Held on October 9th 1953 At the Royal Danielli Hotel, Venice, Italy

Present:
Mr. Comm. P. Grandi, President, A.I.B.E.S.
Mr. A. Normann, President, O.B.C.
Mr. L. Larini, President, S.B.U.
Mr. V. Christensen, President, D.B.L.
Mr. H. Jansson, President, S.B.G.
Mr. J. Van der Horst, President, N.B.C.
Mr. F. Friede, President, D.B.U.
Mr. McElhone, A.B.F.
Mr. H. W. Roberts I.B.A. Gen.Secretary, UKBG
Also attending as observers:
Mr. G. Tops (Luxembourg)
Mr. P. Spruyt (Belgium).
Apology for absence was received from the President of the I.B.A.-and U.K.B.G. -Mr. G. A. Baker.      
H.W.Roberts, the General Secretary, informed the Meeting that the President had suggested that in his absence the chair for the Meeting should be taken by Comm. P. Grandi (A.I.B.E.S.), whose Guild were their hosts on this occasion.
All delegates unanimously agreed that.
Comm. Grandi accepted the Chair and welcomed the delegates to the Meeting.
He said they were all one big family and he and the A.I.B.E.S. were most happy that they had been able to make the opportunity for the Meeting. He thanked them all for coming to Venice and regretted that their President could not be with them owing to pressure of business.
He hoped that they would all enjoy the social side of their visit and that this Meeting would be most successful.
He was arranging that there should be photographs of the occasion for them to take home with them.
The General Secretary said the next item on the Agenda was the formal acceptance of the Deutsche Barkeeper Union as a Member of the I.B.A. on receiving the application of the D.B.U. he had written to all Members Guilds for their vote and this had been unanimous' in favour of acceptance. The chairman said he was most happy that their German colleagues were to be accepted, which he supported most heartily. He congratulated Mr. Fred Friede, the D.B.U. President and formally welcomed the D.B.U. as a Member of the I.B.A.

The next item on the Agenda was to consider an application for Membership by the Finnish Bartenders & Supporters Club. The General Secretary said he had received an application from the President, Mr. A. Brunius. He had replied to this and asked that details of the Club's Rules and total Membership should be forwarded so that the application could be considered. He had received no reply to this.

Mr. Helmer ‘Jonnie’ Jansson (SBG)
said he had been in Finland recently and in contact with the Club. Actually they had only four Members in Helsinki and a few Associates. There were a number of young bartenders who would join in due course and whom he was helping to train. The Rules of the Finnish Club were similar to those of the S.B.G. and the U.K.B.G. He said the Finns wanted to be internationally recognised so that they could maintain contact with their colleagues abroad and give them prestige in Finland to help build up their Association. The General Secretary, for the UKBG, said he felt the Finnish Club should be given more time before becoming Members of the IBA to see how they progressed. As they were so small in numbers it was possible that the Club might not make much progress and later be disbanded. This would not be good for the IBA. After a short discussion it was agreed that the application should be considered again at the next Meeting of the IBA. In the meantime the Finnish Club to be informed of this and sent the best wishes of their colleagues in the IBA.
In his absence the, President‘s address was given by the General Secretary.

