No Filter: Melissa King Proves Après Ski Is the Only Part of Skiing I’d Actually Be Into
feature image photo of Melissa King via Melissa’s Instagram
Welcome back to No Filter! This is the place where I tell you all about the best things happening on queer celebrity IG!
I, personally, am not getting over Rachel McAdams not showing up for like 99% of all things Mean Girls (2024) but showing up for this? Iconic, I fear!
Sorry but I love this!!
This fact has not left my mind for nigh on 24 hours!!! Wild!
I still couldn’t tell you a single thing about this podcast, but perhaps you would like to virtually see them and report back?
I’ll admit it — I’m fully baffled by this movie, and no, I have not done a second Google to learn more. It seems wrong to look into it. I feel like I should be waiting for more information to just…come to me, as if by magic? Updates sure to come!
Maximizing a joint slay!!
Cuuuuuuuties!!!
Après ski is frankly the only part of skiing I’d be into.
https://www.instagram.com/p/C2R4AsNIHCO/?igsh=cW03N2t1Y3ozczY2
I’ll be brave and admit that even though words are literally my job, I am terrible at Bananagrams and find it quite hard!
Gillian kindly reminding us that she in fact crushed the carpet this season. And to think there is more to come!
This is so sweeeeet I love friends and gay friends!
No Filter: Melissa King Is Giving Daddy — There, I Said It
Feature image of Melissa King via Melissa’s Instagram
Welcome to No Filter! This is the place where I find the best posts from celesbian Instagram for your pleasure and perusal! This week, I am lightly hopped up on cold meds and Diet Coke! Whooohooo!
Fully and completely obsessed with ALL of these photos and this news! And Da Brat looks amazing, I cannot deal!
It’s giving Daddy. There, I said it.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CoyYlq5DDI3/
We must now dedicate a section to Janelle Monae’s NBA All Star triumph!
Like do I know a better person???
https://www.instagram.com/p/Co3GGaiv9UI/
In fact, do I know a smaller person?? Also please note the importance of the last image in this carousel.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Coz5TJtpY3R/
God please new albums, I need everyone to get me new music ASAP!!
THRILLED to learn Abbi directed Mae’s upcoming Netflix special!!
:( This is so sweet and sad, a loss that still hurts!
You know what I realized? We are living in the most blessed time alive for Daytime TV? Drew, JHud, and Kelly Clarkson? So many gifts!
The Queen and her ever present perfect caramel hairs are hosting the NAACP Image awards!
Sloane is so big! And a little soccer whiz look at her go!
Okay I lost my mind about this a little bit, for a reason I cannot fully explain—I am guessing cold meds? But I have done the research and “Starry Lemon Lime” is Pepsi’s new attempt at a Sprite of their own, and that it is replacing Sierra Mist? God, I love learning!!
Look, no one models bikinis and underwear like Gigi!
No Filter: Melissa King Twinning With Their Dad IS ADORABLE!!
Feature image photo of Melissa King and father via King’s Instagram
Welcome back to No Filter, the place where I gather up the best celesbian nonsense and put in one handy column for you! Let us get into it!
Prepare yourselves for a bonanza of 2022 photo dumps and general goodbyes to a year that was, at best, mid. This image of Leisha is a great, charming start!
Well this cake looks lovely and delicious, I’m down to hang if you are Kate!
https://www.instagram.com/p/CmzO7dNKcMd/
Janelle ringing in the new year in with some iconic Sag behavior!
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cm4TR62JACD/
Cute! (I am terminally single, that’s all I got)
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cm5NLdCKJaB/
The physics of this tub threw me for the longest and hardest loop. HOW!
Yeah, Meg had a banging year. Fair dues!
This is sweet! Laurie is the cutest!
Big fan of beaches and peaches!
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cm2Iypeuecq/
Another entrant in the category of: had a good ass year and I am happy for her!
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cmwx4JrvUbC/
Trace will not be put in a box, but she will look good no matter what!
THIS IS ADORABLE!!!!!!!!!
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cm8GumNMqmF/
Quinn! Is! So! Cool!
