Meet The Team
Marika Bouchard
Event Coordinator, Mixologist
Marika Bouchard is the newest member of our Core Team here at the Clever Barkeep. Born and raised in Saint John, New Brunswick, Marika is a proud Maritimer. It was only after moving with her family to Montreal when she started working at her first restaurant at only 16 years old bussing tables, that she had her first taste of the service industry and has since never looked back. After many years of working in the big city she finally decided to make her way back to the coast. Now residing in Halifax, she has worked in and managed some of the restaurants we all know and love and also has competed and won prestigious national bartending competitions including Made With Love and Bombay’s Most Imaginative Bartender. Her attention to the small details puts her in another category of great hospitality and she is very excited to bring all she has to offer to make your next event the best it can be.
Jeff Van Horne
Owner, Catering Manager & Mixologist
Jeff is credited as one of the founding bartenders of the current cocktail renaissance in Halifax. As one of the first bartenders in the city to experiment with fresh juices and integrated, layered, classic cocktails – Jeff has helped revolutionize the city’s taste buds. He is the quintessential bartender: someone who is happy to serve. His adventurous and experimental outlook on cocktail creation has helped elevate many of the city’s most prestigious bars to hospitality excellence. His creativity and attention to detail are central to the quality associated with cocktails from The Clever Barkeep. Jeff manages the catering wing of the Clever Barkeep and is the lead consultant on restaurant projects.
Matt Boyle
Owner, Business Manager & Mixologist
Matt started his hospitality career at the age of 16 at a small resort in Western Nova Scotia. He fell in love with bartending a few years later, the same time he met his current business partner and co-owner of the Clever Barkeep, Jeff. An accomplished competition-circuit bartender, the 2016 Canadian Winner of Bacardi Legacy has gained the reputation as a polished performer and skilled bartender. He has an affinity for stirred cocktails, interesting stories and good old-fashioned hospitality. Armed with a Business Degree from Dalhousie University, Matt manages the business endeavours of The Clever Barkeep when not behind the bar.