Peggy Dark

In 1984, Peggy Dark founded The Kitchen for Exploring Foods with her close friend, the late Nan Crocker. The decision to start her own catering firm and gourmet take-out came after years of teaching cooking classes in the Pasadena area. Peggy's students were insistent: "We want you to cater for us!"

With Nan providing architectural design, the new shop on Colorado Boulevard opened for business in the fall of 1984. Since that time, the Kitchen has emerged as one of the premier catering firms in Los Angeles, with increased earnings every year since the company's founding and a devoted following among the region's lovers of gourmet food.

Peggy traces her interest in food back to the days of her youth in Ventura, California, where she grew up in a family of devoted cooks of the "old school" variety. After graduating from the University of California, Santa Barbara as a home economics major, Peggy spent many years offering cooking classes in Pasadena, as well as the occasional cooking tour to Europe. As her three children grew older, she gained the opportunity to devote herself full-time to her lifelong fascination with the preparation of fine food; soon The Kitchen was born.

Today, her customers benefit from a lifetime devoted to studying, preparing, and serving the finest cuisine from around the world.