-peer mentorship. For November’s event, we opted to do something different than what we had done all year by hosting a family meal. Thirty of us sat around one table to share a meal and to say it was incredible, is an understatement. We made place cards to ensure that everyone was seated beside someone that they perhaps didn’t know that well in an effort to forge new friendships. We wanted everyone to truly engage with one another. We were not entirely sure how this setup would work out so in preparation for any stagnant moments, we had a jar of printed questions at the ready. These questions were meant to be prompts for conversation. On that day, the jar of questions was not necessary – the room was naturally alive with conversation. Magic!
We know that the world is a pretty dark place at times and we know how easy it is to lose our spark, our fire that encourages us and pushes us to continue doing what it is we do. We get lost in the darkness with our heads down. We want to offer up these questions to all of you as a way to feel inspired again. To get you thinking more about the industry and what you want from it. What you like. What you don’t like. Why you feel this way. To remind you of why you do this drink-making thing. To get your spark back. These questions are here as journal prompts so you can really write out how you feel or simply give them a read and let them sit in your mind as you go about your day. We want to encourage you to be more active in your job, in your bar and in your community, however that feels best for you.
If you would like to send us any feedback or have more questions here that you think we should add, please fill out the form here.
- What was the first cocktail that you learned to make and how did that come about?
- What was your first shift behind the bar like? How did you feel?
- What do we need less of in this industry? Both from bartenders and from brands.
- Is social media still fun or does it feel like a chore?
- Has attending any industry opportunities like seminars and cocktail conferences changed the way you approach your whole job? What have you learned from those experiences?
- What is the best cocktail in your city? What makes it so great?
- What is your favourite cocktail competition and why?
- What’s missing?
- Are you a playlist bartender or an album bartender? How does music play a role in your job?
- Who is your favourite regular and why?
- What is the best thing a guest can ask you about? What do you like talking about with guests?
- How is your brand literacy? What are areas of it you can improve?
- What was your favourite industry event that you attended recently? What made it so good?
- Who would your dream speaker be for a seminar? What are you looking to learn from them?
- What is best advice related to your job that you have received?
- When was the last time you had a great time out and what made it so great?
- What do you wish brands would do for bartenders?
- What drink order lets you know that a guest appreciates what you do?