Drink Up: Frank Solarik of BarChef Dishes Out Modernist Cocktails
Drink Up is a bi-monthly column created by Swing contributor Kristen Oliveri. In the column, she speaks to the world’s leading mixologists, bartenders, wine makers, beer makers, sippers and taste-testers who provide insights into where you try your next drink and what it should be.
BarChef, a dimly lit Prohibition-style Modernist cocktail bar based in Toronto, Ontario, creates unique drinks that delight the senses. Owner and creator Frankie Solarik is the mastermind behind the concept that creates “dishes” (AKA cocktails) like “Black Truffle” comprised of black truffle snow, smoked salt, coconut foam, dill frond, lime zest, gin, coconut liqueur and elderflower liqueur. Solarik has risen to fame not only in the Canadian cocktail scene, but way beyond, and has subsequently published a cocktail book that shows how to master the art of cocktail making at home. Solarik sits down with Swig contributor Kristen Oliveri to talk about his cocktail philosophy, his guilty pleasure cocktail and what’s next for him and his burgeoning business.