The President apologised for his absence which he deeply regretted as he would have liked the opportunity of Meeting all the delegates, unfortunately circumstances connected with his work made it impossible for him to attend. On behalf of the I.B.A. he expressed his thanks to the A.I.B.E.S. for making the Meeting possible. It had not been possible to give the notification of the Meeting, which was six months, required by the Rules and in this respect they were out of order, but he knew that they had all been anxious to have a Meeting and in the circumstances had been happy to call it.
He hoped that they would get through all their outstanding business and have a really successful meeting.
Referring to the 2½ years since the first Meeting of the I.B.A. he felt that they had made good progress, especially considering that they had started from nothing. They had maintained and increased their liaison with each other, the Bulletin had been published and already the IBA meant something to them all.
Referring to the financial position, the President said he felt that their present arrangement regarding subscriptions was sufficient for their needs and they would learn later that the Association had a credit balance when details of the Financial Report were given. He would like them to note that the Bulletin was not costing the Association hardly anything as the cost was being met from advertising.
The President said he hoped they would give consideration at the Meeting to the question of International Cocktail Competitions and also the standardization of Rules for Cocktail Competitions. He felt the latter particularly needed careful attention. Competitions were being held in different parts of Europe, many without any form of checking of recipes for duplication.
In closing the Address, the President appealed to all Member Guilds to keep the I.B.A. in the right proportions and perspective. When the Association had been formed it had been meant as a link between their various Guilds and not a body to control completely all that they did with their Associations in their own countries. He did not wish to be pessimistic about this, but he felt that if there was too much interference with the national Guilds this would only lead to acrimony and it would be a great shame if they lost the link they had through the original idea of the I.B.A.
The President's address was unanimous adopted by the delegates.
The Financial Report was then present by the General Secretary. All details of the items of expenditure and income for the years 1951, 1952 and 1953 were read to the delegates. The present balance in hand was £ 85,- £18.= od. Also there were outstanding debtors for £ 62, mainly from advertising fees to come from the Bulletin and outstanding subscriptions. When these were received there would then be approximately £ 14, in the I.B.A. funds. The delegates expressed themselves as most satisfied with the Financial Report and this was unanimously adopted.

The next item on the Agenda was to consider a proposal from the Danish Bartender Laug on International Cocktail Competitions.

Mr. Viggo Christensen, DBL, said they felt there should be only one International Competition a year, run by the I.B.A. and held in a different country each year. He had brought with him copies of the 11 points, which his Guild thought was the way the event should be organised and also covering the methods of running it. These details were handed to the Delegates.
H.W. Roberts (UKBG) objected to these 11 points being considered. He said that the original DBL proposal was that there should be one International a year under the IBA and in a different country each year. All Member Guilds had been informed of this in advance. They should not now consider the method of organising and running such a Competition because the delegates did not know what their own Guilds thought about this. They should vote now on whether there should be an I.B.A. International Cocktail Competition once a year and in a different country each year. The delegates agreed that the 11 points raised by the D.B.L. should go back to their Guilds to be considered and their views expressed at the next I.B.A. Meeting. A vote must be taken on the original D.B.L. proposal, that an I.B.A. International Cocktail Competition should be held once each year in a different country.
This proposal was carried by 8 votes to 1. The UKBG delegate voted against.
He said that he voted against because some of the smaller Member Guilds might not he in a position to check recipes entered in such an event and also might not be able to afford the financial responsibility.
The UKBG were not against the idea in principle. Comm.Grandi (AIBES) hoped the UKBG were not against the proposal. They were trying to build up the organisation and he hoped that Member Guilds would accept the decisions made at the Meeting. He appreciated that the UKBG held their International Competition every two years and the A.I.B.E.S. admired these Competitions. He felt that even with this ruling the UKBG would have the opportunity of holding extra competitions as he did not think some of the smaller Member Guilds could hold the Competition on their own and England might have some of these after.

The next item on the Agenda to be considered was the proposal from the Nederlandse Bartender Club that Bartender Associations connected with the I.B.A. will not recruit overseas Members from any country without first having the approval of the application from the Bartender Association of the country concerned. Mr. Van der Horst (NBC) explained the proposal and said his Guild did not think it right that an Association could make an overseas Member without first checking with the Guild in the country concerned. He quoted that the UKBG had certain overseas Members in Holland whom the NBC would not accept as Members, because they considered them unsuitable. He thought the Guild who wanted to make the man an Overseas Member should first ask the foreign Guild concerned whether they knew the man and his ability etc. The N.B.C. thought this could be controlled by the I.B.A.
The General Secretary, for UKBG, said his Guild did not agree that the proposal was one for the I.B.A. Surely this was a matter for the two Guilds concerned to sort out and agree upon between themselves by direct contact.
The NBC had mentioned theUKBG Overseas Members and he pointed out that the UKBG and NBC had been in touch with each other on this subject. This was the best way to clear such matters up.
Mr. Friede (DBU) said they had a man in Germany who was anti-DBU, but had joined the UKBG as an Overseas Member, a matter, which they did not feel too happy about.
Mr. McElhone (ABF) said he agreed that they should first contact the Guild in the man's own country, but he felt they also had to preserve the liberty of the individual to join any organisation he wished. A man should not be controlled to the extent that you could say you can or cannot join an organisation. There should be some other way of doing this.

