IT WAS crueler back in the 80s – that a single slip meant burning one’s hands.
History shows that in 1800, Jerry Thomas introduced the cocktail drink called Blue Blazer, a mixture of boiling water and flaming bourbon whisky served at room temperature of 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
Entertainment-wise, it’s quite fancy: the practice of bartenders entertaining guests, clientele or audiences with the manipulation of bar tools (say, cocktail shakers) and liquor bottles in catchy, dazzling ways.
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But whichever side you’re more interested in – the witnessing of liquid aflame in mid-air or the juggling of bottles without hitting the floor – it started the trend of flair bartending.
Or simply call it “flair tending.” It’s one of the many culinary aspects that most Filipinos excel in worldwide.
To prove that, 13 Hotel and Restaurant Management students gathered for the T.G.I Friday’s Flair Tending Competition at the Ayala Activity Center last Aug. 30, Monday. And coincidentally, it’s the same restaurant that started the competition in 1985 in Marina del Rey, California.
The contest, minus the fiery acts, featured unforgettable performances, like the graceful hand maneuvers of Tracy Marie Mabal from University of Cebu-Main (UC) while mixing gin and orange and mango juices.
She finished it in five minutes, perfectly within the allotted time, and without a doubt, took home the top prize award.
From the University of San Carlos, Ron calls his drink “Sweet and Purple,” which is generally mixed with pineapple juice. He completed it in five minutes and 46 seconds.
Kristian John Lim of UC-Lapu-Lapu-Mandaue campus opted for vodka, and understandably, the name said it all, “Vodka-Guyabano Crush.” Kristian emerged as the first runner-up in the contest.
Southwestern University’s Francis Angelo Nolasco jived with the Spice Girls’ Stop playing in the background as he juggled the bottles containing white rum that made up his “Pink Lemon” concoction. He went home with the second runner-up victory.
“It’s a very artistic way of mixing drinks. Grace is a factor, but more importantly, it’s the charm – how you present it to your audience, and how entertaining you can be,” explained Roy De Dios, manager of T.G.I Friday’s Cebu outlet. (Clint Holton P. Potestas)
