Melissa King (chef)

Melissa King (born October 11, 1983) is a Chinese-American chef and television personality, best known as the season winner of Top Chef All Stars L.A. She first appeared on the show's twelfth season, Top Chef: Boston, placing as a finalist; she then returned for the seventeenth season, Top Chef: All-Stars L.A., where she won the title, won fan favorite, and holds more single-season challenge wins than any other competitor in the history of Top Chef.

Melissa King
Born (1983-10-11) October 11, 1983
Whittier, California
EducationThe Culinary Institute of America
University of California, Irvine
TelevisionTop Chef (contestant) Winner of Top Chef: Season 17
Websitechefmelissaking.com

She specializes in modern Californian cuisine with Asian flavors.

Early life and education

King grew up in Los Angeles, California and is the younger of two sisters. Both her parents immigrated from Hong Kong to Los Angeles in the late 1960s. Her mother was an aerospace engineer and her father, an electrical engineer. She attended the University of California, Santa Barbara, before transferring to the University of California, Irvine, graduating with a B.A. in cognitive science. She then attended The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, earning an A.A. in culinary arts.[1][2] She is also a certified level 1 Sommelier from The Court of Master Sommeliers.

Career

King took her first kitchen job when she was 17 years old as a pastry assistant at the Getty Museum. She subsequently trained under several Michelin-star and James Beard-recognized chefs including Dominique Crenn and Ron Siegel over the next 10 years.[1][2] She has worked at several Michelin starred Bay Area restaurants such as Campton Place, Luce, and The Dining Room (Ritz-Carlton San Francisco). Throughout her career, she has cooked for several notable figures such as Oprah Winfrey and Al Gore. She was a chef ambassador for Whole Foods Market. She was selected as one of the "Best Female Chefs in San Francisco."[3]

She owns a company focused on culinary partnerships and experiences. She has appeared on stage at Outsidelands music festival for a cooking demonstration with Drag Queen Alyssa Edwards.[4] She has also appeared at a number of food festivals around the nation such as Pebble Beach Food and Wine and The Napa Valley Film Festival. [5]

King earned national recognition after placing fourth as a finalist on Season 12 of Bravo's television series, Top Chef.[6] King was invited back for Season 17 of Top Chef, the show's second all-stars season, where she was announced the winner and received the US$250,000 grand prize.[7][8]

She was subsequently voted as the "fan favorite" of Season 17, earning her another US$10,000, which she donated 100% of her fan favorite winnings to several non-profit organizations, including the Black Visions Collective, Asian Americans for Equality, Asian Youth Center, and The Trevor Project.[9] She has the most single-season individual challenge wins of any competitor in the history of Top Chef. [10]

King made her modeling debut in a global Levi Strauss Pride Campaign in 2018 [11]

King has created a line of ice cream flavors in collaboration with Humphry Slocombe that are exclusively sold at Whole Foods Market. She is the creator of Hong Kong Milk Tea Ice Cream, Almond Chocolate Crunch, Coconut Shoyu Caramel, Yuzu Cream, Golden Milk and Gingerbread, and Mango Mojito. [12][13]

King is the creator of King Sauce, a small batch line of signature sauces. [14]

Personal life and activism

King lives in San Francisco. She is openly gay and an advocate for LGBTQ equality as well as women's empowerment, environmental sustainability, and food education for youths. King is gender-fluid and uses she/her or they/them pronouns.[15]

She was awarded Grand Marshall for San Francisco Pride 2016.[16][17]

King spoke out against anti-Asian racism and harassment during the COVID19 pandemic in alliance with Ad Council in a PSA campaign directed by Alan Yang. [18]

King hosts virtual cooking experiences with proceeds supporting charities such as The Okra Project, No Kid Hungry, The Trevor Project, Asian Pacific Islanders for Equality, National Black Justice Coalition. [19]

References
  1. "Alumna vies to be 'Top Chef'". UCI News. 10 October 2014.
  2. "Melissa King". Bravo TV. November 2014.
  3. "How A Hawaiian Vacation Changed the Way This 'Top Chef' Cooks". Thrillist. 20 September 2017.
  4. "Outside Lands: Drag queen Alyssa Edwards slams spicy margaritas with chef Melissa King". The Mercury News. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
  5. "Celebirty Chefs and World Class Wineries". Monterey County Weekly. Retrieved April 18, 2019.
  6. "Top Chef competitor Melissa King carves an alternative career". San Francisco Chronicle. 22 May 2015.
  7. Huff, Lauren (12 December 2019). "Unpack your knives: 'Top Chef' announces all-star lineup for season 17". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  8. Bitker, Janelle (13 December 2019). "San Francisco chef Melissa King returns for next 'Top Chef' season". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  9. Calderone, Ana (23 June 2020). "Top Chef's Melissa King Says She Had 'No Clue' She Won At First Because of Padma Lakshmi's Delivery". People. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  10. "Top Chef Season 17 Winner Melissa King Has the Sweetest Plans for Her $250,000 Prize". Bravo Top Chef. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
  11. "Levis Launches Pride Video Series". Levis Strauss. Retrieved June 4, 2018.
  12. "Top Chef Melissa King at Humphry Slocombe". Empress of Ice Cream. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  13. "Humphry Slocombe Melissa King Create Mango Mojito". QSR. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  14. "'Top Chef: All-Stars' winner Melissa King selling her signature sauces". The Mercury News. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  15. Hogan, Heather (24 June 2020). "Pop Culture Fix: Kristen Stewart Made a Movie for Netflix About Her Life in COVID Isolation". Autostraddle. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  16. Heck, Mary-Francis (25 June 2020). "'Top Chef' Winner Melissa King Finds Creative Ways to Support the Queer Community". Food and Wine. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  17. "San Francisco Pride Historical Grand Marshal and Honoree List" (PDF). SFPride.org. June 2016.
  18. "Anti-Asian Harassment is Surging". The New York Times. Retrieved July 21, 2020.
  19. "Top Chef's Melissa King on Competing as a Proud Asian-American, Queer Woman: "I Just Hope to Inspire People"". Bravo Top Chef. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
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