Join us at Cellar 3 for an amazing Supper Club experience with Greg Frey Jr., Executive Chef at Golden Door.
About Chef Greg Frey Jr.
Greg has always loved to cook but says being a chef was never really something he thought about as a child. However, his family is quick to remind him that early on his world was already revolving around food.
His parents were both employed by TWA, his father a pilot and mother a flight attendant. They both flew international and the best way to spend time with their children was to bring them along. Before Greg was old enough to realize it, he had already been exposed to many cultures and their food. He loved to help in the kitchen and play with the spice cabinet. On Saturday mornings, while most kids were watching cartoons, Greg was watching food shows like Great Chefs of the World.
As a ten year old on his first Boy Scout camping trip, he remembers being shocked to see bacon tossed into a tall pot clearly made for boiling water—not a frying pan or a beautifully seasoned cast iron skillet.. Telling the troop leaders they were doing it wrong, it made them start over. At thirteen, he wanted to be an aerospace engineer, but after two years of school he knew it would not be his career after all. His first job, at 15, was as a busboy/host in a local “ mom and pop” restaurant. After that, he never left restaurant work. Even during engineering school he worked at a local microbrewery as a bartender. It was here that his interest in cooking grew and he realized he was good at it. Shortly thereafter, he made the transition to culinary school.
He attended Johnson and Wales in Charleston, SC and while there, landed a job as host at the best restaurant in Charleston. He made it to front waiter all the while banging on the chef’s door to let him become a cook. With the endorsement of the sous chef and his father calling to plead his case, Greg was eventually set up with a cooking job at a new country club. His rise through the ranks was thanks to the tough love and tutelage of Chef Bob Wagner and Michelle Weaver and eventually earned him a trip to Stage in France at LeBougainvillier in St Galmier. After returning to the states, he worked at Rubicon in San Francisco before making the move to Bernardus Lodge in Carmel Valley to work with a longtime friend. This would become a place of major influence on his career. He took the position of Chef de Cuisine at Bernardus Lodge in spent almost 2 years working for Chef Cal in the salad bowl of the United States and it was here where I truly learned how to cook from the farm.
While working at Bernardus, he met his wife and they decided to move to San Diego. Leaving their comfy home in Monterey to live on a boat in San Diego harbor, they had no jobs and no connections; but after some searching, Greg landed an executive sous chef position at Pamplemousse Grille with Chef Jeffery Strauss. It was the best introduction to the San Diego culinary sphere any chef can have. In 2011, Greg became chef de cuisine at La Costa resort’s Bluefire Grill. He spent three years there developing his style of freshness as well as teaching himself a new passion—beekeeping. Greg can’t say he ultimately found the Golden Door or that the Golden Door found him. “ We found each other.”
Stay tuned for a complete menu.
Doors open at 6:30 pm and dinner begins at 7:00 pm.
No early entry allowed.
Please arrive on time.