HONOLULU (HI Now) - Born and raised in Honolulu, Robynne Maii is the chef and owner of the award-winning restaurants Fête and Mille Fête in Honolulu’s Chinatown.
Chef Maii studied modern dance and English at Middlebury College before earning culinary and pastry arts degrees at Kapi’olani Community College. She began her culinary career at 3660 on the Rise under Chef Russell Siu, then transitioned to pastry under Chef Pierre Padovani at Padovani’s Bistro and Wine Bar. After earning her master’s degree in food studies from NYU, she went on to work at Union Pacific and the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York, and contributed to culinary programs at The Art Institute of New York City and CUNY’s Kingsborough Community College.
In 2022, Chef Maii was named the James Beard Award Foundation Best Chef for the Northwest and Pacific Region, becoming the first Native Hawaiian woman and the first Hawai’i-born recipient in 19 years to win the honor.
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