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cmz0-IZpQH4/
What do I have to do to have a life changing year? Cause it seems like money and a willingness to leave the house? Interesting.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CmwkODXti_N/
Happy Anniversary to my favorite hot soccer mom couple!!!
At “Dinner at Shibden Hall,” We Sure Did Dine!
On the evening of April the 25th, a flock of exceptionally hot and important queers assembled at the austere House of the Redeemer on the Upper East Side of New York City to celebrate the premiere of Season Two of HBO’s Gentleman Jack, hosted by Human By Orientation. Believe it or not, we were there and in fact had an exceptionally good time, as I’m sure Anne Lister would’ve wanted for us all.
Autostraddle’s Event Crew: back row – actress Elise Bauman, Riese Bernard, Christina Tucker, Drew Gregory. Front row: novelist Kristen Arnett, Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya (Not in the photobooth but also in our crew on Monday night: Anya Richkind, Jourdain Searles and Cora Harrington)
HBO, with light assistance from Autostraddle and our extended network of queer humans doing cool shit in New York City, created an event that celebrated queer community, queer love and queer art.
The festivities began when we started getting ready that afternoon but they officially began when we arrived at the House of the Redeemer at 6pm, at which point I took 45 photographs of Autostraddle writer Drew Gregory and her girlfriend, Lesbian Lifetime Christmas Movie legend Elise Bauman, in front of a Volvo that they did not own. This was followed by another photoshoot of the whole gang in front of a noted courtyard.
Group Photo, L to R: Drew Gregory, Kristen Arnett, Riese Bernard, Christina Tucker, Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya and Anya Richkind. Jourdain Searles in the front! /// Other photo: Drew, Elise & a Volvo
Once inside, we enjoyed small appetizers on golden trays and festive beverages also delivered on golden trays while entertained by a gay string quartet!
It was clear from the jump that everybody at this party was very cool.
We immediately beelined for the Photobooth, where a plethora of related costume pieces were available for our direct engagement.
We then traversed a winding stairway, lit with tiny tea lights that none of us knocked over as we ascended into the upper levels of this very cool house!
In the upper chambers we found additional mingling, small-plates-consuming and imbibing, and also we waited to have our chance at doing yet more photography in a place my companions assured me had “great light.” They were not wrong!
Christina Tucker, Drew Gregory, Riese Bernard, Anya Richkind, Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya
The photoshoot was consequently interrupted by an announcement that the main event — the screening of Gentleman Jack Season Two Episode One — was about to commence, and we filed into a library that I wish was my own personal library in my own personal mansion!
Once seated we got a rousing introduction to Season 2 with our very special screening of the season’s first episode. We celebrated, together, a delightful romp into mid-19th century lesbian courtship and mental health care, conflicts relating to the distribution and alleged theft of coal from land that belonged to Anne Lister, Anne Lister eating a plum while standing on a scenic vista and remembering hot sex with Ann Walker the night prior, the intricacies of purchasing a spry pony and the ethics of solidifying a subversive lesbian “marriage” by including one another’s lands in their will. This has never come up for me personally, but I am happy for them — we all were!
We laughed and clapped and admired Anne Lister’s exceptional fast walking skills and ended the screening in hot anticipation of two things: Season 2 Episode 2 and dinner.
Earlier in the day we’d been playing “who will be at the event tonight” and Christina had wondered aloud, but certainly not in a serious way, “what if Melissa King is making the dinner.” In the past, Christina has shared a number of feelings about Melissa King in her weekly No Filter column on this website, including “I still have a crush on Melissa King!” (September 2020) and “Weird, My Last Name Translates to ‘Wife of Chef Melissa King!'” (October 2021) and “Two Melissa Kings Is a Dream I Once Had and Well – Never Mind!” (November 2021) so imagine all of our surprises, but especially Christina’s surprise, to hear that indeed MELISSA KING WAS MAKING US DINNER.
As King later explained in her intro to the meal, after marathoning Season One, she’d prepared a multi-course meal inspired by the program — its love of pea soup, its iconic top hat, its short ribs.
