Justin grew up in restaurants, one way or another. From sitting on a table eating olives straight out of the jar as a toddler at his dad’s pizza joint, to waking up at 5am to work the fryer at his uncle’s breakfast spot. Once he decided to make cooking his career, he moved from Winnipeg to Vancouver where he went to school at Northwest Culinary Academy of Vancouver and worked under renowned Chef Robert Clark at C Restaurant. Later, he joined the opening team at Hawksworth Restaurant, before bouncing around between San Francisco hostels to stage at Three Michelin Starred Atelier Crenn for a few months. Upon returning to Canada, he moved to Ottawa to work at Atelier. Starting as a Chef de Partie, he left as Sous Chef 5 years later to take over the kitchen at Bar Lupulus for 3 years. He then got the opportunity to open his own restaurant, putting his focus on a wider focal point than just the food. He was able to open Perch in November of 2021.

Amanda credits her love and knowledge of restaurants to her parents; growing up spending all of her formative years at her parents’ cafe in the small town she grew up in gave her an inside view into how it all runs. Once she was old enough, she did everything from bussing tables, to working the dish pit, to her favourite job, helping her mom with the baking. Between her mom and Nanny, who taught her how to make her first loaf of bread, Amanda found a love for all things bread and pastry very early in her life. It wasn’t until she lived in Hawaii though, that she found her love for sourdough specifically. Ginny (her sourdough starter) was born in 2018, and has seen her through all the ups and downs of learning how to bake with wild yeast. At Perch, it is a special kind of pleasure to see the happiness a simple slice of bread can bring to people. Working with such a small and passionate staff makes the managing part of her job easy, and her dad taught her everything she needed to know about handling the behind the scenes work. As the GM, Ginny is the only member of the team at Perch that ever gives her any trouble.

Shannon grew up in northern Ontario, spending much of his time in cottage country. Replenishing rye and gingers, and making Caesars for the family sparked his interest in creating cocktails. He made his way to Toronto and quickly found himself behind some of the city’s best bars. Honing his craft as the lead mixologist at Cafe Boulud and d|bar in the Four Seasons hotel, his appreciation for the relationship between the kitchen and the bar grew once he moved into his role as bar manager at Dailo restaurant. There, he developed many drink lists using ingredients rarely found in cocktails. A move to Ottawa brought him to Perch restaurant, where his new found focus has been sustainability and low waste which has certainly invigorated his love for his craft.

Chris' culinary journey began years ago when he discovered his love for the craft while experimenting in his home kitchen as a kid. Moving from Georgetown and driven by a desire to learn and grow, he later enrolled in Cordon Bleu Ottawa to formalize his knowledge and techniques. Fueled by a relentless pursuit of knowledge and growth, he found his place at Perch

Alex’s start in kitchens was in his family home, helping out his mom with everything from simple weeknight dinners to her meticulous christmas baking–though his contribution often leaned more toward secret sampling than assisting. His real enthusiasm for food ignited as he eagerly opened his grandmother’s jars of pickles or preserves each holiday feast. 

Interest turned to passion when he attended Algonquin College’s culinary program. After graduating and being launched into the Industry during peak covid-19 concern, he experienced an accelerated learning curve as he navigated his way through Ottawa’s Culinary scene. He cut his teeth at Black Dog Bistro in Manotick and then moved on to Art is In Bakery, where he followed the Chef to be a part of the opening team at Starling Restaurant in the Byward Market. After 3 enriching years, he left as Sous Chef with a wealth of experience in his back pocket. 

A four-month culinary joyride through South East Asia broadened his horizons and introduced him to new philosophies and techniques.

In her childhood, Chloe's dining out experiences were mostly limited to large family gatherings at their favourite Chinese restaurants for yum cha or dinner, where plates were always laid in the centre of the table for all to pass around and share. Food as a shared experience remains one of her core tenets when it comes to hospitality to this day.

Her first job as a fifteen-year-old sandwich artist, with a couple detours along the way, snowballed into a nearly ten year career in Ottawa's culinary scene, from pubs to food trucks to casual fine dining. In 2024, Chloe made the switch to front of house to pursue a long held interest in cocktails, sparked by her time in restaurants with robust bar programs. She hopes to bring her culinary experience to the crafting of drinks (though her first love remains the classics). She thinks her favourite cocktail is the Last Word but can be convinced otherwise on any given day.