How Top Chef Pushed Melissa King To Be Her True Self

Melissa King is back! The Top Chef champion stops by to chat about her debut book, Cook Like a King: Recipes from My California Kitchen, and how it’s a roadmap of her life.

Melissa got her start as a latchkey kid making meals for her parents, who worked as engineers. She used the microwave until her folks trusted her with the stove, and her mom even gifted her a child-size meat cleaver when she was just eight. Little did they know she would grow up to compete on Top Chef twice, and that she would win the title once she learned to embrace the food she grew up with. She credits the show’s Padma Lakshmi, Tom Colicchio, and Gail Simmons with pushing her to “think deeper” about her creations and cook with heart and soul.

She and host Kerry Diamond also cover the ceviche dish she created for the Met Gala and the Thom Browne suit she wore on the red carpet; how she makes a living as a culinary creative without a restaurant; and what’s behind the recipes in her new book.

Photo by Jennifer Livingston

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