Crogan's New Executive Chef

Published: 10/28/2009

When Robert Hopton takes over the kitchen the end of September as Crogan’s new Executive Chef, he plans to make a few big changes, such as intensify the focus on locally grown organic produce and upgraded protein selections. But mostly he plans to keep his ears open to what the customers and the dining room staff have to say about the menu: what’s great, what needs improvement, where the flavors need enhancement.

One thing he knows he’ll leave untouched: Crogan’s appeal as a destination for families and a gathering spot for friends. To him, that means menu selections that appeal both to diners preferring the main room’s white table cloth atmosphere, and to friends dropping by the bar to chat over burgers and sandwiches.

Robert Hopton is a familiar face to staff and patrons of Crogan’s. “My first job was in Crogan’s kitchen,” he said. “I was 24. I’d just graduated from California Culinary Academy with an Associate degree in Occupational Studies. My sister Melissa was working at Crogan’s as hostess, waitress and part time manager, and through her, I met Mike Williams.”

Itching to expand his culinary skills, Hopton left Crogan’s after 8 months to expand his skills at a small Italian restaurant in Lafayette. After a year, he felt a clash with his commitment to creating dishes with only the highest quality ingredients, and moved on to Pearl Oyster Bar on College Avenue. He worked hard to land that job: “I pestered the chef every day for two months, saying, ‘You gotta hire me.’ When Pearl decided to open for lunches, I finally got to sit down with Head Chef Jonathan Luce, and he hired me.”

Eighteen months later, the Luce-Hopton duo left Pearl and went their separate ways, but fate would bring them back together in March 2008 for the opening of Bellanico on Park Boulevard. “Jonathan and I organized everything in the kitchen, from taking stickers off the new pots and pans to installing shelving. We made it ours. I was Sous Chef, Jon was Executive Chef.”

Jonathan and Robert shared a love for the quality of food, and listened closely to what Bellanico diners and staff had to say about the ingredients and flavors, tweaking the menu and recipes here and there in response to what they heard.
In the meantime, Mike decided Crogan’s needed an Executive Chef. He’d kept an eye on Robert’s career, and knew he was the right choice. Robert jumped at Mike’s offer to run his own kitchen.

During his two week break between Bellanico and Crogan’s, Robert will tour Ireland, looking for interesting recipes and flavors. When he steps into his new role on September 24, his first task will be to sit down with Mike and the front room staff to review the menu with an eye on downsizing it in order to tighten the focus on quality and consistency. “I plan to switch to local, organic produce selections. I’ll have more of a seasonal approach. I will focus on controlling cost and quality, so people get good value for their money. We’ll get the flavor profiles just right. Once we have that down, then we’ll look at adding new items.”

While tweaking the menu and ingredients, he’ll also be working with the kitchen staff to create shared values. “Nothing will exit the kitchen unless it meets my standards,” he said. “This is a customer-driven business, and everything we do must point to satisfying them.” His penchant for order and cleanliness ranks as high as his commitment to developing quality and interesting recipes. “It takes anywhere from 30 to 90 minutes to clean the kitchen—we’ll pull all the stoves, clean every nook and cranny. The day’s not over until the kitchen is spotless.”

Look for exciting changes at Crogan’s, and let your voice be heard about what you like and don’t like. Watch for his inventions.

Robert is all ears, and knows his success is all about you.