The Industry

This weeks guest is Pamela Wiznitzer who joins us from New York City. Since 2006, Pamela has been working throughout NYC and globally to bring cocktail culture to life. Pamela was nominated as one of the top 10 bartenders for the 2014, 2015 and 2016 "American Bartender of the Year" award at Tales of the Cocktail and was named the "2014 Bartender of the Year" by the Village Voic...

Rob Miller returns to join the show this week for an in person interview. Rob has worked the floor as Sommelier at some of the top restaurants on the continent including Langdon Hall , Alo (#1 restaurant in Canada for the 5th year running), Giulietta and Daniel (Daniel Boulud’s eponymous ** Michelin Star restaurant in Manhattan, NYC). Rob is certified with both the International Sommelier Guild an...

This weeks guest is Shamez Amlani. Having grown up in Toronto, 19 year old Shamez got a summer job as a busser at Le Select Bistro on Queen Street West back in 1989. Little did he know this was the beginning of a lifelong career in the restaurant industry. Quickly moving into his favourite position behind the bar, he found his passion creating opportunities for strangers to meet and setting the sc...

This weeks guest is Brandon McDonald who joins us St Augustine, Florida. Brandon has spent the last 15 years in the service industry, opening and operating bars and restaurants across the US. After spending a decade in Gainesville, FL, he made the move to Denver, Colorado to continue honing his craft. In 2020 Brandon returned to Florida, and now splits his time between bartending and his podcast,...

This weeks guest is Shawn Telo who joins us for an in person interview. Shawn has been involved in the hospitality industry for over a decade in the local Kitchener-Waterloo and Guelph areas. Shawn originally got his start in the Industry when he landed a job as a driver for a food service company. Shawn eventually worked his way up to a sales rep. Due to Covid, Shawn last his entire territory due...

This weeks guest is Lisa Talbert who joins us from Portland, Oregon . Lisa is a career bartender with over 15 years behind the bar in a variety of bar settings. This ranges from dive bars, upscale dining, family dining, casinos, distilleries and craft cocktail lounges. Lisa started her drinkstagram journey in the wake of the pandemic as a hobby, and a little break for herself from having to homesc...

Devon Trevathan is the cofounder and co-owner of Liba Spirits , a nomadic distilling company. After living in Taiwan for a year, Devon returned to the states and got her start in the distilling industry at Corsair Distillery in Nashville, Tennessee. Devon has held a variety of positions in the Industry from beverage alcohol–spirits journalist, brand ambassador, bartender, server, marketing consult...

This weeks guest is Rick Sousa who joins us from Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic. Rick has been working aboard various cruise ships since 2004 and has recently taken on the role of Brand Ambassador Remy Cointreau Dominican Republic and Global Cruise Ships. Rick values the importance of learning and educating oneself as he has earned the following accreditations over the course of his career...

This weeks guest is Rob Miller. Rob has worked the floor as Sommelier at some of the top restaurants on the continent including Langdon Hall , Alo (#1 restaurant in Canada for the 5th year running), Giulietta and Daniel (Daniel Boulud’s eponymous ** Michelin Star restaurant in Manhattan, NYC). Rob is certified with both the International Sommelier Guild and the Court of Master Sommeliers . Rob hol...

Louise Wilson Cormier Master of Wine During her 30+ years of industry experience, Louise Wilson Cormier has specialized in sales, marketing, export, procurement, retail and hospitality. Today, she is the owner of Wilco Fine Beverage , an Ontario-based beverage alcohol agency and one of 10 Masters of Wine located in Canada. A Master of Wine, also known as an MW, is a beverage industry professional...

This weeks guest is Ellen Slots who joins us from Orlando, Florida. Ellen is an accomplished and customer-centric professional with 5+ years of experience in food and beverage, hospitality, and operations management within the hotel and hospitality industry. Having worked as the lead sommelier for Michelin star restaurants and beverage director for 5-star Forbes hotels, Ellen possesses a solid his...

This weeks guest is Jacob Mentel who currently lives in San Diego, California . Jacob is a bartender at The Realm of 52 Remedies in San Diego. Jacob's bar history consists of opening Youngblood Cocktails, working at Noble Experiment, and assisting with menus at Polite Provisions. Jacob has had the privilege of being trained by Sam Ross and Erick Castro. Jacob is an avid mental health advocate as h...

