A fifth generation Texan, Chef Robert was drawn to the kitchen as a boy; learning southern cooking from his mother and grandmother as well as Tex Mex & BBQ from his father. He worked in bakeries and restaurants across Texas before heading to the west coast to attend the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco. Graduating with honors, Robert apprenticed with chefs on the west coast and in Santa Fe before returning home to Austin in 1989.
Over the next 14 years, Robert worked as a chef in bakeries, hotels and restaurants in the Austin area. He served as Executive Chef at Dell’s Round Rock Campus in the late 90s and in 2003 became Campus Executive Chef at The University of Texas at Austin where an average of 20,000 meals were served daily. In 16 years there, Robert developed menus and recipes to support student dietary needs while training kitchen staff to prepare multinational cuisines and contemporary foods. He also assisted in the establishment of campus food gardens, worked with local farmers, developed grab-and-go menus and supported culinary training for nine campus chefs through the American Culinary Federation.
Robert retired from UT in 2019 and continues to operate his Chef Robert Catering business. He enjoys gardening, foraging for wild edibles and supporting small farmers. An avid outdoorsman and camp cook, he loves fishing, hiking, camping and sampling local brews with friends and family.
