Cara Tobin

Cara Tobin is the chef and co-owner of Honey Road Restaurant and The Grey Jay, both located in Burlington, VT. Her culinary career spans over two decades, and her passion for Middle Eastern flavors and hospitality have taken her to Turkey, Morocco, and Lebanon, where she worked with local women (home cooks) to learn their traditions. Her knowledge and desire to introduce people to these flavors and ingredient focused foods comes through in both her restaurants, the way she talks about food and hospitality, and in her teachings.

Cara started working at the James Beard Award-winning restaurant Oleana in Cambridge, MA, and was Chef De Cuisine from 2012 to 2016. In 2015 she was awarded the Rising Star Chef award by Star Chefs. With the opening of Honey Road, Cara was a James Beard semifinalist for Best New Restaurant in 2017 and she was a James Beard semifinalist for Best Chef Northeast in 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2024. She has written recipes for Food & Wine Magazine, Eating Well, and AAA Northeast, as well as being mentioned in Bon Appétit, Vermont Life and Eater.

Cara teaches in Boston University’s Culinary Program as well as cooking classes in both Massachusetts and Vermont. She is the President of the Board of the Vermont Fresh Network, a non-profit whose mission is to forge the connection between farmers, producers and chefs; she also sits on the advisory board for the Vermont Independent Restaurant Coalition. She also holds a position on Senator Peter Welch’s Business Advisory Committee and is a small business advocate for Let’s Grow Kids, a non-profit fighting for quality, affordable childcare in Vermont.

Cara is also a mother of two boys, Hank and Gus, and wife to her partner, Willie. With Willie, she runs a small mushroom farm out of their home, Sunday Morning Mushroom Co.