Chef Justin Leboe

Chef Justin Leboe spent his early career learning in some of the most prestigious
kitchens in North America. Refining his skills throughout the US, Bermuda and Australia,
Leboe’s travels and mentors helped trigger his entrepreneurial spirit and in 2008 he
shook up Calgary’s food scene with the opening of Rush, which was placed on enRoute
magazine’s coveted Best New Restaurant list. Realizing he needed to leave the confines
of fine dining behind, he opened Model Milk in 2011; shifting his energy back to the
basics – creating simple, playful comfort food. Model Milk also landed on enRoute
Magazine’s list in 2011.

Four years later, Leboe opened award-winning Pigeonhole in the same building; a genre-bending natural wine bar with an emphasis on premeditated veggie-focused cuisine. Also listed as enRoute’s Best New Restaurant in 2015, making him the only Chef to establish 3 restaurants in the top 3 places of the list. Pigeonhole is an extension of Leboe’s travels and need to continuously elevate Calgary’s culinary scene.

Recipient of the coveted 2013 Pinnacle Award for Canadian Chef of the Year in 2013, and Canada’s 100 Best awards in 2016 for Most Innovative Chef, Leboe has helped raise the profile of Calgary as a culinary destination. His passion for the community is demonstrated through the success of Plate Swap, an annual event that brings together chefs from around the world to raise money for his charity of choice, Brown Bagging for Calgary Kids.