We were READY TO EAT.
If I could take a moment for this soup??? It was perhaps the best soup I have ever consumed in my life?
Everybody chatted and laughed and smiled and ate and was gay!
Throughout the meal, in addition to delightful conversation with each other, people we’d just met, and also Cora Harrington (who was in our party but hadn’t arrived yet when we took the group pics, which is too bad because she came in fancy pajamas), we were treated to some delightful gay ballet in period costume:
… as well as the ongoing regalement from the quartet, who inspired singalongs when they broke into orchestral arrangements of hits including Britney Spears’ “Toxic” and “Mamma Mia” and Sia’s “Chandelier” and Lil Nas X’s “Montero.” Although I lament not recording these singalongs for posterity, here are more pictures of us at the event!
The finale of the meal, a Georgian chocolate cake shaped like a top hat, was the best cake I have ever eaten in my life, and also had the unexpected side effect of turning all of our tongues and teeth blue. We had just discovered this when Melissa King came over to talk to us but I think we all did great considering!
In conclusion, a truly incredible and unforgettable night was had by all, and it was so lovely to be in community with so many cool queer people. I mean, even the florist was queer!
Thank you to Human By Orientation for having us! Everybody really ought to tune in to HBO’s Season 2 of Gentleman Jack, now streaming on HBO Max!
No Filter: I’m Emotional About This Photo of Melissa King and Michelle Yeoh
Feature image of Melissa King and Michelle Yeoh via Melissa’s Instagram
Welcome back to No Filter! This is the place where I pull the best content from celesbian IG for your viewing enjoyment! Let’s go!
Yes, I am always a sucker for Keke being simply stunning!
Okay okay yes this is back to back Keke but COME on this breakdown of her outfit for Miranda Cosgrove’s 16th birthday!! Wow typing that sentence made me feel easily 1,000 years old?
https://www.instagram.com/p/CbQu8kbPcJT/
See this is how you know I am always full of shit, because I have been railing about how much I am not into the floral trends this season, and then one woman over 50 pops on a dress and I am like “welllll let’s hear it out!” Smdh. Rings though! Love those without complication!
https://www.instagram.com/p/CbQuvPtvYOQ/
Now…do I really have to say anything?
https://www.instagram.com/p/CbWDstGpTsJ/
It is so brave of me to include this image despite the fact that almost I cannot look at it due to having worked at an ice cream store in my youth and dreading the times where someone wanted a dipped cone. It’s so hard! It literally goes upside down!
King Princess on tour!!! Whomst among us has knees able to handle the strain of live music? I simply do not.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CbYKIeavOJ5/
I did check to see if Doja and Megan interacted, if they did, I cannot locate a record of it, but then again I didn’t look like super hard? You feel me.
Hey, it’s Che Diaz, I’m back!*
*notably this is from Cynthia’s IG but Sara hasn’t posted about it yet and I had to make the joke, artists work with what they have!
https://www.instagram.com/p/CbXt-RArqlW/
Not to be like, 2014 basic, but I have gotten deeply into a green smoothie moment when I am having a poor spell* and I really feel seen by this image.
*post two glasses of wine because I am in my mid 30s.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CbTCSv8P8M2/
Come for the sparkle skirt set, stay for the adorable laughing and posing video with Sam Hanratty!
No Filter: Two Melissa Kings Is a Dream I Had Once and — Well, Never Mind!
Welcome back to No Filter! This is the place where I give you all the fun queer celebrity IG content you have, let’s face it, been dying for!
https://www.instagram.com/p/CV4Ib_NFTSK/
I sit at a crossroads with these two all the time, they look like the coolest sophomores at NYU and I do find that exhausting? But also? It is inspirational?
https://www.instagram.com/p/CV3zmgLvoo7/
As ever, I wish I had more to editorialize with Trace rather than like…wow this woman is cool as hell and I wish we were friends???
Love a good post that is both “congrats to my friend” and also “yes, I am friends with Kristen Stewart.”
