April 3
As the Signature Chef at The Palms Hotel & Spa, Frans oversees the culinary concept throughout the hotel, with a focus on the hotel’s signature restaurant Essensia Restaurant & Lounge. In her position Frans is responsible for the creation and execution of all restaurant menus, lounge and pool menus.
Truly dedicated to providing products that are both good for the body and the environment, Frans culinary philosophy is completely in line with The Palms “inspired by nature” philosophy, reflecting a passion for healthier and whole food living. Her cuisine is inventive, globally-inspired and flavorful. At Essensia, menus follow a farm-to-table approach, offering a varied seasonal selection of global dishes made with premium ingredients and locally sourced produce, meats and seafood. Quarterly seasonal wine dinners, in cooperation with some of South Florida’s finest purveyors of farm-fresh produce, are the highlight of Frans execution of Essensia’s culinary concept.
Originally from San Diego, California, Frans graduated from The University of California Santa Barbara in 2000 and then from the San Diego Culinary Institute in 2006. Frans culinary experience began working as a private chef while traveling the world aboard private and charter yachts. In 2005, she launched Dining Details, a personal chef service and catering company. Her gourmet culinary skills and knowledge catapulted Dining Details from a one-woman operation to a full-service catering company and chef agency servicing a variety of clients including corporate events, daily/weekly in-home cooking service, culinary demonstrations, educational seminars and private dinner parties. Frans completely immersed her efforts into Dining Details overseeing every aspect of the company including menu creation, cuisine preparation and production, sales/marketing and, most importantly, client relations.