"Getting Half Mooned at Rogue Chefs"

...Eating at Rogue Chefs is like eating at home. If your home comes equipped with a kick-ass chef. Like many Bay Area Chefs, Kevin Koebel is all about the "farm to fork" credo. Influenced by growing up on Canadian working farms, Kevin supports and respects local farms and he works hard to maintain a direct connection between it and his ever-changing Asian-European-American menu. That's all well and good and definitely admirable, but what I enjoyed most about this particular dinner was the interaction between Kevin and his patrons. Should we start calling it, "from cook to customer"? Maybe it will catch on....
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"San Mateo County restaurant stays in touch with local farmers"

Kevin Koebel grew up working on his family farm and has a rare opportunity to showcase the people behind our food supply. Koebel became a chef and worked in Paris, Norway and Germany before landing in Half Moon Bay, where he highlights farming in an unusual way.
At Rogue Chefs, the restaurant, you'll find farmers' names on the menu and their photos on the wall. Cooking is done in an open kitchen format, where customers see all of the fresh ingredients in use.
Kevin practices menu planning the farming way. He calls the farmers who supply his restaurant and asks them what the best products are to highlight. After that, he works his menu around that food. "The farming way of life is one that really teaches you to have a core basic sense of right and wrong," he said. "I'm talking about if you do something wrong, it's right there - you'll have a crop that doesn't happen or you'll have animals that won't grow."
Kevin has an unorthodox cooking style that includes no recipes, weights or measurements. "Everybody who comes on board has to be able to use their five senses with whatever product we have in front of us to execute," he said. Ca Country site

"Diners Can Learn New Tricks at Rogue Chef"

"It's illuminating to see the major role that the lowly squeeze bottle plays in restaurant kitchens. Seated at a bar overlooking the kitchen in Half Moon Bay's Rogue Chefs, I watched cooks grab bottle after bottle to ooze out smoked tomato vinaigrette, balsamic reduction or creme anglaise.

It's obvious in retrospect. How else would they make such neat rings around a beet salad or cross-hatches on a brownie? Rogue Chefs serves a great meal, and for diners at the 10-seat chef's table, it also reveals some tricks of the trade...." read more

"Be A Rogue Agent "

"There's nothing much more beautiful than the drive up Highway 1 from Santa Cruz to Half Moon Bay. That's how our evening started, staring at the sun setting over the sea, then coming into downtown Half Moon Bay. We spotted Rogue Chefs and the parking gods found us a space practically right across the street.

The atmosphere when we walked in was a relaxing sort of chaos. We sat at the Chef's table, which is essentially sitting in the kitchen watching Executive Chef Kevin Koebel and his staff at work. You feel as though you're a part of the mis en place!" read more

"Friend of the Farmer"

"Your coffee’s fair trade, your veggies are organic, and lately you’ve been harboring fantasies of wielding a hoe.

Before you ditch your Hudsons for overalls, let chef Kevin Koebel introduce you to your potential neighbors. By putting the names of farmers on the menu at his Half Moon Bay restaurant, Rogue Chefs, Koebel breaks the ice between you and the guy who dug up your Brussels sprouts." read more

"Learn To Cook "

"Rogue Chefs, located at 730 Main Street in Half Moon Bay, hosts hands-on culinary classes for beginners and experienced cooks alike. Rogue Chefs' classes include all levels of proficiency, from ages 10 and up." read more (pdf)

"I just wanted to thank you and everyone else at Rogue Chefs for helping making my husband's birthday so special. I know the planning was a bit challenging at times, but in the end everything was just perfect. The food looked and tasted great, and all of the desserts did get eaten. (The few leftover appetizers are even better today because they remind us of all the fun last night.)
Thanks so much."

"Both my husband and I like coming to your restaurant. Your space is so comfortable and the food is excellent. We’re local and appreciate having you in the “neighborhood” especially now with the road north closed."

"This is just a quick note to thank you for your efforts on Saturday night. The Executive Chef Dinner was perfect and the service was superb!

We'd always wanted to throw a party like this, but didn't know where to begin. Your menu planning/execution, along with Irene's calm, professional demeanor made it seem simple. I know it wasn't. Many thanks!"

"We wanted to thank you all for the WONDERFUL dinner experience the other night for mia's baptism celebration. (lisa is sorry she didn't get a chance to thank you in person---she had to leave abruptly to get mia to bed before she fell completely into pieces.) The food was great, the service gracious and thoughtful, and the environment lovely. Our family and friends all thought it was fantastic and were talking about it the next day still, reliving course after course. and, as i think you could tell, mia was enthralled with the mousse, as were we. It was great working with you on this special, memorable event. We'll always look upon it extremely fondly! Many thanks again."

"Thanks so much for the great, informative butchery class.  My husband really liked that dry rub you sent home with us to accompany the pork.  I called you and got the list of the thirteen spices.  When I told my husband what they were, he then asked, "What about the measurements for these spices?"  Do you know how much of each item you put into the rub?  Also, what kind of chocolate was that?  What a fun, tasty and unusual concoction.  Thanks for everything."

"We had a fabulous time at RC on Saturday. Lesley can't stop grinning about it, and our guests were all blown away by your hospitality and culinary expertise! Thanks again for a memorable evening."