Although this guy must have a restaurant somewhere in Toronto.
Tai chi master takes on the Dragons
KAREN McKINLEY
03/01/2010

Local tai chi master Peng You doesn‘t wield a sword when faced with a den of dragons – he flashes a business plan.

You appeared for a taping of CBC‘s Dragon‘s Den in the hopes of getting a panel of business magnates to invest in his idea, The Tai Chi Chef.

Guests are invited to pitch business ideas to a group of five Canadian investors. If the panel likes their ideas, they invest money to get the ideas off the ground and into the market.

“I had seen the show before, but wasn‘t sure if I wanted to take my idea to them,” You said at his tai chi studio in Thunder Bay. “Last year there was a lady at the Intercity mall that took my information and idea back to the CBC. I received a call two weeks later letting me know my idea had been selected for taping.”

His was one of 300 chosen from thousands of sales pitches across Canada.

You, a tai chi practitioner and former restaurant owner, said he has always wanted to combine the two because combining food and exercise is only logical. His idea involves hosting parties at homes and offices where he teaches a few basic tai chi moves, then prepares a Chinese meal. It can be modified to suit all diets, levels of fitness and locations, he said.

“The best part is there‘s nothing like it anywhere else in Canada,” You said. “Which is why the Dragons were interested in my idea. It‘s unique.”

The episode was taped in Toronto and is to air on Wednesday.

You said the taping was stressful. Getting the Dragons to listen to his idea and having to make his pitch in front of the cameras was a lot of work, but he added that he was excited to show his plan. He even taught the Dragons some tai chi moves during his pitch.

He cannot divulge if he received funding due to contractual obligations.

“You need to be really prepared when walking onto the set, I had to have everything for them to see.” he said.

Before You left the studio, he invited the Dragons to Thunder Bay to film an episode here.

“I told them we have so many great ideas in the city, they really should look into investing here,” he said.

Like many excited businessmen, he has grander plans for his Tai Chi Chef idea. Eventually, he would like to have a combined restaurant and studio, where he could host banquets and parties. He also mused about having the Tai Chi Chef branded, to start franchises across the country.

Photos and details about his pitch to the Dragons are available at www.cbc.ca/dragonsden.