Mackerel with sungold tomato, mentaiko, and hijiki by Mary Attea

Born in Buffalo, New York, Attea was the youngest of four children in a food-loving family. Her father was of Lebanese descent, and while a trace of Middle Eastern cuisine is still present in her cooking, it is just one of many global influences picked up over the years.

She graduated in psychology in North Carolina before moving to NYC for a master’s degree in criminal justice. However a part-time job in a restaurant sparked a passion for the world of fine dining, so she dropped out to enroll at the Institute of Culinary Education.

In 2011, she started as an intern at Michelin-starred Annisa in Greenwich Village, where she rapidly moved up the ranks until chef-owner Anita Lo eventually created the position of Chef de Cuisine for her. At this point, Annisa gained a third star from The New York Times and retained its Michelin star, while Attea herself earned a nod on Eater’s Young Guns list of emerging chefs. Stints in Vic’s and High Street on Hudson followed until Attea took over as Executive Chef at The Musket Room in 2020.

In 2023, Attea was included as one of Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Chefs. The following year she was a semifinalist for the 2024 James Beard Award for Best Chef: New York State.

Restaurant

The Musket Room first opened in 2013 in New York’s Nolita neighborhood. At the time, it boasted a New Zealand-inspired menu created by Kiwi chef Matt Lambert, who guided the restaurant to its first Michelin star. Attea took over as Executive Chef just before the pandemic hit at the start of 2020 and the restaurant was forced to close its doors.

When it reopened later in 2020, it had evolved into a restaurant serving globally inspired cuisine, with an all-female leadership: Attea, pastry chef Camari Mick, and Jennifer Vitagliano from the original ownership team.

Under Attea’s leadership, The Musket Room has retained its Michelin Star. It was included among The New York Times’ 50 Favorite Restaurants of 2022 and was a James Beard Award semifinalist for Best Restaurant (New York State) in 2024. Alongside Attea’s nomination for Best Chef: New York State, Pastry Chef Camari Mick was also a James Beard Award semifinalist for Outstanding Pastry Chef in 2022, 2023 and 2024.

In 2023, Attea and Mick, along with Jennifer Vitagliano and Nicole Vitagliano, opened a second restaurant, Raf's, with the aim of evoking the grand cafés of Europe and creating an intimate space for café culture in downtown Manhattan.

Recipes and dishes

Once steeped primarily in New Zealand cuisine, under the direction of Attea and Mick, The Musket Room has become a celebration of global flavors. Instead of focusing on a specific region or style, Attea draws on her Lebanese roots, her travels, and the influence of chef Lo, her mentor at the now closed Annisa, whose cooking took its inspiration from all over the world. The result is an approach that New York Times restaurant critic Pete Wells has described as “border-hopping” masterfully merging influences from the Middle East, the Mediterranean, Asia, and the US to produce vividly flavored original creations with fascinating histories.

Two examples, featuring the Japanese flavors of which Attea professes to be particularly fond, are foie gras terrine with cinnamon-poached apples, and scallop crudo with pickled turnips, trout roe, ponzu, and hijiki. Among the dishes highlighted by The Michelin Guide are uni toast with poached shrimp and Calabrian chili, and quail with za'atar and fennel.

The two tasting menus at The Musket Room—one omnivore, the other vegan—are complemented by an à la carte menu, which can also be enjoyed at the lively bar.