Well hellfire I thought this was Cardi for a second!! Go all the way off Amandla!
https://www.instagram.com/p/CWBaK0FKAAy/
I don’t know what is happening here caption or photo dump wise but I approve??
https://www.instagram.com/p/CWBeW2wviZI/
Gucci is REALLY going up for the queers! Also this is giving…Cruella meets Roz from Monsters Inc.?
https://www.instagram.com/p/CWEKzYuJCzm/
Starting to feel like there simply are not enough pics of me dramatically crossing streets?
Okay it’s giving Cher….Clueless Cher, but Cher nonetheless!
Two Melissa Kings is a dream I had once and…well, never mind! Love this jumpsuit!
This? This is my dream collab! This is all I want from life!
Double Niecy this week just to say that I love the energy of being like “this romantic picture of me and my wife? That’s not our real life! Our real life is EVEN CUTER AND MORE ROMANTIC!”
No Filter: Weird, My Last Name Translates to “Wife of Chef Melissa King!”
Hello and welcome to No Filter, the column where I find fun IG posts about celesbians and their friends, and then place them here with commentary!
https://www.instagram.com/p/CUgRU2NvRDA/
Please take this time to reacquaint yourself with the fact that Kehlani has a bird.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CUlZEOLv02F/
I keep scrolling by Trace on IG and simply not recognizing her due to the blonde! Am I the type who would actually be fooled by Captain America in hat? Much to think about.
Weird, my last name translates to “Wife of Chef Melissa King!”
https://www.instagram.com/p/CUa4WWlBOur/
Loving every single moment of this, top to bottom perfection and I guess I have to have shiny lavender bike shorts??
I love this photo and I wish I was in it so I could be tagged in it!!!!!
https://www.instagram.com/p/CUpcyy4oYWb/
Hello the 90s are back! Thankfully Emma looks amaze in 90s styles.
Oh to be a small dog Leshia’s porch!!
Laverne has decided to simply go nonstop with the fashion! How is she pulling of that gingham number that should look like a picnic nightmare but is somehow charming???
I love when mega famous celebrities join IG and you get to watch them figure out their voice and brand? I love that Angie is going earnest and sincere, I love it so much I’ll pretend like I believe there is a space and time where she could feel nervous!
https://www.instagram.com/p/CUqZIyNhjbp/
Imagine how delightful it would be to have Kirsten hand you a pile of croissants?
Time of death: 19:14PM.
Pop Culture Fix: Melissa King and Lena Waithe Are Gaying Up Dinner Parties Together
Welcome to your Monday Pop Culture Fix, my friends! Wishing you a week of good and sweet and gentle things arriving in unexpected ways!
+ The Cut’s new EIC, Lindsay Peoples Wagner, hosted a dinner party in Malibu with Lena Waithe, Melissa King, Cynthia Erivo, and a bunch of Porsches (the cars, not de Rossi). There’s plenty to see about this event on Instagram (and also in Autostraddle’s Slack, but I can only share one of those things with you.)
+ Jodie Whittaker’s exiting the TARDIS. I gotta be honest, I expected more actual queerness from her tenure.
+ Rosie has joined the new A League of Their Own TV series.
+ The trailer for the final season of Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
+ Dolly Parton shares her way of honoring Whitney Houston’s legacy after her death.
+ Clea DuVall joins Showtimes First Lady anthology series as “Malvina ‘Tommy’ Thompson: Eleanor Roosevelt’s trusted assistant, secretary, traveling companion, gatekeeper and dear friend.”
+ How Fear Street delivered the complicated queer relationship horror fans deserve.
+ Robin Roberts’ Disney+ interview series is here, and it includes sit-downs with Raven and Tig Notaro.
+ The best TikToks from The Olympics.
+ Simone Biles, TV, and ‘Ted Lasso’: Unlikely Allies in Mental Health Awareness. (This is an excellent podcast by queer TV critic Libby Hill.)
+ 🦇
May this ignite fearlessness in every child’s dream! 🦇 #Batwoman pic.twitter.com/chIh1o0fjm
— Javicia Leslie (@JaviciaLeslie) July 30, 2021
No Filter: Yep. We Still Have a Crush on Chef Melissa King.
