MORE than 300 students from different universities and colleges in Mindanao converged at the Royal Mandaya Hotel's Lantawan Hall last January 25, 2010 to attend the first ever Mindanao Hospitality Management Students Inter-School Convention.
The GSM Team, upon the invitation of Chiang Kai Shek Program Head Coordinator, Chef Mark Angelo Uy, joined the celebration with the introduction of their revolutionary program, the GSM Blueniversity.
The GSM Blueniversity is headed by Bell Pepper Inc's Event Coordinator Malex Martin along with GSM Blue Product Associate Khristine Anunciacion.
The goal of the Blueniversity is to educate Hotel and Restaurant Management (HRM) majors all over the Philippines to become more competent, knowledgeable, and confident in bartending.
GSM Blueniversity was launched in Metro Manila in 2008, when the team conducted of out of campus Mixology and Flairtending Workshops.
In 2009, the GSM Blueniversity started to conduct their workshops inside campuses in Metro Manila and Luzon. And this year, 2010, they are expanding their reach by extending the event to Visayas and Mindanao.
Through these workshops, GSM Blue hopes to encourage HRM students to explore the possibilities of professional bartending.
The GSM Blueniversity Workshop is conducted by the first GSM Flair Idol Champion Erwyn Unigo. Erwyn Unigo was Head Bartender of the Edsa Shangri-la for five years before he ventured into his own business of cocktail catering. He was a three time National Grand Champion in the Professionals Division for Flairtending and he was the Philippine representation to the Asia Pacific Bartending Competition. One of the feathers on Unigo's cap is winning the GSM Blue Flair Idol Championship in 2007.
With this title came the privilege of being the head lector of GSM Blueniversity where he gets to impart his skills, knowledge, and inspiration to HRM students all over the country.
In these workshops, Unigo educates the participants on Mixology including a discussion on the Seven Classified Spirits, Alcohol Awareness and Responsible Drinking, and the rudiments of Cocktail Mixing.
After the Mixology session, Unigo mentors the participants on Flairtending. At the end of these workshops, participants get their Certificates of Participation.
Through these workshops, GSM Blue hopes to harness the untapped potential of future bartenders and discover the next Flair Idol Champion.
Started in 2007, the GSM Blue Flair Idol Championship has featured and pitted the best bartenders and flairtenders in Metro Manila and Luzon.
This year, they are also tapping into Visayas and Mindanao.
The Flair Idol competition is a national reality based search for the best flairtender in the country. The competition will begin in June 2010, with the stellar participants of the GSM Blueniversity being tapped as the competitors.
The competition shall commence on December 2010, after a rigorous competition will have determined the best flairtender in the country.
Erwyn Unigo, with his awe inspiring demonstration of cocktail mixing and flairtending during the First Mindanao Hospitality Management Students Inter-School Convention, is proof that the GSM Blueniversity is a great venue for HRM students and future bartenders to know more about mixology and flairtending.
Schools and organizations interested in having their own GSM Blueniversity Workshop held on their campus, may reach the GSM Blueniversity Team via (02) 912-5569 to 71, 0915-5041064 or 0932-3348722, or through bellpepper_clients@yahoo.com.ph.