Reflect. Reset. Revive: What to expect from education at BCB

Sean Finter, Jad Ballout, Vivian Pei, Phil Duff or Hannah Lanfear: Voices of the international bar scene are guests at BCB 2021. Angus Winchester on the programme and Corona's influence on the choice of themes.

A huge hug. The winning numbers for the lottery. Hindsight. A government that cares. 

These are just some of the things that I was told when I asked people ‘what do you think our industry needs most right now?’. And while I can’t argue with any of them and am alas not in a position to be able to provide any of them I was in fact talking about curating the education program at BCB this year. 

Survival beats education

This year’s show is very different to last years. With last year being entirely digital and the industry shut down (or severely restricted) in most countries and bartenders sitting around twiddling their thumbs while owners pulled their hair out it was sort of easier. We were flooded with ideas for seminars and while education was useful it was survival that was paramount. We were fearful but hopeful. Uncertain but resilient. Pivoting and adapting like mad.

But here a year later the landscape has changed. Many people and places did not last and have moved out and away and may not return. Vaccination (and vaccination hesitancy) are causing new opportunities and headaches. Countries that were doing well are now doing badly and countries that were doing better have hit impasses. And in the exhibition world some brands and attendees either cannot or have chosen not to attend this year. So with all that uncertainty how do you create or curate an education program to satisfy?

Accepting the inevitable

“Reflect. Reset. Revive” were the words that kept echoing around my mind. To be more aware of the world around us at every level. To accept change as inevitable and necessary and to find balance in that. And to remember and bring back the elements of our lives that we had considered lost but in fact were just hidden. Lofty goals and ideal but ones worth striving for. And ones that I would need some of the best and brightest minds in the business to be able to achieve.

Smaller cities have risen

The fact that this is a globally transmitted disease that has largely grounded us from travel has made us consider and see the world somewhat differently and made us appreciate what we have and what we have lost and a big cities and countries have become somewhat problematic so smaller cities have risen and we take note of that by showcasing cities like Miami (Naren Young), Copenhagen (Hardeep Rahal) and Singapore (Vivian Pei) which have all become significant culinary cities and push their case for inclusion in any bartender’s future travel plans. And examine lesser known markets such as East Africa (Eugene Nayundi) and India (Minakshi Singh) as they slowly rise to prominence. Plus as other social issues finally got the visibility they deserve so we examine the significant role played by People of Colour in the cradle of cocktails (Tiffanie Barriere) and set out advice to support the crucially important LGBTQ community in our community (Hannah Lanfear).

Show cases on point

In evolution it’s not the biggest or strongest that survive but the ones most able to adapt and the pandemic has certainly shown us that and we aim to showcase that too. From modern bar equipment (Stu Bale) to the entrepreneurial hustle that got us through and may well be permanent changes to sustain us (Phil Duff) we have experts giving examples as well as discussing theory. From discussing real examples of environmental wet-led sustainability (Louisa Dodd) to discussing the digital future of bartender education and the pathway to Ambassadorship (Elayne Duff) that has become both harder and more desirable for many. 

Key learnings from the pandemic

Finally reviving our industry and the people within it is encapsulated in the show itself and our ability to come together and look ahead. And with experts like Sean Finter discussing a post-pandemic playbook as well as many others sharing their personal inspirational stories of overcoming adversity (Jad Ballout) - often with a smile - we hope to instruct, inform and inspire which is the best we can do… but we will hug anyone that asks!