It’s flair bartending season again! This means exhilarating action at the TGIFriday’s bar as best
bartenders fight for the plum prize the “SHAKE, RATTLE & POUR 2019 PHILIPPINES BARTENDER CHAMPIONSHIP” happening this Wednesday (August 28) starting at 4:00 pm at the restaurant’s Alabang Town Center branch.
Expect bottles tossing, shakers bouncing off elbows, glasses flying in the air and other exceptional bar tricks. The rhythm is intense and the energy, geared to the maximum level. These barkeeps consider bartending an art form and a competitive sport!
Who among the contenders will snatch the King of the Bar title? Winners in their own right, they all underwent rigorous competitions in their respective branches before they earned the privilege to represent their store at this year’s TGIFRidays’ nationwide competition. After all, it’s not just about tricks and bar flairs. There’s a lot of hard work involved such as the technical or compulsory stages that tested their mettle in pour accuracy and mastery of recipes among others.
This year’s winner will represent TGIFriday’s Philippines in the Asia-Pacific Bartender Championship
to be held in Indonesia in October. The regional winner will then be pitted against the best of the best
around the world at the 2019 TGIF World Bartender Championship in Dallas, Texas.
Our very own Yohan “The Pilot” Jara of Solenad branch represented the Philippines in the Asia-
Pacific Championship held at Fridays Mall of Asia last October.
TGIFriday’s Philippines has an impressive record of producing world-class bartenders who have
won in international competitions. In 2017, Jholan Peñafiel was named grand champion at TGIFriday’s World Bartender Championship held in Dallas, Texas, showing that she was at the top of her game when she bested competitors from the USA, Latin America. United Kingdom, and Europe.
Peñafiel is the second Filipina bartender to win the world championship, the first being Rizza Umlas who won the title in 2015 also in Dallas, Texas. Eric “El Terrible” Martinez brought home the World Title in 2006 at the World Bartender Championship held in Las Vegas, USA.
Be at TGIFriday’s Alabang when the flairtending action starts at 6 pm on August 28 . The lively
bar with the elite bartenders’ showmanship will definitely wow you!