Rob Rubba

A native of Southern New Jersey, surrounded by the pinelands, the bay and the shore, Chef Rob Rubba always found himself tangled in nature. While majoring in fine arts in college, Rubba soon found a new passion one summer when he immersed himself in the culinary world working as a pastry cook. This new exposure created a drive for Rubba to learn from and work for the best. He landed himself in several highly regarded kitchens under the guidance of chefs such as Gordon Ramsay, Guy Savoy, Laurent Gras and the late Charlie Trotter. It also opened opportunities to travel and cook abroad in Japan, Spain, France and Iceland.

After cooking in several major cities around the country, Rubba landed in Washington, DC in 2013, cooking at several Neighborhood Restaurant Group concepts. In the summer of 2016, Chef Rubba opened restaurant Hazel, which immediately garnered local and national acclaim. Demonstrating global cuisine, Hazel was awarded 2.5 stars from the Washington Post, a Bib Gourmand from the Michelin Guide the following year, Best New Restaurant from Washington City Paper and Restaurant of the Year (2017) award from the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan DC. A vegetarian since 2017, Chef Rubba left Hazel to focus his efforts on developing a new restaurant that draws inspiration from the Mid-Atlantic bounty and focuses on seasonal/sustainable vegetable cookery. Oyster Oyster is slated to open late autumn of 2019.