All it takes to get a sense of master bartender Ryan Chetiyawardana's record-breaking mixology resume is landing on the homepage of his painstakingly curated website, a two-decade-spanning list of national, as well as international awards, uplifting cooking books, insider tips, talks, and branded drinks all neatly unfolding before your eyes.
Raised in Edinburgh, Scotland, by Sri Lankan parents, the three-time World's Best Bar winner grew up looking at food and drink as an integral, if not the most important, part of his social life. With a pastry chef as a mom, it would have taken a lot of restraint not to develop a love of baking — or a sweet tooth — both of which he had from a young age. Still, if there's one thing Ryan Chetiyawardana, aka Mr Lyan, actually picked up from her is that, when it comes to being in the kitchen, "you need to be methodical, you need to have a plan," he once said in an interview with The Gannet. Unsurprisingly, "it's the same thing with drinks," London-based Chetiyawardana added then. "If you're making drinks for friends coming round, a bit of planning makes your life so much easier: set-up, execution, clean up. It really is just a little bit of foresight."