Mr. Arne Normann, OBC, said his Association would like to think the matter over before deciding.
Mr. Larini (SBU) said that the Guild who wished to make the man an Overseas Member should ask why he was not a Member of the Guild in his own country first.
Comm.Grandi (AIBES) said they were in favour of the proposal of the NBC, but that it should not be to control overseas Members but for information only so that a Guild could decide whether to accept a man as an Overseas Member or not.
Mr. Viggo Christensen (DBL) said the DBL felt there should also be some rule that one Guild could not take a Member from another. He quoted the case of a bartender in Denmark who was a Member of UKBG but no longer in the DBL.
Mr. Jansson (SBG) said he did not think it was a matter for Rules. The object of the IBA was to help and cooperate. S.B.G. agreed with the NBC proposal in principle, but he felt that they should discuss ways in these cases and have an agreement between the Guilds concerned.
Comm. P. Grandi said he felt that also any man who lowered the standards by misconduct and was expelled by his Guild should also be expelled from Membership by all Guilds in the IBA. The man's home Guild should write to the IBA for action.
Mr. Larini (SBU) supported this suggestion and quoted the case of a Member of the UKBG from England who had worked in Switzerland and been of unsatisfactory conduct and the matter had been reported to the UKBG.
The General Secretary, for UKBG, said his Guild insisted that the matter was one for national Guilds and not an International one. On the proposal of Comm. P. Grandi it was agreed that a vote be taken to decide whether the matter was national or international. By six votes to three it was agreed that the question of checking overseas Members before acceptance was an international matter.
The UKBG representative said that when he had reported back to his Council he was sure they would have further proposals to make in the matter.

The next item on the Agenda was a proposal from the UKBG that all Cocktail Competitions organised by Member Guilds of the IBA and all Competitions of an international character shall be organised and presented on the same method and that there shall be standard rules approved by the IBA for these competitions.
After a short discussion the delegates unanimously agreed the proposal.
It was also agreed that the delegates would inform their Guilds and that they should prepare their ideas and views on the methods and rules to be used for their consideration at the next Meeting of the IBA.

The Meeting then considered a proposal from the SBU regarding Bartenders who did not belong to any Association in their own country receiving invitations to International Competitions as Judges, etc. Mr. Larini (SBU) said he was not sure that the proposal was worded exactly to express what the SBU had wanted. What they had in mind was where there were two Bartenders organisations in a county that which was not a Member of the IBA should not be invited to attend International Cocktail Competitions. Mr. Friede (DBU) supported this but suggested that it should also be for National Competitions as well as International.
After a short discussion it was unanimously agreed that the proposal as set out by Mr. Larini, and with the amendment put forward by Mr. Friede, should be accepted by the IBA.

The Meeting then considered future activities of the IBA

Mr. Fred Friede (DBU), raised the question of the exchange of student bartenders. He said there had been an article on this in the last I.B.A. Bulletin which he thought was good and that they should make some attempt to do something on these lines. He was supported in this by the General Secretary for UKBG, who said they could run the scheme with a very small quota from each country and that the exchange could be made job for job, accommodation for accommodation with the Guilds making the exchange working through the IBA on the arrangements. He pointed out that there were certain Government restrictions on this in some countries. It was agreed that the idea of the scheme should be investigated and that the Members should write to the Government Dept. in their own country to ascertain their views. The Members shall report on this at the next Meeting and discuss the method of arranging such a scheme.
The IBA Bulletin was discussed and the delegates expressed themselves as satisfied that this should be continued with four editions per year.

