Robert Aikens

Executive Chef and Partner of Destination Unknown Restaurants

Chef Robert Aikens began his career in Norwich, England, training in French and English cooking techniques. He has had a successful career cooking in Michelin starred restaurants in Europe, as a private chef for the CEO of Citigroup, as both Corporate Executive Chef for Starr Restaurants, and as restaurant Executive Chef at Starr properties Philadelphia and New York. In 2019, Robert led the culinary team which recently reopened the iconic restaurant, Pastis in New York. Prior to returning to DC to be with family during the pandemic, Robert was also the Executive Chef of Restaurant Veronika, the Starr restaurant on Park Avenue in New York that gained major attention for it’s opening in December 2019. He also famously “Beat Bobby Flay” on the popular Food Network show in 2018.

Robert is currently Executive Chef and Partner of Destination Unknown Restaurants, which is known across DC for Las Gemelas Cocina Mexicana (2021), Taqueria Las Gemelas (2021), Espita (2016), and Ghostburger (2020). Some recent career highlights for Robert include welcoming President Biden into Taqueria Las Gemelas in May 2021 shortly after their May opening and being a finalist in the 2021 RAMMY awards for the “Best Ghost kitchen or Popup” for Ghostburger’s rampant success in DC.

Robert has also extensively studied Mexican cooking at Enrique Olivera’s “Pujol” in Mexico City, “Criollo” in Oaxaca, and with the families of several mezcaleros in rural Oaxaca. Robert developed his own style of Mexican cuisine that focuses on the flavors and techniques he learned in Mexico but incorporating classic French technique and local mid-Atlantic ingredients. That expertise in authentic, not traditional Mexican cooking is prevalent throughout both Las Gemelas and Espita.