From your first day on the main program you will be introduced to bartending basics and make one drink at a time, but by the end the MBS will have you taking multiple orders, upselling to premium brands, operating the computer system, printing bills, taking cash, giving change, and providing excellent customer service to maximize tips – all in under three minutes. The school prides itself on its equipment, training time and unmatched facility, and the fact that classes are deliberately kept small in order for each student to have their own workstation where the art of bartending can be practised without other students hovering nearby and waiting to take their turn. Training with the duo has an emphasis on fun, immersive and interactive lessons, where the majority of students’ time – up to eighty percent of the course – is spent behind the bar. The Calgary branch of the MBS is run by Ryan Boyd and Ian Arcega, both widely experienced hospitality industry veterans with decades of time working ‘behind the wood’ in Canada and around the world. With twenty years under its belt the company has seen more than ten thousand students graduate from its training program, is credited with raising the standard of service in bars, clubs and restaurants in Calgary, Vancouver and across Canada, and describes itself as the quality benchmark which all other bartending schools aspire to reach. From its initial location in Vancouver, the company expanded into Calgary with a state of the art facility in the city’s Beltline region, just a couple of blocks from the Bow River. When restaurateur Matt Thompson saw a distinct lack of quality staff available to work in his numerous establishments, he decided to do the job of training them himself – and so, in 1995, the Metropolitan Bartending School (MBS) was established.

Promising to turn you from zero to drink-pouring hero in just twenty-four hours of class time, the Metropolitan Bartending School is a one-stop shop for aspiring bartenders and people wishing to get ahead in the hospitality industry.

Ac bartender training center