From aircraft carrier to farm-to-table chef, Kelston Moore cultivates community through cuisine

“Most restaurants build their menu based on their proteins, but I built this menu on a farm, so it’s vegetables first, which is very rare,” says Kelston Moore, Chef de Cuisine at Haven Farm + Table at Fox Point Farms, the new community rising across the street from Encinitas Ranch Golf Course. Offering farm-to-table dishes inspired by the vibrant colors, textures, and aromas of nature, Haven crafts its meals from organic herbs, spices, and vegetables grown on its own regenerative farm, providing a dining experience that features seasonal dishes to captivate the senses. 

None of this is surprising in North County San Diego, but what is surprising is that Moore, who was featured on the Food Network’s Chopped, got his start cooking in the galley aboard the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson.

Born in Barbados, Moore moved with his family to the United States when he was 10 years old and joined the Navy after graduating from high school. That brought Moore to San Diego, where, after basic training, he was assigned to a flight deck crew, launching and retrieving aircraft on the Carl Vinson.

It was four years later that Moore switched to the Navy’s Culinary Service, partly because it included a $20,000 reenlistment bonus. “Growing up, I was always around people who cooked,” he says. “My father was known in the neighborhood for his pig tails, and my grandmother cooked huge meals for the family to share every Sunday after church.”

None of that, however, prepared Moore for his first few months of culinary service. Before being sent to the Naval Culinary School in Virginia, Moore spent several months in the galley of the aircraft carrier. “We cooked four meals a day for more than 6,000 people — the fourth meal being for those whose duty ended at 10pm. On burger day, we were cooking all day to make enough,” says Moore.

He has experienced considerable success over the past few years, working as a sous chef at the St. Regis in Deer Valley, Utah, before coming to Haven last July. But when he first left the Navy, things were not so easy. Moore worked as a traveling chef with the Navy’s Admiral Experience, which cooks for the National Guard two weekends a month, and hosted private dinners in between.

Back in 2020, he and Quinnton Austin, a fellow young Black chef and veteran, were talking about the challenges they and other African Americans faced entering the culinary industry in the midst of the pandemic. Together, they began organizing local events to showcase the talent of Black chefs in the San Diego region, while helping local restaurants that were struggling during the pandemic as well.

The events were a tremendous success, and with the encouragement of friends and family, Moore and Austin founded the Bad Boyz of Culinary, a nonprofit dedicated to highlighting the work of African American chefs and creating awareness through scholarships, culinary programs, and mentorship.

Like Moore, Austin has found success in San Diego. Originally from New Orleans, he is now the co-owner and executive chef at Louisiana Purchase in North Park, and the Bad Boyz of Culinary also includes two other chefs of note: DuVal Warner, executive chef at Ranch 45 in Solana Beach, and Tony Bennett Jr., who is still an active duty culinary specialist at Camp Pendleton.

As a result of their military backgrounds, many of the people Bad Boyz serves are veterans, and Moore and the other chefs are quick to bring them on, whether as externs or employees as circumstances allow. “Sometimes providing something as small as a knife set is all that’s needed so the person has the tools to work,” says Moore.

This month, the Bad Boyz of Culinary are organizing a Juneteenth event in San Marcos that will feature local African American chefs and business owners. badboyzofculinary.org