I will start off by saying this is probably the one and only Yelp review I will ever write in my lifetime. This should immediately emphasize the gravitas of this post. With all the other bartending certification classes/schools available in the bay area, it would be a disservice to Jeremy and the amazing experience I had taking his class to not post this review. I would like to hit on two main subjects during this post: 1) The ideal candidate to take this class and, 2) The six tangible benefits that a student gains from taking this class that no other bartending certification course can provide.
The beauty of Jeremy's course is that it targets a vast array of ideal candidates all with one trait in common, a desire to learn how to be the BEST bartender available on the market. Whether you were like me, and were simply seeking the knowledge and certification as a life goal between jobs or want to make bartending a full-time career, Jeremy's class is the MUST-TAKE in order to be in the upper echelon of bartenders available for hire. Said differently, whether you want to host the most impressive parties at your house to impress your friends or be the bartender that is coveted by employers during interviews, this is the course for you. I was a business major at UC Berkeley and if there is one thing I know how to do correctly, it is conduct my due diligence prior to undertaking any endeavor, and I will guarantee that this is the best course available on the market.
Diving into the guts of the course, there are six overarching fundamentals that Jeremy's course, and only Jeremy's course, teaches/provides to anyone that takes the class. These six fundamentals are essentially the complete set of building blocks that anyone looking to be a real bartender or at home bartender need to have access to, and from my research, all other courses only provide a fraction of said six fundamentals:
1) Recipe Memorization and Practice: During the course you learn 100+ of the most common drink varieties that any top-tier bartender would need to know. During the course of the week, not only do you memorize these drinks, you do drill after drill so by the end of the course, you have made each of the 100+ drinks at least 5-10 times ingraining the recipe into your brain and committing it to muscle memory.
2) Precision and Technique in Crafting Drinks: Not only do you memorize and practice each of the 100+ recipes, but Jeremy teaches you the exact technique, proportions, and presentation in order to ensure each drink is crafted in the best possible manner. No one is allowed to pass this course without being able to make each drink perfectly each and every time.
3) Knowledge and History: A portion of each day is dedicated to learning the history, distillation process, quality, and flavor profiles of every type of alcohol a top-tier bartender would come across. Jeremy truly understands that to be a complete bartender, one must not only know the recipe of each drink, but that one must understand the foundation and flavor profile of each ingredient within the recipe.
4) Customer Service and Tip Maximization: Jeremy emphasizes the importance of top-notch customer service, which is quite important for anyone that wants to stand out in a job interview. Not only that, Jeremy will teach you the proper techniques that will allow you to maximize your profits on any given night on the job.
5) Real Life Practice at a Reputable SF Bar (Bar Basic): I had been coming to Bar Basic for years and the fact that you are able to work on any Monday night the bar is open is a true differentiating factor for anyone that either wants to brush up on their skills like me or needs on the job experience prior to applying for full-time bartending gigs.
6) Extensive Job Network: For certified/graduated students, SOMA Bartending's network is unbeatable. Besides the student nights at Bar Basic, Jeremy will contact former students to work private events in order to bolster their resumes, will recommend graduated students for job openings through his extensive network of contacts in the industry, and will act as a reference during the interview process.
Above all else, Jeremy's dedication and love for teaching and creating the best bartenders around are unrivaled. He could be making more money pursuing other ventures, but it's his passion for this job that keeps him going. To further emphasize this point, when I was taking the course, Jeremy was hit by a van on the freeway driving his motorcycle home from class on a Tuesday. After being in the hospital till 3am the following day, we finished up the class less than a week later. I think that anecdote says it all.
Thanks SOMA Bartending for an awesome experience! read more