Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, February 17, 1992 TAG: 9202170186
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CHARLES HITE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
FOR BARTENDER, BALL MORE LIKE BRAWL
It took a broken left foot, a sprained right pinkie and 10 years of learning to be a good listener before Diane Cooke got the respect she deserves.Cooke was named "Best Overall Bartender" Sunday night during Roanoke's third annual "Bartenders Ball," an event expected to raise more than $5,000 for the local Muscular Dystrophy Association.
The money will be used to buy equipment and services for more than 1,000 patients in Southwest Virginia who suffer from the congenital disease, which is characterized by a progressive wasting of skeletal muscles.
Cooke suffered the broken bones during a series of contests last week that tested the skills (and competitive spirit) of nearly 40 local barkeeps.
Her pinkie was crushed as she retrieved a slippery case of beer in a relay race. Her foot was the victim of a nasty game of tug of war. Fortunately, that came after she had chalked up high marks in three important categories: preparing frozen drinks, slicing fruit for cocktails, and least spillage on an obstacle course while carrying a tray with six brimming champagne glasses.
"It's a great job," said the 42-year-old Cooke, who says she led the life of a "boring housewife" before she turned to bartending.
"It's like someone is paying you to party and have a good time without ever having to worry about a hangover the next day."
The lure of good money led the Louisiana native to turn from food and cocktail waitressing to life behind a bar. Cooke bluffed her way into her first job, assuring the restaurant owner she'd had plenty of experience. She went home the night before she was to start and studied a book on how to make mixed drinks.
Now she mixes about 500 drinks a night during a typical shift at the Elephant Walk lounge. She's able to recall about 200 recipes - some more precisely than others.
"You can kind of fake it if you don't know exactly," she says. "Most customers can't tell."
Her most difficult drink is a Rum Runner - equal parts of light and dark rum, a bit of Creme de Casis, a squirt of pineapple juice, a splash of sour mix and a splash of grenadine.
People think there's nothing to being a bartender, Cooke says. But the job carries a lot of stress: You have to juggle drink orders and entertain customers for 10 to 12 hours at a stretch.
"You may feel really bummed out but when you get out of your car and come through the door, you get into your bartender mode," Cooke says.
"Now that I've gotten used to it, I don't think I could do anything else. I'm a real hyper person, so it's a good outlet for me."
Cooke loves the Bartenders Ball not because it builds a spirit of friendly competition among area barkeeps (which she says it does) but because it allows them to give something back to the community.
"Even if you don't win anything, we're all still grateful," Cooke says. "It's not what you win, it's what you give."
Cooke won an all-expenses-paid vacation for two to Melbourne, Fla. The ball was held at Charades at the Roanoke Airport Marriott and was co-sponsored by Elephant Walk, Macado's, PYA-Monarch and K-92.