Capital Current introduces people who have had an impact on the city.
Who is he?
Peter Hum is the Ottawa Citizen’s restaurant critic. He will serve an eight-week stint as resident chef at 1 Elgin restaurant early in 2026. From Vienna to Peru, then from Hong Kong to mainland China, Hum is travelling this month, eating and writing about food along the way.
What’s his background?
Hum joined the Ottawa Citizen in 1990, writing and editing on numerous beats before picking up the pen – and fork and knife – as the newspaper’s restaurant critic in 2012.
“There’s a lot of appetite for this kind of writing,” Hum told Capital Current. His reviews have ranged from “how far ramen has come” to local culinary competition insights.
Hum is carrying on his family’s decades-long influence on the Ottawa food scene. His grandfather, father and uncles were at the helm of some of the first Chinese-run restaurants in Ottawa, dating back to the 1910s.
Digging into his family’s “restaurant dynasty” led Hum on a recent trip to villages in China with other Chinese-Canadians in November 2024 to discover his ancestry, which had been blurred during Canada’s history of racism toward its Chinese community.
Hum wrote about this journey in an Ottawa Citizen feature that garnered more than 100 emails from readers who connected with his story.
“It resonated with a lot of people and they didn’t have to necessarily have the same background,” Hum said.
“We are a country of immigrants … so there’s something very universal in it.”
What is he known for in Ottawa?
Hum’s food-based legacy goes beyond his written articles. He’s also hosted live “concierge hours” where he solves “real-world dining dilemmas” that readers ask about. Interested in Ottawa’s best dim sum? Tune in to his comment section.
Hum also brings sound to Ottawa. “Peter was bitten by the jazz bug when he was a teenager in the 1970s,” his website reads. Since then, the pianist has released three albums and performed across the country.
Early next year, Hum’s food storytelling will merge with fine dining at the National Arts Centre as a new resident chef at 1 Elgin restaurant. Executive Chef Kenton Leier and Hum are also working together on the Resident Chef Series Gala, associated with the NAC’s mission to create a “stage” for culinary artists.
What do people say about him?
Comments to the newspaper say Hum’s stories have led readers to spots they wouldn’t have otherwise known. Ottawa residents have “long been a fan” of his critiques, Sharon Moren in Kanata said in a letter to the editor.
His ancestral journey feature was also praised. “The most special thing was that it reminded me that we are all kind people and family members and all want the same for those we love,” reader Michael Wiggins said in another letter to the editor.
What’s a fun fact about him?
To “up his nerd credentials,” Hum is also a strong chess player. As a teen, he achieved international rankings in chess and was champion of Ottawa’s biggest chess club.
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