Missy Robbins

Missy Robbins
Born	1971
Occupation(s)	Chef, restaurateur
Known for	Italian cuisine, owner of Michelin-starred restaurants Lilia and Misi

Missy Robbins (born 1971) is a distinguished American chef known for her expertise in Italian cuisine. She owns two Michelin-starred establishments, Lilia and Misi, both situated in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Robbins also participated in the fourth season of Top Chef Masters.

Biography

Robbins completed her studies at Georgetown University in 1993, earning a degree in art history with a minor concentration in psychology. During her final semester, she gained experience working at the restaurant 1789. Following this, she relocated to New York City to enroll at Peter Kump's New York School of Cooking.

Upon finishing culinary school, Robbins held positions at Arcadia and collaborated with Wayne Nish at March. Her career also included roles at The Lobster Club and Arcadia under the mentorship of Anne Rosenzweig in New York City. A significant period spent traveling through Northern Italy profoundly shaped her culinary style. After returning to the United States, she worked at the Soho Grand Hotel before moving to Chicago to serve as executive chef at Spiaggia alongside Tony Mantuano. During her tenure there, Spiaggia received two James Beard Foundation Award nominations, and she had the opportunity to prepare meals for Barack and Michelle Obama.

Robbins took on the role of executive chef at A Voce, where she redesigned the menu extensively while retaining two signature dishes. She managed operations for a second branch as well. Both locations were awarded Michelin stars in 2009 and 2010, maintaining these accolades through 2012. At that time, she was among only ten female chefs across the United States to hold a Michelin star.

In 2010, Food & Wine honored her as Best New Chef. Although she competed on season four of Top Chef Masters, she was forced to withdraw due to a severe finger injury that necessitated a skin graft.

January 2016 marked the opening of Lilia in North Williamsburg, Brooklyn—a restaurant centered on Italian pasta that earned Three Stars from The New York Times and received a nomination for a James Beard Award. In August 2018, Robbins unveiled Misi nearby on the former site of the Domino Sugar Refinery. Misi’s offerings include ten types of pasta and ten vegetable-based dishes accompanied by proteins, focusing on straightforward preparations and showcasing regional pasta varieties such as linguine, pappardelle, and malloreddus. That same year, Robbins was recognized as Best Chef New York City by the James Beard Foundation and was named Chef of the Year by Esquire.

Her culinary inspiration stems from lesser-known cookbooks like Jasper White’s Cooking from New England and The Splendid Table, with particular attention to regional Italian cooking traditions from areas including Calabria, Sardinia, and Sicily. Robbins highlights the importance of ongoing education given Italy’s rich diversity in regional cuisines.