Rob Rubba

"At the end of the day, restaurants are a luxury, but having food is a right. Everyone should have access to food."

Rob Rubba is an American environmentalist, activist, and chef from the East Coast state of New Jersey. He trained under chefs like Guy Savoy, George Perrier, and Gordon Ramsay, and has worked in Michelin-starred restaurants in New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles. His professional reputation was solidified after founding and running Hazel, a successful restaurant in Washington, D.C.

In 2018, he decided to set out on a new path. His new restaurant, Oyster Oyster, is founded upon his commitment to serving the ecosystems around him while also serving good food. As the name suggests, oysters feature prominently 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 creature.

Oyster Oyster also sources the rest of its seasonal ingredients from sustainable farms, most of which are small and local. It 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.

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.

Joining Recipes for Change is part of Rubba’s commitment to contributing his knowledge and experience in food production to address problems with sustainability, accessibility, and equity in food systems around the world.