Frontera's Plant-Forward Turn

Frontera Grill, Rick Bayless’s long-running Chicago restaurant, is pushing deeper into vegetable-focused cooking as chef Javauneeka Jacobs takes a larger role in the kitchen. (chicago.suntimes.com) Jacobs is 29 and helps lead the kitchen at the River North restaurant, where she has been developing dishes that center vegetables while drawing on Mexican regional cooking. Courtney Kueppers reported the shift in a story published April 22, 2026. (wbez.org) Frontera Grill opened in 1987, and Bayless has long been identified with Mexican cooking in Chicago and on television. The restaurant’s website still describes it as a place for regional Mexican dishes, but its current menu also includes a dedicated vegetarian section. (fronteragrill.com) That menu change lands as established restaurants across the country keep adding lighter and more flexible options for diners who do not want a fully meatless identity but do want more vegetable-forward plates. Industry trackers have been describing “plant-forward” dining as a mainstream menu strategy rather than a niche category. (wbez.org) At Frontera, the point is not to strip Mexican food of its traditional ingredients. The Sun-Times story says Jacobs roots the dishes in Mexican traditions, using vegetables as the main event rather than a side dish. (chicago.suntimes.com) Jacobs has been rising quickly in Bayless’s orbit. Earlier coverage and Bayless’s own site identified her as a Frontera sous chef, and local television outlets reported she won a Food Network “Chopped” competition and later picked up a Banchet Award for rising chef. (rickbayless.com) (wttw.com) (wgntv.com) Her path into the restaurant also fits the moment Bayless appears to be building for. The Chicago Reader reported in 2024 that Jacobs had spent most of her career in current and former Bayless restaurants after culinary school, apart from an internship at Walt Disney World’s Epcot. (chicagoreader.com) Frontera’s turn is less a reinvention than a handoff: a 39-year-old restaurant keeping its Mexican identity while a younger chef reshapes what diners see at the center of the plate. (fronteragrill.com) (chicago.suntimes.com)