Raised in Mimoso do Sul, a small town north of Rio de Janeiro, Junior Borges came of age as a chef in New York City, where he lived and worked for 13 years. After graduating from the French Culinary Institute (now the Institute for Culinary Education), he worked under Missy Robbins at A Voce before becoming executive chef at Amali, a highly regarded Mediterranean restaurant in midtown Manhattan. Borges splashed onto the scene in Dallas in 2014 as opening executive chef at Uchi — earning a rare 5-star review from The Dallas Morning News (its highest rating at the time). He went onto lead the kitchen at Matt McCallister’s FT33 as executive chef, and then moved to the Joule Hotel as executive chef of the property’s multiple outlets. There he developed and assisted in the success of Mirador, Americano, CBD Provisions and other concepts. In addition to being executive chef of Meridian, he is vice-president of culinary for The Village. Borges 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.