Born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, Chef Maii began her culinary adventure at 3660 on the Rise, cooking under Chef Russell Siu and Padovani’s Bistro and Wine Bar, where she transitioned to full-time pastry cook under Chef Pierre Padovani.
In 1999, she moved to New York City where she worked at Union Pacific under Chef Rocco DiSpirito and at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in their pastry banquet kitchen, led by Chef Jean Claude Perrenou.
Robynne worked for Gourmet magazine, City University of New York (CUNY) and has been a cookbook judge for the prestigious James Beard Foundation Awards since 2004.