Welcome back to No Filter! This is the column where I gather the best and brightest of celesbian Instagram for your viewing pleasure, how kind of me! Let’s roll!
https://www.instagram.com/p/CFNyaYSnuTl/
Quinn is coming in strong this week with some incredibly tight eye makeup, I love this.
I still have a crush on Melissa King! Thrilling, more to come on this surely!
https://www.instagram.com/p/CFPsK1VnsxD/
Indya is just… a perfect person? I think? This HAIR!
We are, as community, always here for cat content.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CFU5_gKgHnw/
😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍
https://www.instagram.com/p/CFZ5JRCJ5b_/
… Okay, consider me excited!
Okay this is a reboot I am actually dying for???
I ASSUMED this was a jumpsuit, I am delighted to discover this is in fact separates!!!!
https://www.instagram.com/p/CFa1uO1pmCO/
This dress does look pretty painful, I’ll say that.
Come THROUGH press tour, I love this cover!
https://www.instagram.com/p/CFNalTrgXIQ/
I LOVE this fit, it is very…Georgia O’Keefe…approved.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CFc49n1Bxhr/
And a happy Libra Season to us all!
No Filter: Chef Melissa King Is Here to Make You Sweat
Well another week is upon us, which means another No Filter is upon you! You know the deal, it’s curated celebrity Instagram, by me, for you!
https://www.instagram.com/p/CDSAsgfJmDn/
This is responsible advice, and this photo is cute. No notes!
https://www.instagram.com/p/CDTqkavncpY/
I love throwbacks! Throwback photos are the best.
SEE! Look how cute lil Kate is?
Rahne is working this hat and I say thank you, from the bottom of my heart.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CDb0eflHRYg/
One of my favorite things about being an adult is that no one can stop me from plastering literally every surface my home in this image!
https://www.instagram.com/p/CDb_1y1Hhnb/
It’s the jacket for me!
Just casual towel serving, no big.
*sweating* What was that? I..didn’t hear you…for reasons?
A Happy (bleated) Birthday to Ali!
https://www.instagram.com/p/CDR1zUcBwU7/
She’s right! The beat slaps!
https://www.instagram.com/p/CDH10tQn4FS/
Well hellfire!
No Filter: Melissa King, Ashley Benson, Gaby Dunn and Ali Krieger Love Their Moms
Hello and happy Wednesday to you all! Also, Happy Birthday to myself! Anyway, this is No Filter, the column where I gather all the best bits of gay Instagram and bring them to you! Bring on the moms!
Mother’s Day gave us a TON of adorable Mom photos, let us take a look. First up, Melissa King’s mom!
https://www.instagram.com/p/CABQTPehqBT/
LOVING this photo of Ashley’s mom.
Look, it must be said that Mother’s Day provided a great way for Cara and Ashley to not post #BreakUpConent, but rest assured I will have my eye out.
Supporting motherhood! You love to see it!
Everyone is gorgeous, what the absolute heck!!
https://www.instagram.com/p/CABsf98pToe/
BABY Arienne my gosh!
https://www.instagram.com/p/CABLovQgCps/
Wrapping up our mom celebration with these two, because how could you not? LEGENDS ONLY!
…why is this not how I am bored in the house???
https://www.instagram.com/p/B_041okpaC4/
L O V E a yellow suit, damn!
More yellow? A trend???
https://www.instagram.com/p/CABLHOvHkB3/
I think Bella is doing some sort of giveaway (??), but mostly this photo made me laugh for so long for almost no reason? Quarantine brain!
I find Janet in this chair a joyful image. Nothing further Your Honor!
This is just very cute, that is all.
That’s it from me! Do one nice thing for yourself today, thank you!
