Name/alias: Mélanie Brûlée (aka Excuse Me, Miss, Ma’am, Hey Lady, Beer Fairy, Mel, Brooh-laaaay)

Current bar: Gate 403 on Roncesvalles (aka The Gate)

How long in the business: 10+ years

First drink/drunk: A typical Catholic public school girl story- my first drink was rum stolen from a 60 ouncer in my parents’ liquor cabinet, mixed with Pepsi in a water bottle and chugged in large proportions, before a high school dance. Rum and I don’t get along well since that day. Unless he’s disguised in a tropical dress with an umbrella.

What influences me: I’m a “make-do-with-whatchya-got” kinda gal and I like customizing based on people’s moods. I especially love serving groups of women cuz that means we can have fun with martinis. I invented the “Hurricane Maria” a couple weeks ago for a wonderfully picky lady. We had a great laugh. I’m picky too. Though I’m not afraid of throwing booze into a milkshake. 

Best barfly: My favourite barfly is a gentleman named Sam. He says he’s a lesbian. He’s 82, looks like he’s 50 and talks like he’s 25. He comes in on his bicycle and the ladies flock to him.  He’s an artist, a bass player and a great storyteller. In fact, I think he makes up most of the jokes we hear in Toronto. Yesterday he said I’d rather have halitosis than no breath at all. Guess you had to be there.

Cinematic bartender: Blanche Devereaux (you know, the slutty Golden Girl…) Well, I don’t think she was ever officially a bartender but she seemed to love a drink and I bet she could make a mean martini. Or good ol’ Woody from Cheers. He represents simplicity at it’s finest.

Rules: Make it with love. 

Celebrity experiences:  I lived in Australia for many years and served Bernard Fanning from Powderfinger once. Lovely man, and easy on the eye. We had an in-depth chat about lamb shanks. I also served Olivia Newton-John. We talked about tattoos. 

Best late-night or morning-after places:  Toronto has been my home for only a few months so I’m still on the discovery path of nightlife here. So far Not My Dog is my fave place to hang when I’m not working or performing. People are like family there, and the music is always fab. Best after-hours Chinese food is definitely at Swatow. Order the shrimp and eggplant dish. And ask for cold tea.

After having brunch at Zocalo, I have trouble enjoying brunch anywhere else. Go with 3 of your best friends. Ask for one of everything and they’ll serve you a smorgasbord on an antique platter. Order a coffee and a mimosa. Oh and very important: get them to put aside homemade spelt butter tart AS SOON AS YOU SIT DOWN (or be disappointed). And tell Dov I sent you. Sound bossy? You’ll thank me later. 

Best /worst tip: Any tip is worthy if the intention behind it is good, no matter the price. As much as possible, I try not to look at my tips until the end of the night. You can’t take anything personally in this business. That said, it’s still a fact that if you tip well you’ll be served quicker. Unless you’re a douchebag. 

Favourite cocktail/beer/wine right now: Blanche De Chambly is my favourite beer, and I prefer it in a bottle. It’s a white beer with hints of coriander and citrus. It tastes like summer all year long.  And I’ve been drinking a fair bit of Grand Marnier lately. In a warm snifter or on ice, depending on my mood. Oh and Connoisseur- it’s a maple whiskey. That one is best shared with friends straight outta the bottle, preferably in a small town. Hmmm… I feel a “you can take the girl out of French-speaking-Canada” joke coming on…. 

Watch for: Being a musician myself, I love working at the Gate, we have live music every night- one act from 5-8 and then another from 9-midnight or 1am.  Mondays are particularly great at the Gate- Richard Whiteman and Laura Hubert play with live horns and double bass. The band is top shelf.  I work every Sunday, Monday and Wednesday- come in and say g’day.  You can also find me at Not My Dog performing my own material on Tuesday nights in April. I call it sassy folk-cabaret. It’s like Stevie Nicks meets Édith Piaf- with a hollow-body electric Gretsch. Meow!

Gate 403, 403 Roncesvalles Ave.

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Kerry and Ivy Knight write the XX Files column for Toronto Standard. Follow them on Twitter at @keppsterr and @IvyKnight.

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