I absolutely love key lime pie. It was one of my mom’s all-time favorites and early in life it also became one of mine as well. We’d go down to Florida to visit my grandparents, and that’s where I was turned on to my first-ever piece, with its luscious graham cracker crust and smooth, limey filling. The very thought of the whipped cream it was topped with makes my mouth water even today.

Granted, I’m not the greatest baker. But I am going to attempt the Hyatt Regency Hotel’s Chef Alain Roby’s delicious-looking key lime pie with a chocolate cookie crust, which is one of many recipes he serves up in his new cookbook, Alain Roby’s American Classics: Casual and Elegant Desserts.

“They are just old-fashioned, American desserts with a twist,” Roby said. “Have fun with the family and just have a good time doing a recipe.”

Roby, considered one of the top sugar artists in the world, has prepared food for presidents and once served as pastry chef for the Shah of Iran. He’s been featured in Food & Wine, Gourmet and on The Learning Channel and both as competitor and judge on the Food Network.

He said he always wanted to do a book. And when the time came to publish, Roby found a way to give back. He’ll be helping a group, the Deerfield-based Saving tiny Hearts Society, whose work hits close to home.

Roby’s son, Jonathan, was playing football one day when he was 16 when he suddenly passed out. Doctors discovered that Jonathan, now 18, had a congenital heart defect.

So Roby decided to donate portion of his book proceeds to the society, which raises funds for congenital heart defect research.

“I’m very proud of the book and who it helps,” he said.

Did you happen to catch Chef Roby last Thursday on the Martha Stewart Show?

Besides all his other appearances and activities he’s nationally known for creating desserts of world-record breaking sizes, and he was cookin’, both literally and figuratively last week on Stewart’s show.

He and Martha baked a six-foot-two-inch tall, 1,250 pound devil’s food cake for her segment on tall people and things, and then she talked up his book and his luscious recipes.

So I really like the fact that not only do the chef’s recipes produce things that are good to eat, but they’re also serving a good purpose. It’s the perfect combo in my eyes.

“This is going to be the cherry on the cake,” Roby said of teaming up with Saving tiny Hearts. “It’s really fate.”

Visit chefroby.com for more details.

THREE ARTS UPDATE The North Dearborn Association says that two parties are interested in the Three Arts Club property, 1300 North Dearborn St. One is considering a 50-bed assisted living facility, while the other is thinking 12 to 15 condos on the site. I just hope somebody does something soon with that building. It’s a neighborhood treasure that has sat dark way too long.

GIVE A CARE The Woman’s Board of Northwestern Memorial Hospital recently awarded its Compassionate Care Award to three docs exemplifying compassionate care at Streeterville’s Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

Congrats to Dr. Al Benson III, Dr. Maxwell Vergo and Dr. Edward Hayes. Awards were presented by center director Dr. Steven Rosen, who happened to be actress Bonnie Hunt’s mentor when she was an oncology nurse at the hospital.