Top Chef’s Melissa King: The Autostraddle Interview
All photos courtesy of NBC/Universal
Melissa King came thiiiis close to winning Top Chef season 12. After a couple of episodes where her dishes landed her in the bottom three at the Judges Panel, she powered her way to back-to-back Elimination Challenge wins and secured her spot in the Top Chef finals in Mexico. This week, her winning streak ended when the judges were forced to choose between four perfect dishes. But she won the hearts of hungry viewers as she was winning the hearts of judges Tom Colicchio, Padma Lakshmi, Richard Blais and Gail Simmons. She’s already hosting wildly successful events with other contestants from her class on Top Chef, and she’s hoping her own restaurant is on the way soon.
Melissa serves the judges seared duck breast in “The Final Battle of Beantown.”
You made this my favorite season of Top Chef ever. My girlfriend and I have been cheering for you like it’s the Super Bowl.
Thank you! That’s very sweet!
Let’s just get the hard stuff out of the way first, and then we’ll do the fun stuff. You made it to the finals in Mexico but lost the Elimination Challenge this week — but not because of anything you did wrong. Will you talk me through that?
It was a really emotional one. I think all of us are just such strong competitors, and everybody wanted to win, and to be in that position where you go home for a dish but there’s nothing really wrong with it — you know, at the end of the day, I was really proud to go out with my head held high. It’s better than going out the opposite way! It’s always a little frustrating when you think back about what you would have changed. I’m just not sure there was much I could have done differently. I think I did my best portraying the artist’s work in my dish. I was really happy with it.
So much of reality TV is about the editing, but I feel like you can just see your growth as a chef and as a competitor this season.
I feel like every week I grew into a stronger chef, and a stronger person. I felt that development. You’re getting feedback throughout the whole competition, and I really learned to take what the judges were telling me and try to make myself better because of it. There were times when I was on the bottom, and that always gets to you, but I did the best I could to take the criticism to heart but also to stay positive.
Everyone always says Top Chef changes them. Do you feel like that’s true for you?
When you’re on Top Chef, you’re putting yourself in a position to have so many challenges thrown at you. I used to question whether I could even hang on the show, if it was something I even wanted to try out for, but it was such a rewarding experience. I feel like I learned just how far I can push myself. I feel like after going through the very tough situations they put you through on Top Chef, I can really do anything. After you make it out alive, you’re like, “Huh. It really wasn’t that bad!”
Was there a particular judge you felt intimidated cooking for?
Tom Colicchio, all the way. All of us were really scared of him! For me, it was a matter of not wanting to let him down. He’s such an amazing chef and restaurateur. He notices every detail of your technique, and for me, technique is something I feel very strongly about. Letting down Tom Colicchio is like letting down your dad.
Melissa and Mei Lin hug after Melissa is eliminated in “Getting Prickly in Mexico.”
He did seem genuinely bummed out this week when he announced your dish in the Elimination Challenge.
Yeah, that’s really hard. I mean, at that point, everyone was basically making flawless dishes. I don’t think he wanted to see anyone go. We’re all friends at the end of the day. It was hard to be up against Mei Lin; she’s a good friend of mine. If you watch, you’ll see that we’re both crying.
It seemed like you guys, especially toward the end, had a genuine affection for each other. Have you stayed in touch since the show?
Oh, absolutely. The majority of the cast, we’re on a WhatsApp together, so we’re talking every day. It’s pretty great what’s turned out because of the show. We’ve all become family.
Did you get to see the whole show before it aired, or have you been watching it every week?
We didn’t see anything before it started airing, so we’re watching it every week with everyone else.
When you’re watching, are you feeling like the show really captures who you are? Every recapper on the internet agrees that you’re the nicest reality show competitor in history.
[Laughs sweetly and shly] Really? Well, thank you. Seriously, thank you. I feel like it was a fair representation of who I am. There’s a lot of footage to be edited down into a 45-minute episode, so there’s always going to be creative editing, but I think it’s really accurate to our experiences.
Melissa and her mom chat with Tom during “Sous Your Daddy!”
Did your mom like seeing herself on TV? She was awesome. She should have her own show.
I keep hearing that! She’s incredible. She’s my biggest supporter and to have her there was amazing.
I kept hearing this rumor that they were going to bring people’s partners onto the show. If they’d brought your girlfriend, would she have done okay?
