Jen Agg
Canadian restaurateur and author (born 1975)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jen Agg (born 1975)[1] is an owner and operator of several Canadian restaurants and an author of two published memoirs.
Jen Agg | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 4, 1975 Scarborough, Ontario, Canada |
| Spouse | Roland Jean |
| Culinary career | |
Current restaurants
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Previous restaurants
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Agg's first establishment was the Toronto cocktail venue Cobalt, which she launched in 1998 with her then-husband, Tyler Taverner.[2] In 2008, Agg founded the Toronto restaurant the Black Hoof with business partner Grant van Gameren.[3] It became well known for its charcuterie and cocktails[4] and was featured on the Toronto episode (s2e15) of Anthony Bourdain's TV series broadcast on the Travel Channel's The Layover.[5] Agg bought out Gameren's share in the restaurant in 2011 and opened Cocktail Bar in the same year.[1] In 2012 Agg opened the seafood restaurant Hoof Raw Bar, which closed in 2013.[6] In its place Agg opened a Haitian-themed bar named Rhum Corner, which was inspired in part by her husband's Haitian cultural heritage.[7] The Black Hoof closed in 2018 after ten years.[8]
In 2015, Agg and her husband Roland Jean partnered with Arcade Fire’s Régine Chassagne and Win Butler to create and operate a Haitian-themed restaurant in Montreal called Agrikol. Agg and Jean ended this partnership in 2018 and sold their share to the co-owners.[9] Two years later, Agrikol closed.[10]
In June 2015, Kate Burnham, a former pastry chef employed by Toronto restaurant Weslodge Saloon, filed a complaint to the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal, alleging sexual harassment in the kitchen.[11] In response, Agg organized a one-time conference called Kitchen Bitches: Smashing the Patriarchy One Plate at a Time.[12]
Since 2015, Jen Agg has opened and operated four additional restaurants in Toronto: Grey Gardens (2017–present), Le Swan (2018–present),[13] Bar Vendetta (2019–present)[14] and General Public (2025–present).[1]
In 2022, two of Jen Agg's restaurants received recognition out of the 74 Canadian restaurants with awards from Michelin's first Canadian edition. Grey Gardens won a Bib Gourmand award[15] and Bar Vendetta made its list of Selected restaurants.[16]
Books
In 2017, her memoir I Hear She's a Real Bitch was first published by Doubleday Canada and was a finalist for the Toronto Book Awards.[17][18]
In 2026, her second memoir will be published by Penguin Random House Canada. It is entitled Table Boss: How to Build a Restaurant When Your Life Falls Apart (A Love Story).[19]