About Us
Peer to Peer Hospitality represents a vibrant and dynamic group of restaurants offering a select dining experience that is tailored to individual clients’ needs. We are driven by challenge and we have a long-standing commitment to providing superior service. With the support of our highly skilled and dedicated team, we strive to evolve and recreate our selves through every project we undertake.
Each of our restaurants features a different type of cuisine, bringing the best food and wine from around the world to your table. Widely respected by critics and clients alike, our restaurants are renowned throughout the city for the level of service and attention to detail they offer clients. Our brand has become synonymous with elegance, innovation, and flawless execution.
Team
With over three decades of experience in the restaurant and hospitality industry, Doug Penfold is a veteran chef respected amongst peers, food critics, and diners alike. He is best known for his creativity and balanced approach to cooking.
Chef Penfold spent his early years working at some of the top restaurants in Canada, including Canoe, Avalon, and Pastis. At the much-beloved Cava restaurant he helped shape the way Toronto views Tapas and Spanish dining. His passion, skill, and culinary achievements have earned him stellar reviews. Chris Nuttall-Smith described his work as “exquisite,” and Amy Pataki notes that Chabrol, the tiny French restaurant he opened in the heart of Yorkville, is the “Narnia of restaurants.”
After 30 years, Chef Penfold has no intention of slowing down. He travels all over the world to explore different cuisines, and spends much of his time learning about the latest trends and techniques. In recent years he has been especially interested in culinary world of Morocco and Peru, and is currently seeking ways to incorporate these culinary discoveries into his new projects.
Giving back to the community is a top priority for Chef Penfold. Every year funds are raised at Cava Restaurant for the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Kensington Hospice, and Holland Bloorview Hospital. In addition to taking donations and organizing special events to fund local causes, Chef Penfold also places an emphasis on strong relationships with local suppliers and is deeply engaged with the apprenticeship of young culinary professionals
Doug Penfold
Executive Chef
Cooking has been a big part of Jeremy’s life since an early age. He would often spend mornings with his grandmother in the kitchen as she prepared steamed buns and other traditional Filipino fare for her catering company. It was there where Jeremy first learned the importance of quality ingredients and cooking from scratch, by hand.
After a few stints at pubs and diners, Jeremy ventured to Toronto to attend culinary school at George Brown College to refine his skills and allow his passion to grow. At George Brown’s “Chef’s house” he met Chef Doug Penfold. Shortly after Jeremy jumped at the opportunity when an opening at Cava Restaurant opened up. There he worked alongside his mentors, Chefs Doug Penfold and Chris McDonald. In 2016 Jeremy was promoted to chef de cuisine. At Cava Jeremy prepares simple and well executed Spanish fare using the best local ingredients available, staying true to the same philosophies he grew up with sitting table-side in his grandmother’s kitchen.
Jeremy Saluma
Chef de Cuisine -
Cava & Mason's
After graduating from Chef School at George Brown College, Julian started working under and learning from some of the best chefs in Toronto including Chef Chris McDonald and Chef Doug Penfold. Leaving his position as chef de cuisine of Cava Restaurant in 2016, Julian spent time travelling and working in the United States and South America before returning back to Toronto to open Tanto where he is expressing his love for food and cooking.
Julian Iliopoulos
Chef de Cuisine - Tanto
Jason Desando came to Toronto from London, Ontario in 2008 to study Labour Relations at York University. After graduating with honours and experiencing difficulty in finding a role in his field of study, Jason explored the work opportunities in his surrounding neighbourhood and was delighted to accept an
entry-level position at Cava Restaurant. While working his way up the ranks at Cava to the level of server, Jason enrolled in Geroge Brown College's Human Resources Management Certificate Program and later gained practical experience as a full-time Human Resources Intern at Blaney McMurtry LLP. Jason accepted the position of Human Resources Manager with Peer to Peer Hospitality in August of 2015 focusing on instilling positive employee engagement and professional development at all levels.
Jason Desando
Human Resources Manager
Vanessa Aciman
Financial Coordinator
Vanessa has graduated from McGill University with Economics and International Development Majors in 2016. She started her career in Peer To Peer Hospitality Group as a Director of Marketing and ended up finding her passion in Accounting and Finance Department. She is more than grateful to be working with very powerful and passionate role models for the past 2 years.
Alex has over ten years’ experience working in both the private and public sectors as a team leader, educator, and communications specialist. Her interests span a wide range of disciplines, and she is especially fascinated by the ways in which scientific approaches intersect with artistic practice in contemporary food culture and beyond. Having spent a number of years studying the humanities, Alex is now seeking to expand her knowledge of business and applied mathematics—a project she pursues, in part, through her work at Peer to Peer Hospitality.
Alex Nica
Financial Controller
Melody is a passionate hospitality professional with over 15 years’ experience in the hotel and restaurant industries. Melody is a graduate of George Brown College with a Diploma in both Marketing Management and Hotel Management. With her background in hospitality management and corporate event management, she has planned and executed conferences, forums, trade shows and social events for groups of 20 to 2000. Most recently she worked at one of Toronto’s leading hotels in the role of a Senior Event Manager, Melody's attention to detail enabled her to anticipate her client’s needs and offer creative solutions that made her events run smoothly.
Melody recently joined the Peer to Peer Hospitality team in the role of Catering and Event Manager. She manages group bookings, catering and marketing for the event department and oversees all events throughout the growing portfolio of the Peer to Peer restaurant brand.
Melody Artounian
Catering & Event Manager