Culinary Excellence
Culinary excellence is at the core of Stanford Dining, Hospitality & Auxiliaries. Our purpose is to support the wellbeing of students, faculty, and staff by providing a high-quality dining experience centered on delicious, safe, sustainable, and nutritious food in a nurturing and welcoming environment.
Stanford Dining, Hospitality & Auxiliaries is a co-founder and co-leader of the Menus of Change University Research Collaborative. It’s a nationwide network of forward-thinking scholars, food service leaders, executive chefs, and administrators for colleges and universities who are accelerating efforts to move people toward healthier, more sustainable, and delicious foods using evidence-based research, education, and innovation.
Our talented chefs are dedicated to inspiring students by providing unique flavors, enticing recipes, and expertly crafted dishes. They work collaboratively to design menus that are exciting, diverse, and in support of our Eat Well @Stanford, Food Safety, and One Plate, One Planet - Sustainable Food programs. Our chefs are the heart and soul of our dining operations: They exude a passion for great food, their creativity is unlimited, and they are educators at heart.
Welcome to our kitchen, and get to know our culinary team.
Culinary Leadership Team
Chef Leadership | Dining Hall Executive Chefs | Athlete Dining | Commissaries | Catering Executive Chefs
LKSC Executive Chefs | Schwab/Cardinal Cafe Executive Chefs | Teaching Kitchen Chefs | Plant-Forward Chef
Get to know the talented culinary team of R&DE Stanford Dining. These chefs are dedicated to inspiring students with new flavors, enticing recipes and expertly crafted dishes. Their expertise has helped to create many student favorites!
Our chefs are passionate about delicious food- cooking it, savoring it and sharing it with students. They develop tried-and-true recipes and create new food trends alike. We're excited to have them on board as our chefs exude a passion for great food, their creativity is unlimited, and they are educators at heart.
Welcome to our kitchen. It's here where our chefs discover the ways that - beyond aroma and flavor - food can create great atmosphere, fun experiences and community building. It's what drives our team to bring students delicious food at each and every meal. When it comes down to it, the relationships our chefs have with each student is driven by their passion to provide all students with great food experiences.
Each of our dining halls is led by an Executive Chef and at least one Sous Chef who provide a wide range of culinary expertise and training to their teams. Our chefs work collaboratively to design menus that are exciting, diverse, and in support of our Eat Well @Stanford program, One Plate, One Planet - Sustainable Food program, and Food Safety program.
“Our chefs are super talented - they all bring something different to the table. We balance each other really well. Not everyone has the same skill set or strengths, but we all truly love food. That love for eating and our combined experiences all contribute to the success of Stanford Dining.”
Raul Lacara
Associate Director, Executive Chef
Schwab Executive Dining Services, Redwood City
He/Him
“My focus is creating delicious, flavorful meals, especially for the plant-forward community. I want them to feel that they’re being heard and seen in terms of what their requirements are, not just what we THINK they are. Our focus is on inclusivity, allowing students to sit with their peers and colleagues to enjoy a delicious meal regardless of dietary restrictions or allergens.”
Andrew Mayne
Senior Associate Director of Culinary Event Strategy
and Plant Award Experience
Munger
He/Him
“The creativity is my favorite part. I like to take traditional recipes and see what I can infuse to make it a bit more experiential and enjoyable so that people who are looking for those dishes will really enjoy them. It’s really fun to take something and notch it up to the next level.”
Mychel Brewster
Executive Chef
Arrillaga Family Dining Commons
He/Him
“I’d say my cooking philosophy revolves around home, just full of love and comfort. You can tell when someone puts love into their food. Cooking is definitely my love language, and when I cook for students, I cook like I’m cooking for my friends and family - I put love into it.”
Junelle Fronda
Executive Chef
Gerhard/Branner/EVGR Dining
She/Her
“We strive to be stress alleviators when it comes to eating choices. We want to provide options that will appeal to a wide range of tastes and preferences so students can just show up and have a really exciting menu to choose from. That way, they can focus on the real reason they are here: the learning.”
Christopher Canio
Executive Chef
Stern Dining
He/Him
“It’s important to expose students to different flavors in our dining halls. Changing just a few aspects of a recipe, like spices or aromatics, can change the entire culture surrounding the dish. It’s amazing what you can learn about different cultures through food.”
Israel Chavez Jr.
Executive Chef
Florence Moore Dining
He/Him
“Stanford Dining isn’t really about the food; it’s about the relationship with students. We’re serving young people who need to be cared for and seek guidance. What matters is that students feel nourished and feel tended to, and that will make them feel like they are part of the dining experience.”
Joseph Guinto
Assistant Director and Executive Chef
Athletic Dining
He/Him
“When I think about catering, I look at how I can make this meal an experience. Regardless of the number of people we’re cooking for, I want people to think, ‘Wow, this feels like it was made specifically for me.’ They shouldn’t feel like they are one of many - it should feel like an individual experience created just for them.”
Alex Moreno
Executive Chef
Munger Catering & Conferences
He/Him
“When you see the in the chefs’ different skills, you know that will translate over to the food. We don’t look at one another as competition; we look at what we can learn from each other and how we can work together to better serve the Stanford community. There’s space for everyone.”
Jesse Yabut
Executive Chef
LKS Catering, R&DE
He/Him
“It’s important to showcase different cultural cuisines and expose [our customers] to flavors from around the world. We lay out menus to be diverse and sustainable, with different types of cuisine and flavor profiles. Stanford is made up of people from all over the world, so we strive to cater to a lot of different tastes here.”
