25 Belize City Residents Complete Bartending Course
A number of residents from the south side of the City have completed a course on bartending. It took place at the popular Sip and Sip club and was organized by the Police Department with support from other business establishments. The idea is to offer another option to the participants for meaningful employment as well as to keep them engaged and away from the grips of crime and violence. News Five’s Duane Moody reports.
Duane Moody, Reporting
Twenty-five youths from south side Belize City successfully completed a bartending course, hosted by Region One of Eastern Division Police Department under the command of Senior Superintendent Howell Gillett. The Belize Police Department partnered with the popular Sit and Sip as well as Travellers Liquors and Premium Wines to carry out an intense six-day initiative to teach the participants the fundamentals of bartending with the assistance of a few local mixologists. Gillett says that it helps in making them employable in an effort to curb criminal activities in the city.
Howell Gillett
Sr. Supt. Howell Gillett, Commander, Region 1
“We need to create employment; there are so many social issues that are impacting crime and we need to get to those root causes to have lasting peace in our communities. And doing this for our young people, tells us that the police are serious about fighting crime and we do care about the communities that we serve. There were two main criteria—one was that you had to be living in Region One side of the city and you had to be above age eighteen and then another one was that you didn’t have employment because it is creating employment for our young people.”
Eustace Lemoth is the head bartender at Sit and Sip, he spoke about the role of a bartender and the techniques taught.
Eustace Lemoth
Eustace Lemoth, Head Bartender, Sit & Sip
“Sit & Sip came together with different businesses from right around the area. We have Travellers Liquors, the Tap Room, Premium Wines; we all came together along with the police department to get this thing sorted out. We have twenty-five personnel that took part in this training and they did a twenty-hour bartending crash course which they learned basic bartending, garnishing, some of the basic drinks, the glass wear the ethics of a bartender and so on. We used them on Saturday for an event that was held by Sit & Sip.”
It’s a great opportunity for twenty-nine-year-old Stephanie Henry. She recently moved to Belize City from Orange Walk and says that the course further strengthens her bartending skills and makes her more marketable.
Stephanie Henry
Stephanie Henry, Participant
“I have learned the basic tools and garnishing. And also your taste; it is all based on your taste buds. So if you have good taste buds, you can balance the sweet and sour and most of the drinks are within sweet and sour.”
Like the barbering course that was held earlier this year, Gillett says that almost half of the number of participants has secured jobs with various institutions including hotels, clubs and bars across the country. Duane Moody for News Five.