The DBL delegate suggested that in future Meetings of the IBA should be held once a year in conjunction with an International Cocktail Competition. This would make for less travelling and also it would be easier for the Members to attend. This was unanimously agreed.
Arising from this the question of the next Meeting of the IBA was discussed.
Mr. Van der Horst (NBC) said his Guild would like to hold it in conjunction with their next Competition, which would be an Anniversary one and it was hoped to invite Member Guilds of the IBA to attend. He was not quite certain yet of the date, but it might be in October 1954. The General Secretary, for UKBG, pointed out that they were due to have a Meeting of the IBA in the early part of 1954. The UKBG had their International Competition at this time and his Guild might like to arrange for the Meeting at this time in conjunction with their Competition. This would also coincide with the elections. After discussion it was agreed that there should be a Meeting in April 1954 in England and also one in October 1954 in Holland.
If it were not possible to arrange a Meeting in England in April, then the Meeting in October in Holland would be the Meeting for that year.
The General Secretary pointed out that should there be any delay or difficulty with the next Meeting, thus delaying the Elections, the UKBG would be quite prepared to carry on as the IBA Headquarters as they appreciated that they had the facilities and the offices for this purpose. The next item to be discussed was the question of the Election of IBA Officers. Mr. Larini proposed that they should elect Mr. Grandi (AIBES) as President.
The General Secretary said he was bound to point out that Comm.Grandi was not a Bartender and that it had been verbally agreed at the formation meeting in 1951 that the President of- the IBA should always be a bartender. He also pointed out, that they were merely supposed to discuss arrangements for the Election, not elect the officers at thus Meeting. None of the delegates had received any instructions from the Guilds as to whom they wished to nominate.
Mr. Larini (SBU) said Comm.Grandi had been a bartender for many years and he thought they could waive the rules in his case. It was agreed that the election of officers should take place at the next Meeting of the IBA when delegates would submit the nominations of their Guilds.        Anyother Business.                                                                                                                                                            
Mr. Jimmy Van der Horst, NBC President, said they would like the IBA approval to hold an International Competition in Holland in 1954.
It was pointed out by the delegates, that the IBA already approved an International Competitions for 1954.
Mr.Grandi for the AIBES said that there would not now be an International Competition in Italy. The delegates generally agreed that as there were International events in England and Switzerland it would be better for there to be just the two competitions as they did not want too many events. The NBC request was therefore refused.
 It was agreed that as both Holland and Sweden hoped to hold International events in 1955 they should apply to the IBA for approval of their two Competitions for that year.
Mr. Van der Horst (NBC) said his Guild would like to take over the publication of a monthly magazine from Holland for the IBA. They would make it a good magazine and give prestige to the IBA. He suggested that the matter should be discussed fully at the next Meeting of the IBA. Mr. Van der Horst was asked if the NBC would also publish its own magazine.
Mr. Van der Horst said the magazine they would publish would replace their own.
After a short discussion this proposal from the NBC was not accepted, the delegates being generally agreed that the present arrangement for the IBA Bulletin was satisfactory, especially as each Guild already published their own magazines.

Mr. Larini (SBU) said he would like to know what was happening in Belgium and whether they would be joining the IBA. Mr. Spruyt (Belgium) said he thought they required a little more time yet. In due course as they became fully fledged he hoped they would join the IBA.
Mr. Spruyt and Mr. Tops (Luxembourg) both expressed their thanks at being able to attend the Meeting and Mr. Tops said he hoped in the near future to be able to start a Luxembourg Association when they would apply to join the IBA.

There being no further business the Chairman, Comm.Pietro Grandi, after once again thanking the delegates for attending, declared the Meeting closed.