Daniel Donguines
Executive Chef
Li Ka Shing Catering
He/Him
“When I think of Stanford Dining, I think innovation, excellence, and sustainability. We’re not always looking for something brand new but to do something that’s always exciting and at the forefront of collegiate dining. I’m trying to live out my purpose by not only just impacting students, but impacting staff and the public as well.”
Will Montagne
Executive Chef
Redwood City & Schwab
He/Him
“I love creating an outlet where students can cook and break away from their regular courses, to have a class where they are just cooking. When I teach students these kitchen skills they really enjoy, they don’t forget them - and they don’t forget who taught them. They’ll remember these skills and experiences for years to come.”
Adrian Farmer
Executive Chef and Training for Culinary Excellence
Bollard Teaching Kitchen
She/Her
“In the teaching kitchens, we provide opportunities for students to not only make delicious food but also collaborate with one another and get to know each other. Students cook together, eat together, and stay friends after classes conclude. What better way to bond than around food?”
Terry Braggs
Executive Chef
EVGR Teaching Kitchen
He/Him
“I honestly feel like it is my purpose to be here at Stanford, knowing that I have the ability to have an impact on the menu and how we’re feeding students. It was my destiny to come here and execute everything I’ve learned with a plant-forward lens. These are the future leaders of the world, and I feel like I can really fulfill my passion and my purpose by touching students’ lives through food.”
Jay-Ar Pugao
Plant-Forward & Vegan Sous Chef
Athlete Dining
He/Him
Stanford Dining, Hospitality & Auxiliaries partners with established top-level chefs to influence, educate, and inspire our culinary team and students. Together, we are creating critically important food experiences and educational opportunities to bring top-tier dining right to Stanford’s campus.
Red Skillet Kitchen @ Lakeside
Inspired by Tanya Holland
Chef Tanya Holland of Oakland’s Brown Sugar Kitchen and Bravo Top Chef alum brings her inventive take on modern soul food to Red Skillet Kitchen at Lakeside Dining. Students can enjoy Tanya's interpretations of soul food starring southern classics such as chicken and waffles, smoked meats, grits and greens along with a diversity of cuisine from Africa and the Caribbean. She is the author of Tanya Holland’s California Soul, A Culinary Journey West, The Brown Sugar Kitchen Cookbook, and New Soul Cooking. Chef Tanya has been recognized for her many talents by O Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, and Travel & Leisure among other publications, and The City of Oakland declared June 5th, 2012 as Tanya Holland Day for her "Significant Role in Creating Community and Establishing Oakland as a Culinary Center." Chef Tanya serves as the Senior Advisor to the Stanford Food Institute along with her partnership at Red Skillet Kitchen, and serves on the Board of Trustees for the James Beard Foundation.
Cardinal Sage @ Stern (Casa Zapata)
Inspired by Iliana de la Vega
Prominent Mexican-born Chef Iliana de la Vega of Austin’s celebrated El Naranjo restaurant, incorporates her innovative Oaxacan flavors into the menu at Cardinal Sage, located at Stern Dining. The menus offer a range of modern Mexican favorites featuring slow-marinated meats, fresh house-made salsas, and flavorful rice and bean dishes cooked from scratch. In addition to sharing the cuisine of her heritage (El Naranjo has been named “the only real Mexican restaurant in Texas” by local press), Chef Iliana has been granted the prestigious Ohtli award in recognition for her work with the Hispanic population and for furthering Mexican gastronomy. Chef Iliana de la Vega's culinary genius was honored in 2022 with The James Beard Foundation's Best Chef award in the first-ever Texas category.
Star Ginger @ Wilbur (Okada)
Inspired by Mai Pham
Nationally-acclaimed Chef Mai Pham of Sacramento’s Lemon Grass Kitchen and Star Ginger showcases her fresh Southeast Asian cuisine at Wilbur Dining’s Star Ginger. Menus feature the bright flavors of Vietnam, Thailand, and beyond, from hearty authentic Thai curries and grilled meats to fresh, flavorful Vietnamese noodle soups and salads. Chef Mai is a pioneer in promoting Vietnamese culture and cuisine in the US and she has been featured by Martha Stewart, NPR and the Food Network, as well as authoring multiple cookbooks on Vietnamese and Thai cooking.
Our menus feature a variety of offerings that celebrate culinary diversity, promote nutrition and sustainability initiatives, and reflect our students’ dietary needs and preferences. Our core menu is served across all dining halls. But students can also enjoy more menu options that are unique to each location. Peak-of-season ingredients and food freshly prepared in small batches guarantees the best quality. We value menu transparency. Expanded information about ingredients, sustainability attributes, dietary traits and allergens can be found in our daily online menus.
Stanford Dining, Hospitality & Auxiliaries is committed to growing the next generation of culinary leaders at Stanford through the Training for Culinary Excellence Program. It provides our food service workers with necessary skills to be successful at the level. Stanford Dining, Hospitality & Auxiliaries also provides career training and apprenticeships for aspiring sous chefs and executive chefs.
We regularly showcase the unique cooking styles and exceptional skills of our executive chef team through a number of culinary programs and spontaneous chef pop-ups. Both allow chefs to focus on intense flavors, high-quality ingredients, and their immense talent and creativity.