Chambar has been making Vancouver's top 10 restaurant lists since opening in 2004. It's no surprise with its impressive cocktail program, it should house not one, but two Bar Stars: Justin Tisdall and Wendy McGuinness.
Justin Tisdall, General Manager at Chambar Restaurant, with his competitive swimming background, knows that hard work and dedication can take you just about anywhere. It is that tenacious nature that has helped Justin to establish himself as one of the faces of Vancouver mixology.
Justin began his mixology career at the prestigious Lumière restaurant in Vancouver. Since then he has won the Canadian Giffard Iron Bar competition in 2010, placed second in the International Giffard Iron Bar competition in 2011 and was the victor in Season One of The Refinery's Kitchen Cocktail Series. Justin has also recently won the chance to represent Canada internationally in the 2011 Tahona Society&'s tequila competition in Mexico. In addition to this impressive list of awards, Justin has contributed to the bartending programs at Chow, Boneta and Market by Jean-Georges, working with and training some of Vancouver's most well-known mixologists.
One of these notable mixologists is our other featured Bar Star Wendy McGuinness, Bar Manager at Chambar.
Wendy McGuinness has been a part of Vancouver's flourishing cocktail scene for the past five years. Before coming to Vancouver, Wendy attended York University in Toronto. It was during that time, working nights in the service industry while attending school, that Wendy discovered she had a real talent and flair for creating cocktails. Her dream refocused and Wendy relocated to Vancouver where the cocktail scene was just starting to take off.
Since joining the Chambar team in 2008, Wendy has created a unique, classically inspired and ever-evolving cocktail program. Her artistry for cocktail development has led her to compete internationally (she won the International Giffard Iron Bar competition in 2009) and to tour distilleries throughout Europe and North America. Wendy strives to create an overall guest experience with a focus on creativity, balance and technique.
Wendy will travel to Dublin this summer to attend a four-day Jameson's distilling tour. She won this opportunity after placing first in The Refinery's Cocktail Kitchen competition for Irish whiskey.
Justin and Wendy are both board members of the Canadian Professional Bartenders Association. The CPBA is a non-profit organization established to foster and promote the advancement of the profession of bartending in Canada. Justin states, "I couldn't be more happy to see how far the cocktail scene has come and I look forward to where we will take it in the future."
