History   The Team   About our Name 

The Frog and The Peach was founded in downtown New Brunswick, NJ in 1983 by husband and wife team Jim Black and Betsy Alger, both Rutgers University graduates who prior to entering the restaurant business had careers in the plant world  – Jim was a landscape architect and Betsy taught horticulture.  Following their respective passions for developing new spaces and for cooking, the couple became one of the leading proponents of Modern American Cuisine in New Jersey. 

Alger and Black’s food concept – providing an innovative, modern American menu with clean flavors and global accents – has remained the guiding principle in the kitchen, first under the direction of Betsy, who was the executive chef for the first three years the restaurant was open, and then under several talented chefs. In fact, The Frog and The Peach has functioned as a veritable training ground for many of New Jersey’s finest chefs today.  Alger’s active participation in all areas of the business over the past two and a half decades – she is currently the first woman to chair the New Jersey Restaurant Association – along with their influence on so many chefs has resulted in their tangible influence on the contemporary fine dining scene that has evolved in the state. 

History

The restaurant has a wonderful history. It occupies an old industrial building which originally housed the printing presses for the local paper, "The Home News", followed by various types of manufacturing uses, the last of which was a leather suitcase handle factory. Alger and Black purchased the building at 29 Dennis Street in 1980. As pioneers in the redevelopment and subsequent renaissance of downtown New Brunswick, they shared a vision of what Hiram Square could be one day. With that in mind, they carefully gutted and renovated the space to create a multi-leveled contemporary restaurant that reflected the spirit of its industrial roots. 

The Frog and The Peach Team

Bruce Lefebvre, Executive Chef

Chef Bruce Lefebvre is regarded as one of the top culinary talents in the state. He graduated from Wake Forest University with a degree in English and no plan…until a soul-searching cross-country road trip led him to the Culinary Institute of America. He completed an externship with the prestigious Buckhead Life Group, and upon gradation, honed his skills working at Aureole with Charlie Palmer, as a stagiere at Daniel and at Lespinasse with Gray Kunz, joining The Frog and The Peach as sous chef in 2000. Clearly a star, he was promoted to Executive Chef in 2001.

Of his cooking, Bruce says he uses “culinary common sense,” combining proven flavor combinations in creative ways using a global palette of flavors.

Jim Mullen, General Manager and Wine Director

Jim Mullen joined The Frog and The Peach in 2004, bringing with him 20 years of experience in restaurant management and wine. Previously he was Director of Restaurant Operations for both New York City locations of Morrell’s Restaurant and Wine Bar. At Tribeca’s Montrachet, known for its stunning wine list, he worked for 15 years under the direction of wine aficionado Daniel Johnnes. Prior to embarking on his restaurant career, Jim earned degrees from Georgetown University and the prestigious Corcoran School of Art in Washington, DC.

Jim has revamped our wine program, increasing the list by 50%, and developed a series of fun, casual wine tasting events as well as formal wine tasting dinners.

(Saad)Jack Tagmouti, Event Planner

Jack has been a fixture at The Frog and The Peach for close to a decade; working his way through the ranks in the Front of the House, he is familiar with absolutely everything about the F&P.  10 years in the hospitality industry and 5 years of experience selling Real Estate Jack is passionate about taking care of people and loves to see an event move from an idea through to execution.  A charmer, a doer and a hard worker, Jack gets a particular charge out of exceeding his guests expectations. 

Jack earned a degree in Business Administration form ESIAC, a university in his home country, Morocco.

Betsy Alger & Jim Black, Proprietors

Husband and wife Betsy Alger and Jim Black come from creative backgrounds in the plant world—Jim was a landscape architect, and Betsy an instructor of horticulture. Following a mutual passion for developing new spaces and for cooking, the pair founded The Frog and The Peach in 1983.  Active in the downtown New Brunswick renaissance, they worked with an architect to gut the space at 29 Dennis Street and create a multi-level contemporary restaurant.  Today, Betsy is the operating partner of the restaurant, responsible for its day-to-day operations.  Jim focuses on design projects for the restaurant, with a keen eye to keeping the restaurant visually exciting and eco-friendly.  

Betsy Alger, Operating Partner

Betsy was the Executive Chef at The Frog and The Peach for its first three years, receiving accolades from The New York Times just months after opening.  She is a graduate of Rutgers University/Cook College with a degree in plant science and also a graduate of the Restaurant Management and Culinary Arts program at The New York Restaurant School.  Prior to opening her restaurant, she honed her cooking skills at restaurants in New York City and New Jersey. Her philosophy of providing an innovative American menu with clean flavors and global accents was developed in the early days of the restaurant’s existence, and Alger sees that as integral to the character and success of the restaurant. 

As the day-to-day operations executive, Betsy is an active member in the culinary community.  She presently serves as the first female Chairwoman of the New Jersey Restaurant Association; she is also a member of the association’s board of directors, a position she has held for six years.  Her other memberships include the Middlesex County College Advisory Committee for the Hotel, Restaurant & Institution Management program; Women Chefs and Restaurateurs;  the Women’s Presidents’ Organization, and Slow Foods USA. In 2001 Betsy received the New Jersey Restaurant Association’s “Gold Plate Award” for outstanding performance as a restaurateur. 

Mentoring future young restaurateurs is important to Betsy as well.  In addition to participating in local area schools’ career days, she was part of the NJ Chamber of Commerce’s webinar for Entrepreneur Week, aimed at high school students.  Betsy has been interviewed by leading trade and consumer publications, with a profile on her accomplishments appearing most recently in Sante magazine.

About our Name

The restaurant's unique name comes from the title of a Dudley Moore and Peter Cook comedy routine about a restaurant in the Scottish moors that served only Frogs and Peaches -- a culinary concept that was never considered for the restaurant!

Another Video: 1980 - 2009

From when we purchased the building in 1980 through to February 2009; the happy place the F&P is today   A great YouTube video.

For more information, please click here to contact us or call 732.846.3216.