Melissa King has been very successful after winning season 17 of Top Chef in 2020.
After finishing fourth place on the competition show in season 12, the chef — who is an Asian-American and queer woman — returned six years later to secure the championship. The chef took home the $250,000 grand prize and another $10,000 for being the Fan Favorite, which she donated to various charities, including Black Visions Collective, The Trevor Project, Asian Americans for Equality and Asian Youth Center.
“I feel very strongly that Top Chef has given me more than just a platform for food,” she explained to Bravo’s website in June 2020. “It’s giving me a platform to be able to speak about things that I care about and things that I’m passionate about outside of that. And things that could hopefully influence someone else’s life.”
Following her Top Chef win, King has built her own company focused on culinary partnerships and experiences — including her famous line of sauces, King Sauce.
Keep scrolling to learn more about King’s life:
Melissa King’s Parents Immigrated From Hong Kong to Los Angeles
King was born in October 1983 in Whittier, California, to two engineers who both immigrated from Hong Kong to Los Angeles in the late 1960s. (Her father was from Shanghai and her mom was Cantonese.)
A lot of King’s recipes blend California style dishes with Asian flavors inspired by the times King spent cooking with her mom as a child.
“A lot of my journey in the kitchen at a young age was just hanging out with [my mom] and standing on a stool stir-frying vegetables in a giant wok that was bigger than my body,” she recalled on an episode of “Radio Cherry Bombe” in 2020. “I really felt those were those precious moments I got to spend time with her and absorb what I could about Chinese cooking. I only knew how to make Chinese food at the time.”
Melissa King Worked At Several Michelin-Star Restaurants in the Bay Area
After graduating with a B.A. in cognitive science from University of California, Irvine, and an A.A. in culinary arts from The Culinary Institute, King went on to work in several Michelin Star restaurants in the Bay Area. She cooked at restaurants such as Campton Place, Luce and the Dining Room.
Melissa King Won ‘Top Chef’ Season 17
King initially appeared on season 12 of Top Chef, where she placed fourth overall. Nearly six years later, King decided to return to the cooking show for an All-Stars series.
“I think the first time I really did it for… I felt like I was doing it for everyone else,” she explained on an episode of “Radio Cherry Bombe” podcast in 2020. “I had friends and family that were literally shoving my application and putting it on my desk in front of me. Then I went through that journey and I learned so much about leaning into your fears, and if something scares you, you should just do it and see what happens. So this time around they asked me to do the show and I remember feeling a little bit of anxiety like, ‘Oh no, why are they back? Why are they calling me?’”
King noted that the second time it felt like she was doing it for herself.
“A hundred percent it was my decision, but this time I made it a hundred percent about me and my own goals and wanting to just try my best,” she shared.
The chef ended up winning Top Chef in season 17 in 2020.
Padma Lakshmi was all smiles with Top Chef winner Melissa King while celebrating the launch of her new book. A video shared via the DelishYES Instagram account showed Lakshmi, 55, enjoying the food at New York City’s Semma restaurant while attending the Tuesday, November 4, event. After sharing a message for the eventgoers, Lakshmi was […]
“Since my first Top Chef, I’ve learn[ed] time and time again that fear is the strongest motivator,” she wrote via Instagram in June 2020. “I leaned into my fears and found my strength. I choose yes over no. I chose my heart over my brain. (Of course, this is situational 🤣). I’m forever grateful for what Top Chef has done for me — it’s allowed me to create beyond the walls of a restaurant. It’s given me confidence and strength. It’s brought me closer to my family.”
King continued: “It’s give[n] me a modern family of wise crackin’ yet incredibly inspiring chef friends. It’s given me courage to proudly represent my LGBTQ/Asian American communities. Thank you to everyone that worked tirelessly and poured their hearts into building a show that not only changes live, but inspires us all to be better”
Melissa King Started a Sauce Line and Wrote a Cookbook
After taking home nearly half a million dollars, King started her own sauce line called King Sauce as part of her self-titled food partnerships company.
“I created a small batch sauce line because I was sitting around during quarantine and bored, and it took off, and it’s available on my website,” she shared on an episode of “Radio Cherry Bombe” podcast in 2020.
Aside from her sauces, King also authored her own cookbook, Cook Like a King: Recipes From my California Chinese Kitchen.
“Cook Like a King is a collection of Chinese California dishes — some from my Shanghainese grandma, Cantonese grandma and Proud Mom Alice, some from my everyday home cooking, and a few from Top Chef (you bet my Hong Kong Milk Tea Tiramisu’s in there!)” King wrote via Instagram in February 2025. “The book is designed with all of you in mind — home friendly, flavor packed, impressive dishes for anyone looking to be a better cook. It’s the closest I can get to cooking beside you, teaching my tricks while exploring the Asian pantry together and serving up Cali vibes.”
Melissa King Is an Activist for Asian Americans and LGBTQ+ Causes
King revealed that she donated 100 percent of the $10,000 Fan Favorite prize money to charities that she loves to support the Black, LGBTQ+ and Asian-American communities.
“I got on [Top Chef] just being myself, and going through this personal journey of trying to test myself with Top Chef and [seeing] if I could survive, [when] I came out on the other end, people started emailing me and sending me messages saying, ‘We saw you on Top Chef, and you’re Asian-American and I’m an Asian American, and I’m so proud of you for representing our community,’” she recalled in an interview with Bravo’s website in June 2020.
The Top Chef judges have eaten their fair share of five-star meals on camera, but are they able to stomach the less-than-stellar dishes? “I don’t think we have to be forced [to eat anything],” Gail Simmons told Us Weekly exclusively before season 22 of the cooking competition premiered on Thursday, March 13. “I think seasons […]
King noted that people told her that they “came out to their parents” because of her.
“[Top Chef is] giving me a platform to be able to speak about things that I care about and things that I’m passionate about outside of that,” she shared with the outlet.
