Eric Martinez: The heart of a champion

Until he bested eight contestants from around the world in the World Bartender Championship in Las Vegas, Eric Martinez was just another bartender in T.G.I.Friday’s chain of restaurants. He’d report at 6 p.m. at T.G.I. Friday’s Glorietta 3 branch and head for his Caloocan home at 1 a.m. the next day.

Little did the 27-year-old guy think that one day, he’ll be bartending, not just to an intimate crowd, but to an international audience as well. Martinez flipped, tossed, flailed, spun, threw, balanced and caught bottles while mixing cocktails and explaining what he was doing before a panel of judges that came from all over the world.

In the 12 minutes he and other contestants got to show their act, Eric mixed six different kinds of drinks, mentally counting the time it took him to pour them into a large container.

"One count is equal to four ounces (of drinks)," Eric says. And he had to make sure he got his math right every time. There was no room for slipups. Accuracy was the name of the game.

So were speed and rapport with the judges-guests.

"You have to pour the drinks as fast as you can," reports Eric. He even lapsed into a short song-and-dance routine.

Fellow contestants — four from the US and one each from Taiwan, Brazil and Norway did the same. But Eric — nervous at first — learned how to enjoy his one moment in time. He gave it his all, and drew oohs and aahs from the audience.

Eric ended up surpassing them — including a two-time US champion.

Earlier, Eric beat the rest in the written exams that proceeded the actual demonstration of skills.

When he went on stage to claim his prize ($10,000 on top of the $1,000 he won for topping the written exams), Eric had another surprise in store for the judges and their guests.

He thanked God for his victory. It was a gesture that amazed the crowd of 1,500, made up mostly of foreigners.

The events that led to Eric’s — and the Philippines’ —shining moment is nothing short of amazing, too. When he first applied at T.G.I.F., Eric was not eyeing a bartender job at all. His faith made him shun anything that had to do with alcohol.

But, as he now says, "God had a plan for me."

The dutiful son gave his prize money (which came with a propeller engraved with his name) to his mother.

Today, colleagues at T.G.I.Friday’s call Eric "El Terrible."

"It’s the first time for the Philippines to emerge champion in 12 years," an insider reports.

Regular patrons have no qualms pouring their hearts out to him while Eric pours them their favorite drink.

He doesn’t need any instruction. Eric knows what his favorite customers want.

Like a caring friend, Eric gives pieces of advice to these customer-turned-friends when asked. And, like a concerned buddy, he tells them to take it easy with the alcohol the minute they start having one too many.

It’s not just the money from the sales that matters, he says. What’s more important is the customer’s welfare.

This attitude sets Eric — and his workplace — apart from the rest. It gives the restaurant a human face.

Such positive outlook will also come in handy once Eric fulfills another dream: to work as manager in T.G.I.Friday’s.

After all, there’s always room at the top for a guy whose heart is as big as his talent.