By Anthony Rifilato
"I was kind of nervous, but I passed with flying colors," she said of her final exam, as she sat on a barstool and chatted with three other women.
"The only drink I knew how to make was a fuzzy naval and a kamikaze," she said of her previous drink-making ability. "Now I know everything."
J. Wood was one of seven people to graduate last week from the Professional Bartenders Training Center. She paid $200 and took the 40-hour, week-long program, she said, to make extra money and to have fun doing so. For her final exam she had to make 12 drinks in under seven minutes. Wood's time: four minutes, fifty-nine seconds, in which she made drinks such as gin and tonics, Tom Collinses and Rusty nails.
"I didn't know what to expect," she said. "There're so many types of liquors, I thought it was overwhelming at first. But it was easier than I expected."
The Professional Bartenders Training Center has been in Baldwin for 10 years, and moved to Grand Avenue three years ago. It offers free job placement and free lifetime refresher courses. It also is certified by the New York State Department of Education, and compared with other bartending schools in the area, teachers here say, the tuition is affordable. And the women here said they know that despite the long, grueling hours, bartending pays well, especially for those with dwindling job prospects in a faltering economy.
"Everyone knows how lucrative it could be," said teacher Fran Logiudice, a Queens resident and one of two instructors at this location. Logiudice has seen her students use their bartending skills advantageously. One of her former students recently became a part owner of C.J.'s in Great Neck. "I have regulars who get jobs and visit," she said.
Logiudice, who was a bartender for eight years before she began teaching full-time a year ago, said people can make serious cash making drinks. She said the most she made in one night was $420, although she knows people who have made over $1,000 for a night's work.
Inside the center, the colorful and brightly lit room includes a seemingly well-stocked bar. But the bottles are filled with water and food coloring. Different-colored small sponges are used as garnishes, while the soda gun only gushes water. Despite the absence of liquor, the school creates a realistic atmosphere for students, who can take the 40-hour course in either a one-week or two-week session.
Once they are certified bartenders, the school's placement director, Baldwin resident Gertrisha Hunter, assists the graduates in their burgeoning careers. "Due to the recession, it's a fun and lucrative form of supplemental
income," Hunter said. Both Logiudice and Hunter said that there has been no significant increase in the number of students due to the economy, however. In the summer, the center certifies two to 20 students a week, usually college students on break or people with time to spare. The center can accommodate a maximum of 20 students.
At the end of the course, students take a written exam and a speed test. Logiudice said that in addition to teaching outrageous concoctions such as Thug Passions (Hennesy and Alize), she shows them customer-service skills and the history of the drinks being made. And, of course, Logiudice teaches her students a very important aspect of the trade, the bottle flip.
"Once they graduate, they are fully capable of working behind a bar," she said.
