Meet Stefan Vogelsang and Vic Mancilla, the New Faces of Dining at Poly

PolyNews sat down with Stefan Vogelsang, Epicurean Group’s head chef at Poly, and Vic Mancilla, the new general manager, to introduce them and share their vision for dining on campus. Stefan and Vic will be part of the daily dining experience at Poly, contributing new menus and interacting with community members. Epicurean is excited to welcome you back to Poly’s dining commons!

Stefan: Growing up, I fell in love with food. I went to the Culinary Institute of America in Napa Valley for two years, did an internship in Vermont during foliage season, and really got an education in New England cooking. After that I worked in the San Francisco Bay Area as a dishwasher and cook, working my way up the line. I got to see how James Beard Award–winning and Michelin-starred restaurants operated, and I really loved it. I went back to the CIA (Culinary Institute of America) in Hyde Park for my bachelor’s degree, then did a concentration in Latin cuisine. From there, I worked for Compass Group in New York City from 2018 to 2020, came back to the Bay Area as a sous chef, moved into private catering, and then got tapped for Berkeley. I started there as a very eager sous chef, did interim assignments, helped with large events serving 2,000–3,000 guests, and ran farm-to-table concepts like Brown’s Café. Eventually, I realized I’d run my course at Berkeley and wanted a new challenge and a new community. I knew I wanted to come down here, and the opportunity with Epicurean and Poly was the perfect fit.

Vic: I’ve been in the hospitality business for over 40 years. I worked in top restaurants, and along the way I met some very famous chefs—you can tell people like that have a certain aura about them. My main mentor was Chef Elka Gilmore. She really got me to the heart of the business. But the real reason I’m in this business is my grandmother. At the age of 10, when everybody else was watching cartoons, I was in the kitchen watching her. She took me under her wing, gave me her recipes, and taught me everything from breaking down a chicken—yes, I’ve literally seen ‘a chicken running around without a head’—to building flavor with love and patience. From the age of 10, I knew I was going to be in the food business. I tried once to leave—I was about to go to the LA City Fire Academy, but budget cuts closed my class. In my book, everything happens for a reason. I went right back to the kitchen. Since then, I’ve worked at places like USC and Occidental College and spent the last 11 years at the airport running 14 different restaurants. When the opportunity with Epicurean came up, what drew me in was that their values matched mine: fresh, honest food and doing right by the people we serve.

Stefan: Usually I’m client-facing and writing the menus—I drive the culinary side. That means having real interaction with the students, getting their positive feedback, their negative feedback, and actively listening. We’re here not just to feed; we want our students to dine, to enjoy their food. Whether it’s the smallest critique or the biggest, a minor incident or a big celebration, we’re here to make food that puts smiles on their faces and gives students, staff, and faculty a real break from their day-to-day in the education setting.

Vic: By title, I’m the general manager—but I’m not big on titles. What it really means is making sure everyone understands what we’re bringing to campus. One of the things that attracted me to Epicurean is that everyone you meet in this company has real culinary ties. We’re not just bringing in one executive chef; we’re bringing multiple people with the same mindset. We want to feed our staff, faculty, and students—but more importantly, we want to educate them. We want them to know what a fresh pico de gallo is versus a store-bought one, what cage-free eggs are and why they matter. Over the summer, we literally pulled out two freezers. We said, ‘We don’t need these.’ We’re fresh—just like we say we are. 

Vic: We’re bringing exactly what we say we’re bringing: fresh, honest food. That means no shortcuts. No cans if we can avoid them. We want students to know, ‘I’m coming to have a good meal because it’s fresh and it’s exactly what they told me they were going to give me.’ We’re also partnering on things like Fun Food Fridays—giving students more say in what's on the menu. There are fundraising opportunities and ownership built into that. When students help drive what’s being served, they’re more invested, and they learn along the way.

Stefan: I specialized in Latin cuisine, and I’m excited to bring more Latin American flavors to campus. I grew up going to Mexico every summer for about 12 years to visit my abuelos. My grandfather was an anthropology professor who retired in Mexico, and they’d take us to the mercados to experience real, fresh food. If you don’t know what a tomato tastes like right off the vine, you should. That’s part of what we’re trying to share—understanding that you don’t refrigerate tomatoes if you want that flavor to really speak. So, you’ll see that love of ingredients show up in the menus: thoughtful Latin-inspired dishes, bright salsas, slow-braised items that take time to develop flavor. The world is our oyster; the only question is, ‘Where do we put the knife to shuck?’

Vic: What excites me most is the openness of this campus and the chance to see students grow up here. At Occidental College, my wife worked in residential life while I worked in dining. We got to know students over four years—two of them even worked for us. They met on campus, got married, and eventually moved into our neighborhood. My son babysat their kids, and I ended up teaching those kids cooking classes. That’s the kind of long-term relationship I hope for here: seeing a kindergarten student all the way through to graduation, and hearing them say, ‘The food here was awesome. It got me through all the years—and now I know what to expect at college.’ That continuity, that sense of family, that’s what excites me about Poly.

Stefan: For me, it’s about seeing generations grow and being part of their foundation. Growth and change are so important. In academics, you start students young and build a solid foundation—that should be true for food, too. We can help set a standard for what ‘good food’ means. We provide stewardship to our community by how we respond to dietary accommodations, how we think about the land, how we expect food to grow. We have the opportunity not just to serve meals, but to educate. The more you interact and teach, the more you grow yourself. There’s always something simmering. Just like a slow braise develops more flavor over time, the longer we’re here, the more depth we can bring to the dining experience.”

Vic: We’re honored to be here and we’re ready to show you what fresh, honest food looks like every day. Give us your feedback, let us know what you want to see—we’re listening. We’re not just here to say we’re fresh on a pamphlet; we’re here to prove it on the plate.

Stefan: We’re excited to bring change, to bring quality, and to make dining something students, families, and employees genuinely look forward to. We can’t wait to meet you at the serving line and hear what you think.