A bartender at the “Ons Volkshuis” café in Meerhout, in the Belgian province of Antwerp, broke the world record on Sunday for the longest barkeeping record, spending a total of 120 hours behind the counter serving customers, VRT Nieuws reports.
“It was tough, but it’s a nice feeling to know that I’ve completed this record,” bartender Ludwig Van Isterdael told local media. The bartender started his record shift last Tuesday and finished on Sunday.
Van Isterdael takes the world record from a Belgian woman who stood behind the bar for 111 hours. No stranger to tending the taps, he had previously held the world record for manning the bar of another café in Merchtem for 101 hours.
Kempenaar Ludwig Van Isterdael vestigt wereldrecord en staat 120 uren achter de toog: “Moe maar voldaan” https://t.co/1nYAmfwvfB pic.twitter.com/NsuvZamxA7
— Pascale Loveniers (@PascaleLovenier) May 20, 2023
As follows the official rules, Van Isterdael was given breaks of around five minutes every hour, which he was also allowed to save up for later. He admits that the challenge was taxing on his health.
“This record is not really healthy for the body but I’m used to long working days and short nights because I still have a full-time job next to the café anyway,” he told VRT. Van Isterdael says that he received the support of locals, who organised a raffle, a waffle-baking station, and performances in the café.
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The bartender admits that he had “a few hard times” during his challenge. Notably, the quieter evenings were more challenging than during the daytime when the café was busy and “time moved quickly.”
After two world record wins, Van Isterdael says that he will now leave the record-breaking “to the youth.” Nevertheless, he is confident that his record won’t be broken any time soon.
