Reframing Adversity | with Robynne Maiʻi
Earning a James Beard Award made history. But for Robynne Maiʻi, the real achievement was everything it took to get there.
From a food-obsessed keiki to James Beard Award-winning chef, Robynne Maiʻi’s story is more than one of culinary excellence. It’s a powerful reminder that some of life’s greatest challenges can lead to its most meaningful creations.
As a young girl growing up in ʻĀina Haina, Robynne was already captivated by food, from celery sticks at lunch to the third-grade Punahou lūʻau that centered around kalo. Even then, the seeds of a culinary future were being planted, though she had no idea a career in food could be possible.
“I was super obsessed with food... but I didn’t know at that point that having a career would be possible with the food tie-in.”
Robynne and her ʻohana
After majoring in English and dance, attending culinary school, and earning a master’s in food studies from NYU, she carved out a diverse and impressive path. But beneath her evolving career was a deep, personal hope that had been with her since childhood: to become a mother.
“I remember my first day in culinary school…I stood up and I said, hi, my name is Robynne Mai’i, I love to cook. I’m super excited to be here and when I grow up, I would like to be a mother. I literally said that.”
A Different Kind of Heartbreak
Along her culinary journey, Robynne met her future husband, Chuck, while the two were living in New York. Both hard-working, both food lovers, and both wanting kids, they were the perfect match.
Robynne and her husband Chuck
They spent years trying to have a child. But no matter how hard they tried, it just wasn’t happening. Emotionally, physically, and financially, the process took its toll. Eventually, they had to make an impossible decision: to stop trying.
“There’s no guarantee that there’s going to be a child at the end of any fertility process…It’s not something you can study harder for. I can’t prepare more for this.”
It was a heartbreak that many couples might not recover from. But for Robynne and Chuck, it became a turning point.
Shifting Perspective
In 2011, while visiting Hawai‘i for Christmas, the pair made a bold choice: move home and open a restaurant. It would take more than two years of planning, saving, and relentless discipline before they opened the doors to their new restaurant.
“We gave [ourselves] two and a half years to try to save a little bit of money because moving is super expensive, and to work on our business plan and then work on the restaurant business plan.”
This wasn’t a side project or passion hobby. This was creation. There was recipe testing, business plan write ups, and a seemingly endless amount of rejection. But every part of the process was deliberate, and deeply personal.
“Nothing in my life experience could be worse than giving up being a mother…I was like, we just got to go for it. We just got to go for it because…nothing can beat [not being a mom].”
Overcoming the Odds
The road to opening a restaurant wasn’t easy, especially when it came to fundraising. Despite their talent and vision, investors weren’t convinced.
“We literally had one investor and it was my brother…We probably had 25 nos before we got our first out-of-family-member investment.”
Still, Robynne and Chuck persisted. They cooked for people, built trust, and kept showing up, even when the rejection felt relentless. One yes eventually turned into five. Little by little, momentum grew.
They signed the lease before being fully funded, a leap of faith that mirrored their entire journey. The setbacks could’ve stopped them. Instead, they sharpened their focus.
“The harder I work, the luckier I get. A lot of people who don’t know our story, they’ll say, ‘oh, you’re so lucky.’ And I just smile and I say, ‘thank you.’ We work…We work so hard.”
Discipline, Practice, and Purpose
Robynne’s background in dance and cooking taught her the value of showing up every day, no matter how difficult. The practice, she says, is the real work. And it’s what carried her through the most grueling moments of entrepreneurship.
“Discipline sounds so not fun…But that’s part of it. You’re a musician, you do the scales…you’re an opera singer, and you do your vocals. You have to exercise those muscles every single day. It’s no different with entrepreneurship.”
Robynne poured herself into every detail of the restaurant: nurturing it, growing it, and watching it take its first steps. She and Chuck weren’t just co-owners; they were the “papa and mama” of their restaurant, Fête. What they built wasn’t just a business, it was a family, born from love, loss, and the desire to care for something bigger than themselves. In the absence of the child they dreamed of, they raised a restaurant with the same devotion.
The Reward She Never Expected
In 2022, Robynne Mai‘i made history.
She became the first Native Hawaiian female to win a James Beard Award, one of the most prestigious honors in the culinary world, often referred to as the “Oscars of food.” For someone who once felt overlooked in fine dining, who had faced rejection after rejection, the recognition was overwhelming.
“Chuck woke me up, literally woke me up, and he’s like…‘Sweetie, we just got nominated!’ I was like, how do they know about us?”
It wasn’t just a personal win, it was a win for Hawai‘i. For local chefs. For creatives who don’t follow the conventional path. And for every keiki who dreams big, even if their dreams don’t fit into a box.
“I am so proud that Hawaiʻi is getting attention. I feel like we’re always forgotten out here, and I am so proud. If you look historically at who wins the James Beard Awards, it’s all white males, almost everybody. And so for me to get the recognition…I think it’s really extraordinary.”
But even with all the press, the applause, and the national spotlight, the award wasn’t the most important thing to Robynne.
“I'm most proud of building a business where people really, really look forward to walking into every single day. It really, really, really makes my heart, I couldn't ask for anything more.”
For Robynne, the greatest accomplishment wasn’t winning a medal. It was building a space where people feel seen, cared for, and proud of what they do. Not just a workplace, a home, and a family. And that, to her, is the real legacy.
Turning Pain Into Power
Robynne’s journey is not a story of “silver linings” or easy resolutions. It’s a story of hard choices, deep grief, and the courage to reframe pain as purpose. When the dream of motherhood faded, she channeled that nurturing energy into something else. Something just as alive.
Her restaurant isn’t just a place to eat. It’s her baby. Her creation. Her legacy.
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