She has such flair!

By :Nidhi Mishra

When I met Ami Shroff in Goa, I was inspired to leave journalism and become a bartender. Not a bad idea, considering I would be only the fifth woman in India to take up the profession.
Ami, 22, defied societal prejudices when she joined UB Group as a beverage consultant last year. She can juggle wine bottles faster than one can twirl one’s feet. “It is all due to Physics,” she will tell you. This form of bartending using bottles, cocktail shakers and other bar equipment to entertain guests is known as ‘flair’.
“Flair on its own is an art and a sport. A certain style and lots of practice is required to flair an open liquor bottle. Not everybody who can juggle, can flair,” she explains.
Not trained in bartending, Ami picked up the skill while servicing at the bar counter. “I pretty much scavenged around the place, read up from the Internet and books, and tried out my own moves. Reading equipped me with knowledge of the different kinds of drinks and ingredients available,” she said.
She was fascinated by the film Cocktails while in school, but got introduced to the trade only in college when she saw a bartender flair live.
“My friend Delnaaz and I were both fascinated and wanted to learn this,” she says. She started freelancing with Enigma, five-star hotel JW Marriott’s bar cum discotheque in Mumbai, but did not immediately tell her parents.
She wanted to tell them gradually about her choice of profession, as it was perceived as something ‘different’. Highly sceptical in the beginning, they slowly realised that the profession had its own perks. “They saw the demand for me out there and the treatment I received from the organisers, who flew me down for shows, put me up in the best of hotels, and so on, and now they are cool with it,” she says. Today, she freelances and teaches at the Indian institute of Hotel Management, Catering Technology and Applied Nutrition College, Mumbai. The lady factor
With few girls opting for the profession, it is easier for girls to enter the industry but difficult to sustain and make a name, says Ami. Her work and achievement comes under greater scrutiny simply because she is a woman.
“People give more credit to the ‘lady factor’ and whatever you achieve gets questioned. It gets a little annoying after a while and you don’t even feel like defending yourself anymore. There are moments of frustration, but you learn to deal with it,” she says.
And with few women flairing, her work attracts more than its share of surprised looks. Ami, however, thwarts perceptions of female bartenders being at the receiving end of vulgar or rude behaviour at work. She says that with the presence of bouncers and other security, customers do not dare to misbehave with employees. But she has a few pointers for aspiring women bartenders wary of such instances: “Don’t dress provocatively or appear overtly friendly, and unpleasantness can be avoided as much as possible.”
On the upside, as far as the night scene goes, there is a great demand for female bartenders, who are preferred slightly more than a male simply because they are rare. “It’s not as if a girl can make a better drink but the mentality of the crowd is such. Ladies’ nights are held and drinks are served on the house so girls can just come and party. Similarly, a female behind the bar is also welcome. If a girl is serving you, it automatically makes the atmosphere that much more secure.”
Coming back to the question of why there are few girls willing to take up the profession, Ami says, “It is like the chicken and egg problem — is it the mentality or the men that keeps us away?”Remuneration
Asked whether the remuneration matches the excitement of the work, Ami replies, “The amount of money to be earned here is totally random.” A newcomer can expect anywhere between Rs 8,000 and Rs 15,000 in nightclubs and hotels, and one can grow in the profession to reach the level of a bar manager. Freelancing brings more money, but for that one should be able to market oneself well, she adds. Joining cruise liners, designing bars, becoming a consultant or opening a training centre are some of the other options for those in this career. Negotiation assumes importance as newcomers, especially girls, can seek a higher price due to greater demand.Popular choice?
According to Ami, the most popular drink last summer was Mojito. This mint-flavoured white rum drink with a lot of crushed ice, lime and brown sugar is a good, refreshing drink. She however finds that people mostly go for straight drinks and do not have much of a taste for cocktails. That is mainly because many bartenders do not know the classic way to make cocktails, she reckons. “I expect to have a Martini of the same taste wherever I go. It is like Hyderabadi biryani has to taste the same everywhere.” Her favourite drink
As a chef does not gorge on his pastries, so also a bartender does not feel the urge to drink after mixing hundreds of drinks a day, she says. But occasionally, Ami enjoys the Mud Slide, which is kahlua, Bailey’s and tonnes of cacao. It has poppy, Irish and chocolate flavours and “is like this amazing dessert drink.” Long Island Ice Tea comes a close second. As far as spirits go, “My favourite is whiskey, Bourbon and American, although I am developing a taste for Scotch too.” Inspiration
When French bartender Nicholas St John came to Goa, Ami found her inspiration. She loved his passion and philosophies on bartending and his fantastic approach to the profession.
“He is a legend in his own way, as he creates all his moves and can flair any object creatively. Initially, he used to study DVDs and do everything that they were not doing, thus evolving a unique style of his own. In India, we mostly copy flairs and are sceptical about trying new stuff,” she says.