Missy Robbins Dishes on Feeding the Obamas

Amidst the hubbub of last night’s James Beard Awards, New York’s Jada Yuan caught up with Chef Missy Robbins, former chef di cocina at Spiaggia and now running the show at New York’s A Voce.

I hear you’re Obama’s favorite chef.
Eh. That got a little blown up in the media. I don’t know if I’m Obama’s favorite chef. Spiaggia, where I was the Executive Chef and where Tony Mantuano is the chef-partner currently, was one of his favorite places in Chicago.

Was it a big deal when the Obamas came in to the restaurant?
Okay, I moved to Chicago and didn’t know who the hell Obama was. He was a Senator when I got there. I mean, I didn’t pay attention. But he started to come in more and more frequently. It got to be a bigger deal every time he came in. They’re a really nice couple and Spiaggia was the kind of place where we left them alone. They’d come in to celebrate their special occasions. They’re just really nice people who wanted to come and eat good food. They love good food.

You probably just thought he was a good-looking regular.
My god, he is beautiful.

What the Obamas’ eating habits say about them, and more — after the jump!

What could you tell about them via the food they ate?
They have very sophisticated eating habits. Tasting menus. They’re very open. They let me cook for them one night. They didn’t want the last course so they were open to changing it and they were very open to whatever I wanted to do. They’re very cool.

Weird foods?
They’ll eat whatever’s on the tasting menu. They’re very cool. But I haven’t cooked for them in a long time. I’ve been gone for nine months. We’re waiting for them to come to A Voce.

[Photo: A Voce]

Missy Robbins Dishes on Feeding the Obamas