Philippe Massoud

Hospitality work can be read as systems design, and Philippe Massoud’s route through it was built that way. Cornell University and Rochester Institute of Technology gave him the academic footing; Executive Concept Manager at Capital Restaurant Concepts gave him the operating lens. Together, those stages shaped an understanding of how a dining room is assembled, how a concept moves into service, and how leadership extends across the full guest experience.

That mix of training and floor-level fluency sits behind the scope of his current work. Since 2009, Philippe has been chef and Principal Owner of ilili, and he also serves as owner, CEO, and Executive Chef of ilili Restaurant and ilili Box. Those roles place him in both the restaurant’s structure and its output: the business, the menu, and the standards that hold them together.

Lebanese fine dining is the through line in Philippe Massoud’s work, tying together nationality, training, and the restaurants he has built around that point of view. The remit is broader than the stove. Concept, operations, leadership, and menu direction all sit within the same frame, which is why his work reads less like a single kitchen role and more like an entire working model. Ilili in New York is the clearest expression of that model.

The restaurant brings his hospitality training and Lebanese culinary focus into one operating address, where precision and intent carry from menu to room. The result is a house style shaped by control, consistency, and the ability of flavor and service to support each other.

Marinated Lamb Chops is one of Philippe Massoud’s signature dishes, and it points to the directness of his cooking: disciplined, composed, and calibrated for the expectations of fine dining.