Exciting news! We have a new Head Chef at Juno House. We’d like to introduce you to Frankie, our new Dutchie with a passion for food and known for her bold flavor combinations. Frankie loves to experiment with her dishes, using natural and organic ingredients. Curious? Come try out the new menu at the Juno Café. Get to know more about Frankie, her background, sources of inspiration and what she will bring to the table at Juno House in our interview.
My roots trace back to a small town in the Netherlands, so I grew up surrounded by the Dutch countryside. It’s definitely where my love for anything food related was born. Growing up in the countryside and being able to spent my youth in such a natural environment certainly sparked my interest for the system of relationships between living things and their environment. Connecting this to my endless appetite and strong felt love for food, there slowly started to build this strong curiosity and longing in the back of my mind to pursue a culinary career.
Before I came to Spain I was working as a chef in Tuscany, Italy. In the winter time we closed down for a period of time and I had been dreaming for a while to forge my own knife. I ended up going to this local knife maker nestled away in the tuscan hills. The knife turned out amazing, a masterpiece really and I was beyond excited to chop away with it. I thought it was a fun idea to make a short video cutting some Kaki fruit on a log to show off my knife skills.The kaki fruit slipped and instead of making a clean cut on the fruit I got my fingertip. I remember looking down at my hand and realizing what had happened, ciao fingertip. With the speed of light we then raced through the tuscan hills to the nearest local hospital where they managed to stitch up my tip like ‘frankenstein’. I had seven stitches, a finger cast and a lot of fear that the tip wouldn’t grow back. My kitchen crew would ask me how Frank was doing and it became a thing, I then proudly adopted the name Frank, Frankie.
In the kitchen I am described as an exuberant optimist by my colleagues. I am the happiest when I am cooking, and sometimes I think I can put down the fires in the kitchen, but end up burning myself haha.
I’m a sucker for anything ocean, boardsport and adventure related. Surfing, skating or hiking some cool area to go wild camp and cook over woodfire are definitely my favorite things to do.
I guess I would be a risotto, because it is a plain canvas that allows you to experiment in all different directions. It is a dish that comes down to techniques and which therefore adheres to a classic ground rule. I work with a certain framework, but just like a risotto, I have a lot of room for experimentation with all kinds of colors and flavors. This best reflects my personality.
Since I don’t have a classical background, I am very experimental and self-taught. At first I was scared that this could be a disadvantage, but I think it actually helps me to think out of the box. No rules apply in my cooking. Don’t get me wrong though, I can be an extreme perfectionist when it comes to plating that final dish. I like wild things, bold flavor combinations, and bringing the natural eco environment of an ingredient back to the table.
This has got to be a delicious pasta made from scratch.
I definitely get a lot of inspiration from nature and the smaller eco systems surrounding an ingredient. But other than that it would be people, places and everytime a little bit of my heart.
Dominique Crenn. Growing up and growing into the culinary field, she has always been the voice that truly inspired. I am moved by her conscious approach to food and her ethical cuisine. She’s more than a chef, she is a powerful voice for women’s rights, the restaurant and LGBTQ+ communities and the hungry. The most important thing for me in cooking is that genuine passion and wanting to do better, share knowledge and make a positive change and impact on the community. She stands by that and that’s why I admire her.
With my strong background in farm to table and Italian classic influence, you can expect me to bring back some more comfort and heartwarming soul food to the house.
Berbena, it’s the cutest little place, with an amazing food proposal.
