Melissa King

Melissa King is a James Beard Award-winning chef, author, and television personality. She is the author of the James Beard-winning cookbook Cook Like a King: Recipes from My California Chinese Kitchen. She won Bravo’s Top Chef: All Stars L.A., was voted Fan Favorite, and holds the record for the most challenge wins in the show’s history. Recognized for her modern California Chinese cuisine, she is a leading voice shaping conversations through food, cultural storytelling, and advocacy.

Growing up in Los Angeles’s San Gabriel Valley, King is a queer Shanghainese Cantonese American who began cooking alongside her family before training at the Culinary Institute of America. She went on to train in Michelin-starred kitchens in San Francisco. Her work has since taken her beyond the kitchen into television, fashion, and culture, including hosting Tasting Wild for National Geographic, curating the 2022 Met Gala menu, and being featured in global campaigns for Levi’s and GAP. Her memoir, The Girl Who Became King, arrives this fall.