Robert Dorsey

WORK HISTORY

EDUCATION

ABOUT ROBERT DORSEY

For over 25 years, Chef Robert Dorsey has set the pulse in the Bay Area’s culinary scene. Growing up in his grandmother\'s West Berkeley kitchen he was introduced to her lush garden, and a love affair with creating meals starring locally grown produce began. Continuing his tryst with food, as a young man Chef Dorsey took on an apprenticeship at Berkeley’s Restaurant Metropole, and his career as a chef and restaurateur was sealed. Chef Dorsey gathered a wealth of experience working under many influential chefs in the Bay Area, eventually opening his own restaurants showcasing his innovative cuisine in farm-to-table meals. Inspiration for what to cook next always has a home base in the native flavors of California and in his deep southern roots, though Chef Dorsey culinary travels and immersion in the food and cultures of France, Italy, Spain and Mexico bring a unique sensibility to his cooking style. Learning from the kitchen artists found in Paris, Florence and southwest France was pilgrimage to the origins of exquisite cuisine, while eating tamales and huachinango on the beach of Oaxaca was akin to going home. Eager to give back to the vibrant Bay Area community that has always fostered his culinary creativity, Chef Dorsey devotes himself to helping spark a passion for urban agriculture and the allure of gastronomy in young adults, teaching them an appreciation for food that isn\'t just a job - it\'s a livelihood. He recently founded the Junior Chef Society an organization geared at introducing inner city youth to the many career opportunities in Oakland’s thriving food scene. Up next for Chef Dorsey in the world of cuisine is dining where you most and least expect it. These culturally inspired provisions in peerless spaces throughout the Bay Area are a teaser for what’s in development: a new restaurant concept, soon to be highlighted on the Bay Area’s culinary map.