Biography

Chef Melissa King is one of the most exciting young talents in America’s culinary scene. After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America, she trained under several notable chefs, including Dominique Crenn, Craig Stoll, and Ron Siegel. She earned national recognition as a finalist on the Bravo TV series Top Chef. Her hyper-local cooking style combines the Bay Area’s best ingredients with modern techniques and Asian flavors. In 2015, Ms. King founded Co+Lab, an experimental pop-up dinner series in which she collaborates with local chefs and food artisans. She is the first chef ambassador for Whole Foods Market and she has created two ice cream flavors with Humphry Slocombe sold exclusively at Whole Foods. She was selected as Celebrity Grand Marshal for San Francisco Pride 2016 advocating for the LGBTQ community. In 2016, she was the opening guest chef of Elle Café Aoyama, a fine dining restaurant in the fashion district of Tokyo, in partnership with Elle magazine. Ms. King is regularly engaged as a speaker supporting women’s empowerment, environmental sustainability, food education for youths, and entrepreneurship. This appearance marks her San Francisco Symphony debut. She also appears at food and music festivals such as Outside Lands, Comedy Central’s Clusterfest, Pebble Beach Food & Wine Festival, and the Napa Valley Film Festival. Thrillist recognized Melissa King as one of the best female chefs in San Francisco. To learn more about Melissa King, visit chefmelissaking.com

(November 2017)