Canada has a new reason to raise a toast. Marie-Louise Roy-Bilodeau, a Montreal bartender named Canadian Champion, has been crowned Ultimate Bartender Champion. She beat out 26 top bartenders from North, South, and Central America. Meeting her at La Cantina Concha, she’s stirring up a concoction she calls a “Monday Morning.” She says it’s “a nice little boozy, boozy wake up.” Roy-Bilodeau enjoys making custom cocktails for a simple reason: “I just like making something that my guests will enjoy.” She’s only been bartending for four years and was encouraged by a boss to compete professionally, so she gave it a “shot.” “This year I applied to do the Ultimate Bartender Championship and I won the Canadian leg! And that brought me all the way to Colombia for the final for North, South, and Central America. And I won that one too!” she said. The only woman in the finals, Roy-Bilodeau, 27, says the all-day competition included mixology, serving, and speed. She explains the competition: “Their premise was ‘skills pay the bills,’ so they created a bunch of challenges to test your day-to-day skills. I had five drinks to make and a shot to pour as fast as you could.” Now named Ultimate Bartender Champion, Roy-Bilodeau earned a retro varsity jacket, a big ring, and bragging rights—much to the delight of her boss. “My boss has been telling customers, ‘Do you know that she’s the best in the world?’ I’m like, well, let’s chill.” She jokes that her title only includes the Americas, and maybe a real world championship could be in her mix for 2026.
