Waste Not 2022 F&W Best New Chef Rob Rubba rethinks sustainability at Oyster Oyster.

OYSTER OYSTER IN WASHINGTON, D.C., has always been sustainable, but since the restaurant opened five years ago, 2022 F&W Best New Chef Rob Rubba has backed away from using that description.

- Amelia Schwartz

“Sustainability is a word that’s used so much, but I don’t even know what it means anymore,” says Rubba. So, rather than constantly branding his restaurant as environmentally friendly, he subtly weaves their zero-waste efforts into every step of the service process. As a sommelier pours a glass of kombucha for a guest, they might mention that the nonalcoholic beverages are made from ingredient discards, or that the granola on their plate includes parsnip scraps.

That’s not to say that Rubba has minimized his sustainable practices since he was named a Best New Chef. He still holds no truck with single-use plastics. He only sources ingredients from trusted producers and farmers. And, in an era that increasingly leans on trendy kitchen gadgets to increase efficiency, he limits the use of technology—what he refers to as “low tech, high results.” But as Oyster Oyster has evolved, Rubba has figured out when good tech is worth the investment.

Because D.C.’s single-stream recycling system renders most glass unrecyclable, Rubba invested in a glass crusher and began working with local pottery studio Material Things to turn the restaurant’s leftover wine bottles—over 100 a week that would otherwise go to the landfill—into plateware. The plates are used at Oyster Oyster for various dishes and sold at their annual holiday market, but they’re not made with profit in mind. “It’s more like environmental marketing,” Rubba says. “I don’t know if it will ever bring more dollars into the restaurant, but it brings more awareness.”