Junior BorgesJunior Borges

Raised in Mimoso do Sul, a small town north of Rio de Janeiro, Junior Borges is executive chef at Meridian, named restaurant of the year by D Magazine in 2021. At Meridian, Borges Brazilian cuisine celebrates that country’s early Indigenous, Portuguese and African diasporic ingredients, traditions and flavors, pulling them together with the contemporary Japanese, Italian, French, Lebanese and other influences that give today’s Brazil its dynamic verve. Borges is also vice-president of culinary for The Village in Dallas and is an active member of the Culinary Council of Ment’or, the foundation led by chefs Daniel Boulud, Thomas Keller and Jerome Bocuse that helps support young culinary careers through educational grants and opportunities.