What do they have in common? Bob Yesbek.
Known throughout Southern Delaware for his weekly food column in the Cape Gazette, his website RehobothFoodie.com and his phone app, “Rehoboth in My Pocket,” Yesbek has talents you might not be aware of.
Long a musician performing in jazz trios in Washinton, DC and locally, he is still playing and doesn’t intend to stop anytime soon. (A organ jazz trio consists of an organist, a drummer and either a saxophonist or guitarist. Yesbek is an organist.)
Yesbek halves his residence between Rehoboth Beach and Charleston, South Carolina, and hopes to continue performing in both places. For the past several years he has played with his trio, “2nd Time Around” in Rehoboth Beach’s annual star-studded Jazz Festival and in many local venues.
Yesbek has a graduate degree in microbiology, which to some observers seems unrelated to music and the restaurant business. Far from it.
Self-described as the “poster child for excessive food sanitation,” Yesbek says he obsesses about restaurants’ cleanliness. In fact, in his RehobothFoodie.com reviews, cleanliness behind the scenes and in the dining area and restrooms is a big part of his criteria in “grading.”
As for Yesbek’s acoustics expertise, he takes restaurants’ noise levels seriously, and has been a sound and design consultant for several new and existing restaurants. He once owned and operated a successful sound studio in the DC area and takes noise and ambience seriously in his reviews.
Bob Yesbek has always had his hand in the culinary world when he isn’t playing music. He has owned acclaimed restaurants in the DC metropolitan area and can even boast he has twice been designated a Pit Master for his barbeque and smoking talents. At home, he favors cooking his favorite Middle Eastern dishes in his “playground,” the kitchen.
Yesbek has worked with several top-notch performing artists, notably catering in a backstage kitchen in a popular supper club on the Potomac. Enjoying his primarily Cajun and Creole creations were musicians we’re all familiar with, such as Bonnie Raitt and Fleetwood Mac at the supper club he co-owned with Mick Fleetwood in Old Town, Alexandria.
On to his writing. His journalistic abilities have led to a large following in his Cape Gazette column, “The Business of Eating,” RehobothFoodie.com and the app, Rehoboth in my Pocket. He is resolute about the differences between them.
The Cape Gazette’s columns are human interest stories – anything food related except restaurant reviews. That is reserved for RehobothFoodie.com, where there are thousands of reviews as well as other feature stories. The site is supported by advertising, but Yesbek’s policy forbids any ads from restaurants.
If you peruse RehobothFoodie.com, you can read new and archived articles and while you are there, listen to his podcasts from his radio show every Saturday afternoon.
Yet another talent. Yesbek is a successful radio personality, garnering several prestigious broadcasting awards on the national level. His show, “Beach Eats” can be heard from 2-4 pm on WGMD (92.7 and 98.5 FM), and livestreamed at WGMD.com. Yesbek prefers to conduct live interviews, but in the nature of the restaurant business, Saturday afternoons are the chefs’ and restaurant owners’ busiest day, so many shows are pre-recorded.
Meanwhile, the Rehoboth in My Pocket phone app has thousands of subscribers. It has a different personality from all of his other entrepreneurial ventures. There are resources and links to everything from the ferry schedule, local salons, transportation services, happenings and much more.
And it needs to be noted that Bob Yesbek is quite philanthropic. He participates in fundraisers for organizations such as Meals on Wheels Lewes-Rehoboth, Beebe Healthcare and the Harry K Foundation, performing in its annual Ball. Most impressive is his commitment to his Rehoboth Foodie/Touch of Italy Scholarship.
Delaware high schoolers interested in culinary studies are eligible to receive a $5,000 scholarship. Recipients have gone on to several prestigious programs, including Culinary Institute of America, Johnson & Wales, The Restaurant School in Philadelphia, and the Delaware Technical College Culinary Arts Program.
I asked Bob how he manages to juggle all of these commitments. “I am highly organized and disciplined,” he explains emphatically. He manages to meet deadlines, contribute to the community, perform music and generate feature stories and reviews.
I also wondered how the restaurants he critiques respond to his reviews. As a fixture in the business, many restaurant staff recognize him immediately. He tries to be incognito – and in the past even at times wearing a disguise.
If you want to be in the know about local culinary personalities, events or where to dine, you’ve got plenty of options, sourced by the one and only Bob Yesbek.
By Bridget FitzPatrick
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