This week we are joined by Cressida Lawlor who currently resides in Manchester, England . Cressida works in high end hospitality and has done so for many years. Cressida was named to Double Dutch Trailer Blazers 2023 List and Top Four IWSC Emerging Bartender 2022 . During the Covid lock downs, Cressida decided to take her knowledge of cocktails and hospitality and turn it into a successful youtube...

This weeks guest is Lex Ward who joins us from South Kingstown, Rhode Island . Lex got her start in the industry while still in high school when she landed her first job at a coffee shop. This sparked Lex’s interest in the Industry as she eventually moved on to waitressing and bartending and hasn’t looked back since! We talk about the local scene in the beach town of South Kingstown and the surrou...

Jon Mateer is the Beverage Manager at TPC Sawgrass with the PGA Tour. Jon has worked in bars and restaurants over the last 12 years and places a major focus on craft cocktails. Some of the highlights along the way include being part of the opening bar team at the prestigious Death & Co . in Denver, where he worked as a bartender and education lead. During his time there, the team received...

This week we are joined by Dave Nitzel and Dave Domzalski - who are successful hospitality coaches, entrepreneurs and authors. Most recently, Dave and Dave released a book that they co-authored titled “ Hospitality DNA ”. Dave and Dave interviewed elite and award winning industry talent from around the globe to find out how they operate in the bar and restaurant business. Together with the intervi...

This weeks guest is Denis Hernandez who joins us for an in person interview. Originally born in Woodstock, Ontario, Denis is of El Salvadorian background where cooking, eating and sharing food plays a prominent role in life. Denis’s mother and aunts are a big influence on his passion for the industry. Denis has been in the culinary filed for the past 16 years. Denis started his journey in the Indu...

This weeks guest is Mila Chernii . Mila joined us for the interview from her temporary home in Barcelona, Spain. Mila was born and raised in Vinnytsia, Ukraine . Mila is the co-founder and co-owner of NightHawks bar in Vinnytsia. Mila is also the Chief Editor of Barout Media and an Ambassador for BARTA Tools (Ukrainian designed and crafted tools for bartenders in Spain. ** Prior to opening NightHa...

Alexandra Evans joins us this week for an in person interview. Alex started her hospitality career over four decades ago in her teenage years working at a French café a few blocks from where she grew up in midtown Toronto. A few years later, Alex lied her way into a waitressing job at Toby’s Goodeats - very popular burger chain in Toronto in the 1980’s. Alex loved the late nights and fast cash and...

This weeks guest is Brittany Sobisch who joins us from Edmonton , Alberta. Originally from Kitchener-Waterloo, Brittany got her start in the Industry in her teenage years and has worked in almost every role in the front of house and back of house and in every environment from night clubs, dive bars, pubs and fine dining and music venues. Spending a good portion of her working life in Toronto, Brit...

This weeks guest is Natalie Bovis . Natalie’s first high school restaurant job was as a busser in her hometown of Santa Fe, New Mexico , back in 1985. Since then, Natalie has held every front-of-house position imaginable in restaurants, bars, and nightclubs from Los Angeles, Paris, Washington DC,to a small town on the Costa Brava in Spain. Natalie has been a restaurant publicist, and is currently...

This weeks guest is Danielle Pingert who joins the show from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan . Danielle has been in the service industry for fifteen plus years. Danielle’s first bartending job was at a hotel bar where she learned the basics as well as speed and efficiency. At this point, Danielle fell in love with the Industry. Danielle eventually moved on to work at a high end cocktail lounge where she s...

This week we have another 2 part episode. The first interview is with Keely Rollheiser and Yelena Anter of Cocktail Vision returns to close out the episode with our second interview. In the main part of the show - our first guest is Keely Rollheiser - Keely is originally from Chilliwack BC but recently moved to Providence, Road Island . Keely started her career in the Industry at age 19 when she l...

This weeks episode is a 2 part show. In the first part of the show - Roger Watson - a highly acclaimed chef now working as a private chef joins us from Indianapolis, Indiana . Roger was born and raised in Doncaster in South Yorkshire in England. Roger started cooking in 2001 while still in high school when he landed a job at a local restaurant in his home town. Roger eventually enrolled in a hospi...

This weeks guest is Danielle Crowley who joins us from Whistler, BC . A very passionate and creative bartender, Dani is originally from Aurora Ontario and has been in the industry for over a dozen years now. Dani has worked in multiple facets of the industry from golf courses, cafes, nightclubs, train travel service and everything in between. Dani has also started competing in cocktail competition...