Meet Our Chefs: Junelle Fronda

MEET OUR CHEFS

Junelle Fronda, Sous Chef

As soon as Junelle learned how to fry eggs at the tender age of 6, she progressed to preparing elaborate breakfast meals for her family. She especially enjoyed preparing the traditional Filipino breakfast of silog, consisting of longanisa sausage, a fried egg, and garlic fried rice. The Food Network’s inspirational programming confirmed that this was no passing hobby, but her life’s calling.

While completing her degree at the California Culinary Academy, Junelle became skilled in butchery during her externship at The Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado. After graduating she relocated to Las Vegas where she served as Sous Chef at several Mandalay Bay properties. During her time there, she mastered Russian cuisine at Red Square, Pan-Asian cuisine at China Grill, and Brazilian Churrasco at Rumjungle. The opportunity for her to realize her dream of working in New York City arose, where she furthered her culinary prowess. There, under China Grill Management, she served Caribbean cuisine at Asia de Cuba, and Japanese fare at Kobe Club. Having returned to the San Francisco Bay Area, Junelle worked at Apple’s corporate cafeteria where she added sustainable, organic, vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, and raw cuisine to her repertoire.

Today as a Sous Chef at Ricker Dining, Junelle creates dishes that are wholesome, craveable, and creative. “I want to encourage mindful eating and deliver ‘brain food’ to fuel the students’ studies,” she says. She especially enjoys sharing her knowledge and love of world cuisine with both students and fellow culinary staff.