Jenna Pegg
Pastry Chef, Smyth + The Loyalist
As the Pastry Chef at Smyth + The Loyalist, Jenna Pegg leads the patisserie programs for the restaurants. To follow her dream of working in pastry, Jenna Pegg flew to Paris for an immersive culinary journey and the rest is history. She made her way to Chicago from Paris five years ago and worked for two years in the city’s most renowned kitchens before joining Chef John and Karen Urie Shields and the team at Smyth + The Loyalist.
Pegg was drawn to the restaurants the moment she walked in the door, where she immediately felt like the kitchen at Smyth was unlike any other in America. “Smyth is such a special place and Chef Shields is a huge inspiration,” says Pegg. “He and his teams work in excellence and it’s inspiring to be part of something bigger than you. The whole team wants to be successful for each other and strive for that sense of excellence together.”
One of Pegg’s greatest strengths is collaborating with Chef Shields and bringing his visions into reality. Unlike what she was learning while training in Paris, most of what she makes in pastry at Smyth is savory, which she credits to the uniqueness of the restaurant and the tastes of Chef John and Karen Shields. “Working on the savory side of pastry has brought me such a distinctive perspective and way of looking at what pastry can be,” she says. “Savory can be even better than sweet and it has become such an enormous influence on how I’ve learned to work in the field.”
From a Roasted Potato Ice Cream with potato skin caramel, raspberry butter and black malt powders to a Lemon Leaf and Beeswax Parfait, diners get a savory taste of Pegg’s unique touches alongside Chef Shields’ sensibilities throughout their tasting journey at Smyth.
Pegg joined Smyth + The Loyalist in 2021, and she is thrilled for what the future holds. “I’m excited to see where Chef Shields will lead us next and how we will keep growing. We’ll keep pushing harder every day to continue being one of the most outstanding restaurants in the world.”