Flair 101
Typically, when you walk into a bar, your bartender greets you, makes your drink and sends you on your way. But when Palatine's Jason Ochoa tends your tab, he'll juggle, flip and balance every bottle on his head before he serves you with absolute precision. And he has a knack for making it all look effortless.
Ochoa, 33, of Palatine is anything but your average bartender, and on Nov. 12, he proved it: He won TGI Friday's divisional competition for bartending. On Feb. 25, Ochoa will compete as one of eight bartenders from 869 worldwide Friday's locations in the World Bartender Championship in Las Vegas.
"Being a bartender is an awesome job," says Ochoa, who started bartending at TGI Friday's Glenview location in late July. "To me, bartending came easier and more naturally than anything else."
Typically when Friday's hires new employees, they first train them as servers and then promote them to the bar, but Ochoa was hired specifically as a bartender. "It can be overwhelming to have to memorize a 10-page food menu and a 10-page drink menu, so typically Friday's has been known to do that," says Mike Newcomb, manager of the Glenview location. "I had known Jason for years from when I used to compete myself. Jason is just a stand-up guy, a good guy. He has come in and shown determination."
In fact, Ochoa is the third bartender that Newcomb has taken to the World Bartending Championship. "He's been a bartender for a long time, and he knows how to flip bottles," Newcomb says. "But he's really put the effort into it. Jason really does have a chance. To be the best in the world, you have to be perfect."
Ochoa has bartended since he turned 21, but after following the influence of a drink-twirling friend, flair bartending piqued his interest.
"I saw someone else do it, so I tried it. Anyone can do anything they want as long as you are willing to put your all into whatever you want. I chose my profession. My profession is a bartender."ˆ½
Between bartending at Friday's four days a week and bartending at Idols in Palatine on Wednesday and Saturday nights, Ochoa still takes time out of every day to perfect his craft.
"I train at least one hour a day on the bottles and one and a half hours every other day on my body. It goes beyond making yourself a great bartender. You also have to make yourself a great person. That's where TGI Friday's comes in. Working at Friday's takes a lot of discipline, a lot of devotion and a lot of team work.
"I (didn't start here thinking) I was already a good bartender in my eyes, but I wanted to be a great bartender. I've always wanted to work at TGI Friday's, because I've always thought they have the best bartenders ever."
Ochoa took first place in the in-store competition, the regional competition, the super regional and the divisional competition last year, and if he wins first place at the world competition, he stands to win $10,000. Competitors are tested in four categories: a written drink knowledge test, a speed round during which they time for accuracy, a pour test and finally their flair performance.
Though he tends to place first in almost everything he does, Ochoa experiences the normal jitters before every performance.
"Before a competition, I'm always nervous. I was already ahead (coming into the last competition), but you never know. Something stupid can happen in any competition."