Janice Dulce
FOB Kitchen | Oakland, CA
JUNE 2019
Janice Dulce, a hospitality lifer who was a dedicated server for years, was born into a large family in the Philippines. Her childhood memories are brimming with stews and adobo and other Filipino classics that were often prepared by her grandmother. With zero professional training, the ignition of her culinary career came from the nostalgic cravings that panged her as an adult in Oakland, California.
In 2015, Dulce flew to the Philippines to cook alongside her mother and aunt, learning and mastering the recipes from her youth. When she returned to the Bay Area, FOB Kitchen was born, first in weekly pop-up form, and nearly three years later, in permanent residence in Oakland in the former Juhu Beach Club space in Temescal. Dulce has received nods from the San Francisco Chronicle, Bon Appétit, and even the Filipino television program, “Adobo Nation.” Food & Wine called FOB Kitchen an "instant classic."
Dulce has created a one-of-kind space where the classic American diner meets classic Filipino comfort. Where guests may feel as proudly FOB or American as they want. It’s also a space where people of color, women, and the LGTBQ community can come to gather for a meal or to work. Dulce, a mother of two with her business partner and wife Brandi, does participate in community-oriented events outside her restaurant, but within it she’s creating jobs with schedules and benefits that are open to people that many times we do not see cooking on the line or working the dining room floor. Plus, for teachers, there’s free wine on tap.
