These burnt recipes give you the freedom to put those dishes you thought were ruined on the table with added confidence.

In Behind the Stick, we challenge Ottawa bartenders to create a wholly original cocktail using an oddball ingredient. We’ll be highlighting one bartender, their spot, and an ingredient per column, at the end of which they’ll challenge another of the city’s drink-makers for the next edition.

Justin Tse spent plenty of his youthful hours at the Chinese Palace, a Chinese-Canadian restaurant in Kingston that his parents own. It informed some of what he does today.