How Keith Buchel Became North America's Favorite Bartender

Kate Buchel spent her life fighting for the disobedient. Having spent time in politics and PR, she is now celebrated for her work leading a fair, representative bar sector. Meet the winner of the 50 Best Bartending Award from Altos Bartenders is the only accolade with a tie vote North America's 50 Best Bars 2024

Kate Buchel always thought she was meant for the world of politics, wanting to use her platform to fight for a better world. If he could not become a politician, he could still fulfill his mission of spreading the message of social equality by working in public relations. Being a bartender was never in the cards.

Today, Buchel is director of beverage and education at Montreal's Barocco Group, the organization behind Atwater Cocktail Club (#32 on North America's 50 Best Bars 2023) and five other favorite bars and restaurants in the city. Bringing passion and drive to his early career pursuits, this year's Altos Barmen's Barman Award winner has built a reputation for keeping the policy. year there is

Delving deeper into Bushel's past, it's no surprise that it found a home in the hospitality sector. His appreciation for good food and drink was nurtured by his parents from a young age while growing up in southern Saskatchewan. When it came time for Buchel to earn a bachelor's degree in political science from Montreal's Concordia University, he entered the world of professional hospitality with a part-time job at a local restaurant. “It just made sense to me because my family has always loved hosting, and I love to talk,” laughs Buchel.

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Politics kept him focused throughout university, maintaining a part-time job at a bar and restaurant. His first foray behind the stick was with a James Bond themed strip called Pistol. The venue was a 24/7 casual watering hole for small bites and – as you'd expect from a bar inspired by the works of Ian Fleming in the early 2000s – every fruity version of the Martini imaginable. However, unlike the diamonds, the job wasn't forever: Bushel's shrewd political mind saw him elected to the university's student union, and his new paid position forced him to leave his hospitality job.

A real call

After graduation, Buchel became disillusioned with the public sector and switched to PR. Five years into his new career, he wanted a change. Looking for his next opportunity, he took on a project for a friend who ran a cocktail competition in Quebec and immediately noticed the sector had developed leaps and bounds in his absence. “Now it was very creative and people were doing interesting things,” he says. “I thought I should give it another go.”

Despite his parents' initial misgivings, Buchel left PR and began working at the shuttered Decca77, a high-volume, casual bistro in Montreal. He immediately felt its hospitality: “It just hit me. I should never have left the pond.”

Buchel joined Barocco in Montreal in 2016 to open Atwater Cocktail Club.

After working in restaurants and bars around town for several years, Buchel devoted herself full-time to mixology – a charity dedicated to keeping women on the platform, spending her free time participating in competitions such as World Class and Speedrack. the bartender. It was at these events that he was forced to delve deeper into the craft while building a network of like-minded bartenders across Canada.

Buchel has consolidated his specialty in cocktails at Le Mal Nécessaire, a high-volume bar known for its speed and efficiency in the industry. Buchel calls it the place where he was taught the building blocks of craft bartending, including how to walk gracefully around a table, courtesy of a former ballet dancer colleague. In 2016, he joined Barocco as a bartender at a new venue: the Atwater Cocktail Club, and his legendary reign on the Canadian cocktail scene began.

Make changes

Bushel's career experiences outside the hospitality bubble gave him a broader global perspective, and despite his desire to become a politician, his desire to serve and uplift those in need remained steadfast.

“In my political positions, we have always fought for a place at the table for those who are not fair, be it French speakers, people of color, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and others — and this was in the 2000s! he says. So he asked a simple question: “If representation has always been the focal point of political life, why hasn't it existed in the world of the existing?”

Bushel uses his experience in politics to improve the lives of other bartenders

He wasted little time at Atwater applying his knowledge of politics and PR to the reopened call. It started small: making small changes to help accommodate the individualized skill sets of staff around the bar. For an employee with dyscalculia, he realized that their mind was better used outside of inventory; For timid employees, a place was found for them in the back of the house. In particular, for an industry that attracts a neurodivergent workforce, Bushel has made it her mission to create a space where everyone has a place and a purpose.

Bushel leads each of these places by example, providing the warmest hospitality with his feisty personality and infectious positivity, but he doesn't seem like he knows it all. “The biggest lesson I've learned growing up is that I learn more by sitting back and listening,” he admits, adding that he enjoys watching his motivated employees approach problems.

Recent years have seen bars around the world begin to create dedicated resources, education and codified rules to protect not only those in front, but those working behind it. “It's non-negotiable for me,” Buchel says. “If you're running a business, you have to understand how to talk to people and how your employee base is changing. Now you can't rule with an iron fist.”

He admits that the problem stems from the structure of the bar sector. “Almost all bars are private businesses trying to survive. These places often don't have the time or resources to invest in HR, but that's why it's so important to find a community of like-minded people so we can all learn from each other's strengths and weaknesses.”

Buchel has received a lot of credit for his initiatives, but he doesn't see them as revolutionary: “People often talk about reinventing the wheel. In fact, the wheel may already exist elsewhere. You have to move it to a new location.”

Queen of the North

When Bushel was informed that he was the winner of the Altos Barmens' Barmen Award 2024, as voted for by his peers in the industry, he was, to say the least, shocked… “It's pretty surreal. I know a lot of bartenders who are more worthy and famous than me,” he says. But ask anyone behind bars — in Montreal or across North America — and they'll tell you there's no longer a suitable candidate. In typical Bushel fashion, he sees his success as sharing it with everyone in his country.

The Canadian Cocktail Association celebrated together at the 2023 North America 50 Best Bars Awards ceremony.

Historically, Canada—including its bar scene—has often sat in the shadow of its larger, more powerful neighbor. Buchel says there are benefits to flying under the radar. Despite being the second largest country on earth by land area, Canada's underrepresentation globally has meant that its domestic cocktail scene has grown through genuine partnerships between bars from coast to coast. “I love the community we've built,” he added.

It's the growth of this thriving diverse community that's paying dividends, with Canada's bar scene rapidly growing in international popularity. Kate Buchel leads the charge, albeit in a self-deprecating way, one cocktail at a time.

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The 2024 list of North America's 50 Best Bars, sponsored by Perrier, will be announced at an awards ceremony on Tuesday, April 23, 2024, at Rosewood San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, X and YouTube to keep up with all the news and announcements.