Who is Jen Agg?
Jen Agg is the woman who introduced Toronto to nose-to-tail dining (The Black Hoof) and dared to open a fancy wine bar in Kensington Market (Grey Gardens). Now, the restaurateur is back at it with General Public, “the most elegant pub the city has ever seen”, in a former auto body shop on Geary Avenue. Over the past 17 years, she has transformed neighbourhoods with her innovative concepts. With General Public, Agg took a grease-stained concrete bunker and turned it into a drop-dead gorgeous restaurant. Where mechanics once serviced cars, guests now indulge in gussied-up British staples, ice-cold martinis and bumps of sturgeon caviar.
Best New Toronto Restaurant
Toronto Life magazine’s annual ranking of the city’s best new restaurants is out and General Public tops the list, saying: “Only Agg, famous for her powers of transformation, could take a grease-stained concrete bunker and turn it into a drop-dead gorgeous restaurant where there isn’t a single bad seat in the house—not even the one tucked under the stairs … Before Agg got to it, the blocky concrete building was an auto body shop. Now it’s a splashy two-level space that Agg has described as “part Narnia, part fancy British pub and part ’80s cocaine dream.” The main level is all curvy banquettes and olive-green velvet, with a cathedral-like bar and warm-wood everything. Meanwhile, the mezzanine, decked out in peach and rose and pink flamingos, is giving Golden Girls.”
Interview with Jen Agg
Notorious for calling out “bro culture” in the restaurant industry, Agg is known for her frank, crystal-sharp and often hilarious observations and ideas on the restaurant industry and the world around her. The School was fortunate to host Agg back In October 2017, as part of Appetite for Words, where Agg discussed her first book, a candid memoir titled I Hear She’s a Real Bitch.
Some footage of Agg’s time at Stratford Chefs School is part of the in-depth W5 profile done a few years ago. Watch the interview at the link below!
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