Come visit us at our newest restaurant located in Palm Springs, CA!

Offering private chef services in the comfort of your own home or vacation rental. Having a special party? Private fine dining and events of all kinds are his specialty: with a large network of talent and can help you plan the perfect catered affair. He is also available for cooking classes, culinary and wine events, fundraising, and catered events.

If you are looking to start up a new restaurant, Chef Frederic can help by combining his knowledge of the industry, menu, staffing, and kitchen design with his understanding of flow and maximizing revenue. For more information, please select a category:

Fred was born in the Alsace region of France, known for Munster cheese, quiche, and pate’ Lorraine, and hearty Rieslings. Classically trained in Gerardmer, France, Chef Frederic Pierrel graduated with honors from Lycée Hôtelier et Culinairer. He returns on occasion to speak to the new classes and share an aperitif with the general manager and team.

He has worked around the globe, gathering local tastes, and learning traditions along the way. He is practiced in all things culinary and strives to stay creative and relevant. Often, if he is dining out, you will find him in the kitchen, making friends with the chef and staff, and sharing information – whether it is a traditional Chinese restaurant in Beijing, a small take-out place in the desert, a home-style patio in Mexico, or a Tahitian bistro, he is truly passionate about his profession and lifestyle.

Frederic ventured to America to open L ‘Auberge of La Jolla with a friend and then mentor, Max, who has now passed on. After several successful years in La Jolla, the opportunity presented itself for Chef to move to Mammoth Lakes, CA to re-create the Lakefront Restaurant. Soon after his transition, The Lakefront sold to Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, but it remained under the direction and vision of Frederic. Over the more than 17 years Chef Frederic spent at The Lakefront, he grew, improved, and solidified an internationally known name for the restaurant and himself; earning acclaim and global praise with his clientele and the media.

Chef: “I very much enjoyed meeting and getting to know all the great customers who visited The Lakefront Restaurant. Gratefully, many are still friends and patrons now.”

Fred is an expert in edible mushrooms and hunts for them seasonally at every chance in many regions, from delicate chanterelles in a French forest to meaty Ceps in the Sierra Nevada, and more. He is also vested, working with local friends and farmers, bringing White Asparagus growth to the US. He engages with professionals and the culinary curious alike to share information and creative evenings at home just playing in the kitchen with other chefs of all backgrounds and experiences. His enjoyment of friends and food shared at a table are apparent.

Chef Frederic continued to create in the kitchen, opening Mammoth Rock ‘N Bowl, with 400+ seats including “The Brasserie” restaurant. His unique infusion of talent, passion, and ever-growing learned culinary techniques and worldwide flavors while reveling in the belief that it is the people, combined with the food that makes every dining experience memorable, fun, and exceptional allowed exponential growth during his 7-year tenure.

As of Q4 2021, Chef Frederic departed Mammoth Lakes, CA, relocating in Palm Springs, CA, where he has opened his namesake restaurant: Freddie’s Kitchen at the Cole hotel.

Professional Affiliations:

The James Beard Foundation; Professional Member

Often called “MacGyver in the Kitchen”, Frederic Pierrel knew he would be a chef from childhood. The sights smells, and social atmosphere of the open markets draw Frederic in. He learned of the terroir philosophy from his father; meaning “of the earth” and as translated: to enjoy the food of a region and use what is fresh and in the moment. Creativity comes easily when the food is the star and flavors are in full bloom.

This philosophy is also one which has sometimes been lost in a world of wholesale quantities, processed foods, and bustling lifestyles. Fred takes it as a personal challenge to engage people in the idea that it is healthier and less expensive – not to mention tastier – to eat fresh foods. He will discuss the merits of root vegetables, the ease to prepare them, and the cost savings for foods which are not over-packaged in order to last for years on a shelf. He believes in moderation vs. manmade sugar replacement products and the like.

Watch Fred as he discusses what he believes are the keys to a successful restaurant experience.

If you want to find Fred on any given early summer day, he will be foraging in the nearby woods looking for the elusive Cepe – a wild mushroom that grows only for 1-2 months in the wetlands of the Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains. Later, he will be sharing them with other local chefs and creating dishes with them. Mushroom tart anyone?

Finally, food is sustenance and we must take in the best of nutrition and tastes into our body in amounts we need to sustain our health and energy. When prepared with love and creative flair, shared with family and friends over a glass of wine and hearty conversation… well that is the meaning of life, isn’t it? A social and comforting place to feel warm and secure and fulfilled.

Bon Appétit!