Issue link: https://www.balharbourdigital.com/i/867968
W hen you're a chef, it's impossible to please everyone. Unless, of course, you're Missy Robbins, executive chef and owner of Lilia, in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Because, Lilia—with its three stars from The New York Times, and endless fans of the unfussy and food snob variety— is perfect. And so perfectly "Missy Robbins." In the melodramatic soap opera that is the food scene, it's especially rare to find someone who's equally respected and liked. When I first started to write for Bon Appetit about six years ago, I remember both restaurant critics and celebrity chefs singing her praises. I assumed she would be intimidating and ego-driven— professional hazards in most kitchens, if I'm being honest. When I met her at a food festival, however, deeply focused on her pasta (it can easily be argued that no one does pasta better), Robbins looked up with kind eyes and a warm smile and I thought: Ah, she's worshipped because she's talented and nice. What a novelty! Before Lilia, Robbins did everything right at A Voce restaurants in New York City, earning Michelin stars and a Food & Wine Best New Chef award. Her first cookbook, "Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner… Life!: Recipes and Adventures from My Home Kitchen," is being released in September. We asked her a few questions about her first taste in cookbook writing. COOKING THE BOOKS Chef Missy Robbins dishes on her first cookbook: "Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner… Life!" BY ALYSSA SHELASKY 64 BAL HARBOUR PHOTO BY EVAN SUNG Acclaimed chef Missy Robbins outside of her Brooklyn restaurant, Lilia.