Golden Door Chef Releases Flavorful Wellness Cookbook

Golden Door’s Executive Chef Greg Frey Jr. has spent more than a decade redefining wellness cuisine at the California retreat, rejecting the idea that healthy food must be bland or restrictive. His approach—rooted in seasonal, nourishing ingredients—has shaped the resort’s kitchen and now extends to his new cookbook, The Golden Door Table.

Frey’s philosophy emerged from a career that began in Charleston, where he absorbed decades of culinary wisdom from veteran chefs in a tight-knit community. But it was at Bernardus Lodge that his focus shifted toward sourcing directly from local farmers, fishermen, and winemakers. “It wasn’t a PR stunt,” he says. “It was how we lived every day.” That hands-on connection to ingredients became the foundation of his cooking.

Redefining Wellness Cuisine at Golden Door

When Frey arrived at Golden Door, he set out to change the approach to food. “Golden Door exists to help us live, enjoy, and appreciate a better life,” he explains. “I believe that means eating the bounty of what the world has to offer, rather than constantly saying ‘no’ to this or that.”

The challenge at a wellness retreat is far greater than in a traditional restaurant. Guests at Golden Door eat many meals over the course of their stay. Frey’s solution? Menus designed to feel fresh each time, balancing nutrition with excitement. “We have to design our menus so that every single meal period feels fresh, exciting, and like somewhere they actually want to return to every single day.”

His obsession with flavor begins in the garden, or, more precisely, with what he calls the “jet lag” of produce. Commercial farming prioritizes shelf life and appearance over taste, but Frey’s rule is simple: ingredients should smell incredible before they’re cooked. “Grab that pack of berries; if it doesn’t smell like a fantastic strawberry from the outside of the package, it’s not going to taste like one when you get it home What’s worth splurging on in the kitchen, and where is it totally fine to save?”

Prioritizing Flavor Over Shelf Life

Frey’s kitchen habits reflect his belief in simplicity. He splurges on vinegars and oils, “The quality of those two things makes a ginormous difference in the final dish.” He also believes in using the least processed versions of ingredients like flour, grains, and sugar.

It’s not a luxury tome but a guide to making healthy food approachable. Recipes rely on grocery-store staples, with a few specialty items to enhance flavor without overwhelming it.

Practical Tips for Home Cooks

His core advice for home cooks? Start with a balanced plate and reset your palate by going salt-free for three days. “Once those three days are up, you will taste ingredients differently and start using salt in a much more mindful way going forward.”

Frey’s kitchen remains a working laboratory, where every dish begins with ingredients that do most of the work. The result is food that nourishes without sacrificing pleasure, a philosophy that has kept him at Golden Door for more than a decade, and now reaches beyond the resort’s walls.

A key aspect of Golden Door’s approach to wellness cuisine is its emphasis on using high-quality, seasonal ingredients. This philosophy is reflected in the resort’s gardens, where many of the ingredients used in its dishes are grown. The chef’s focus on sourcing ingredients locally and directly from farmers has been instrumental in shaping the resort’s culinary style.

The challenge of cooking for guests at a wellness retreat like Golden Door is significant, as they eat many meals during their stay. To keep meals fresh and exciting, the chef designs menus that balance nutrition with flavor and variety.