Rising Star Mixologist Jeff Bell of PDT - Biography

Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, Jeff Bell began his career in the hospitality industry washing dishes and bussing tables—as one does—at the age of 18. Sensibly, he was not enamored with a life elbow-deep in suds. But eventually Bell found his proper spot on the scene. He first stepped behind the bar in Seattle at the ripe and legal age of 21. He was also studying philosophy at the University of Washington, dividing his time between metaphysics and mixing.

After graduating in 2007, Bell knew bartending was his calling and soon packed up and moved to New York City to hone his craft among the best and brightest. Fatefully, Bell met  PDT Mixologist Jim Meehan in 2010 while bartending for Meehan’s wife, Valerie, at Maialino in the Gramercy Park Hotel. Meehan recognized Bell’s strong work ethic and offered him one shift a week as a barback. Bell jumped at the offer to work at one of the city’s cocktail temples, pulling a strenuous five nights at Maialino and one at PDT.

When a bartending position opened at PDT in fall 2010, Bell received his due promotion. Since then, he’s fully committed himself to PDT, essentially taking over for Meehan and helping to earn a 2012 James Beard “Outstanding Bar Program” award. On the rise, Bell was named 2013 StarChefs.com Rising Star Mixologist and won first place—after an unprecedented tie-breaker—in the 2013 United States Bartenders’ Guild and DIAGEO World Class U.S. Bartender Competition. Certified national phenom, the “2013 U.S. Bartender of the Year” has been traveling with Diageo, representing PDT, and sharing his skills and knowledge on a global level.