Peggy Chan

The Path

Classical training at Le Cordon Bleu Ottawa gave Peggy Chan the technical discipline that later shaped her work in high-pressure kitchens. That foundation carried into roles as chef at L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon Hong Kong in Hong Kong and later as chef at Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, both environments built on precision and consistency.

The Work Today

At Grassroots Pantry, the menu is shaped by plant-based cuisine and local ingredients, with the kitchen built around what is nearby, seasonal, and available. That approach keeps the restaurant grounded in practical sourcing rather than presentation alone. Chan frames sustainability the same way: as a working problem, not a slogan. When she says, "The solution is under our feet," she is describing a method that links dining rooms to farms. Her other line—"Just 1% added to every bill, in aggregate, can help to fund the transition on thousands of acres of farms from conventional to regenerative,"—sets out the scale at which she thinks, tying restaurant economics to agricultural change.

Signature

Grassroots Pantry is Peggy Chan’s signature work. The restaurant name has become bound to her practice, standing for a body of work where the venue itself carries the argument: plant-based cooking, local ingredients, and a clear position on what a restaurant can be responsible for.

In Their Words “I believe it’s time that the success of a restaurant isn’t purely based on revenue or how many awards It wins, but on whether sustainability targets are actually met.” “I don’t think I would enjoy dish creation or managing a kitchen if I didn’t also try to create meaning with my advocacy for animal welfare and environmental causes.”

Acclaim

Peggy Chan’s recognition includes Basque Culinary World Prize and HK Awards for Environmental Excellence in the Service Industry. Those honors point to a career measured not only by kitchen output, but by the way her work treats environmental responsibility as part of the job.