FASHION Magazine

One of TIFF’s most guarded secret spots is the Grey Goose Soho House. Its location has been more or less kept hush-hush throughout the festival, and that’s why it’s probably been such a popular joint for celebs, including Ryan Gosling, Keira Knightley, George Clooney, Tilda Swinton, Olivia Wilde, and the list goes and on (and on).

For the first time we’d seen the venue during daylight hours, we stopped by on Saturday to check it out and chat with Grey Goose global brand ambassador Dimi Lezinska, the man in charge of creating Soho House’s cocktail menu. While all manner of good-looking stars come through Soho House, we could easily see patrons being more interested in catching Lezinska’s eye, and not because they needed to get a drink. The Frenchman is charming and handsome, which itself is the best cocktail. Lezinska has been with Grey Goose for six years and has created cocktails for soirees from the Oscars in Los Angeles to the Cannes Film Festival.

Lezinska created the menu for TIFF about three months in advance, and he says when planning he tries to incorporate flavours and ingredients that reflect the location of the event. Experimenting with all of these ingredients and creating signature cocktails sounds rather scientific, but Lezinska makes it sound like more than pouring the right mix: “It’s not a science—it’s an alchemy.” We think he’s struck gold.

Let’s get shaking »