Rob Rubba
UPCOMING EVENTS
RESTAURANT
HOMETOWN
Washington, DC
Rob Rubba is an environmentalist, activist and the chef of Oyster Oyster in Washington, D.C. In 2018, he decided to become a vegetarian and set out on a new path. His new restaurant, Oyster Oyster, is founded upon his commitment to Sustainability, serving seasonal vegetarian and plant focused Mid-Atlantic cuisine. As the name suggests, oysters appear on the restaurant’s vegetarian menu – a choice that, no matter how paradoxical it may seem, actually combats environmental degradation in the nearby Chesapeake Bay and helps local farms repopulate the waterways with this overfished bi-valve. Oyster Oyster sources all of its seasonal ingredients from sustainable and local farms. The restaurant uses no single-use plastics, serves wine strictly from sustainable sources, and finds innovative ways to use the parts of ingredients that usually get scrapped. Chef Rubba trained under chefs like Guy Savoy, Laurent Gras, and Gordon Ramsay, and has worked in Michelin-starred restaurants in New York City, Chicago, and Las Vegas. His professional reputation was solidified after founding and running Hazel, a successful restaurant in Washington, D.C. He is also a co-founder of Bakers Against Racism, an online bake sale initiative that led to the delivery of US$2 million to social justice organizations during the global protests for racial justice in 2020. In 2022 Rubba joined, Recipes for Change with IFAD with a commitment to contributing his knowledge and experience in food production to address problems with sustainability, accessibility, and equity in food systems around the world.
Awards & Accolades
- Esquire Best New Restaurants in America - 2021
- James Beard Foundation Best New Restaurant Nominee - 2022
- Washington City Paper Best New Restaurant
- Washington Post Fall Dining guide #1 Restaurant
- Slow Foods Dc Snail of Approval recipient