Robarge In at Folktale Group

January 11, 2022 – Folktale Group has been something of a juggernaut since its orchestrators Gregory and Madigan Ahn took over mid-2000-teens.

Under their watch, what was once a winery called Chateau Julien has taken its ambitious vineyard food-drink-entertainment program and grown to encompass multiple restaurants. 

Now it has a key new element to fill the void left by the departure of Todd Fisher.

Justin Robarge comes into the mix after consulting at Stokes Adobe and leading the kitchen at Montrio Bistro.

Chef got his get-go in the hospitality world at 16, by way of a pub restaurant in Keene, New Hampshire. 

He attended New England Culinary Institute and Cornell University Hotel School, where he was exec sous chef and taught classes. 

His resume also includes The Cliff House at Pikes Peak and The Chanticleer on Nantucket Island in Massachusetts. 

As EMB reported in March, he values his time in California at Deetjen’s Big Sur Inn, The Santa Lucia Preserve and Cannery Row Brewing Company above all. 

“I moved out here when I was 24,” he said, “not knowing a single person in California.”  

His eye for local produce and protein will mesh well with the multifaceted things Folktale does.

“By focusing on these items I set myself up for the best level of success by offering the best product possible,” Robarge said.

Here’s how he put it on social media, which has been edited for clarity: 

“In June of 2021 I crossed the 26-year mark for my experience in culinary arts. Since June I have had the pleasure of completely switching gears and becoming a full time stay at home dad for my 9-year-old twins. 

“This was literally the first summer I have ever had off. No events, no Car Week, no professional kitchens at all! 

“I am so fortunate for my amazing wife to have been able to pull this off and really give me a perfect amount of time to visualize where I wanted my career to go.”

Now that career goes to Carmel Valley, and a place that will have foodies’ attention. 

Four days into life in the new role, Robarge reports an inspiring rapport with his crew, and a desire to leverage their gifts, the winery property and his heritage raising crops as a youngster.

“I’m thinking about how can I grow stuff, and how I can apply all the things I’ve been raised to do,” he says. “Before I was a dishwasher I was farming vegetables for a family friend.”

For an intrinsically ambitious organization like the Ahns’ Folktale, it feels like a fortuitous partnership. 

“I’m into seeing what I can do,” Robarge says. ”It’s a canvas that I can’t wait to make the most of.”