I think my girlfriend would have done a great job. We cook a lot at home together. She’s my little sous chef. I think she would have done as equally well as my mom.
I was going to ask if you do all the cooking at home, but you guys cook together?
We cook together, yeah! I do larger projects, but I’m teaching her a lot. Right now I’m teaching her how to butcher a chicken. So, she’s learning and growing with me. It’s fun when we cook together.
You talked a lot on the show about doing Top Chef as a way to reach out to your dad. Did that turn out the way you hoped?
Since the show, my dad has done a complete 180. He’s been so supportive. He has watched every episode and shared his feelings along the way. I really do thank him for being the motivation to go on the show. That was what really pushed me to say yes. I wanted to do it for myself. It wasn’t about winning or competing; it was about pushing myself and trying to show my family that I could do it.
Gregory, Melissa, Mei and Doug are the final four contestants on Top Chef season 12.
Would you do a reality cooking competition on TV again?
I would definitely do it again. It was such a fun experience.
I have just a couple of cooking questions because I’ve never talked to a superstar chef before and I’m trying to learn how to be an amazing cook. What are three tools every person needs in their home kitchen?
Oh! Okay, the first thing is a Vitamix blender. That thing pulverizes everything and makes the smoothest soups and sauces. I couldn’t live without it. Also, a mandolin, which is basically a Japanese slicer that shaves vegetables really thin. I’m a knife-cut person, so that’s really important to me, a really sharp knife.
That reminds me. The judges were obsessed with your vegetables. They talked about them like they’d never eaten a tomato before.
That was really interesting, the way they kept pointing that out. I take a lot of pride in that. Farmers put so much effort into growing those vegetables, and I think it’s really important, as a chef, to honor that work and highlight those vegetables, especially at the peak of the season. I love that they talked about that on the show.
What are three things everyone should know how to cook?
Everyone should know how to butcher a chicken. The animal movement is really important to me. A chicken is something that everyone loves to eat and knows how to cook, but there’s a lot of value in learning how to butcher and utilize the whole animal. You can use the bones for chicken soup; you can use the legs and braise them down into a stew; and you can use the chicken breast for a salad. And you can save a lot of money learning how to butcher!
It’s important to properly learn how to stew and braise protein. There are lots of inexpensive cuts of meat that you can teach yourself how to stew and braise, and you’ll save a lot of money. And they’re great because they’re homey and comforting dishes; they’re classics. Whether it’s a pot roast or a curry, you can bring so much flavor to those dishes.
The third thing is fish cookery, which is hard for some folks, but if you can learn how to pan-sear a fish properly, you’ll be set. Just five minutes on one side and get it nice and crispy, and then literally just 30 seconds on the other side of the fish, you’ll have a beautiful meal.
I’m taking frantic notes, even though I am recording this interview. Okay, finally, what’s the key to making perfect scrambled eggs?
You’ve got to have a really hot pan and really hot oil to start with. Make sure it’s kind of smoking, and then drizzle in the eggs slowly but whisk while you’re drizzling. My girlfriend is always like, “How do you make these eggs so fluffy?” So I’ve taught her my secrets.
Well, now the internet’s lesbians all know your secrets! What’s next for you?
I’ve been doing a lot of traveling and doing some collaborative pop-up dinners with other Top Chef contestants, and I’m also hosting my own in San Francisco. It’s called Co+Lab, and I’m trying to incorporate different artisan products from the city, and we’re going to showcase them in each course. My guest chef who is coming in on March 9th is Mei Lin!
Oh, that’s great!
We did one together about a month ago called Flavors of Winter, and it was such a success that I was like, “You know what? We’ve got to do another one.” So she’s coming back for a reunion. I’m hoping each month I’ll showcase a different chef. I’m doing these pop-ups throughout the city and just letting people get to know me and my food, so that hopefully it will turn into a future opportunity for a restaurant.
That sounds really fun. I wish you all the best luck, Melissa. You seem like a genuinely warm and wonderful human being.
Thank you so much, and thank you and your girlfriend for cheering for me!
To find out more about Melissa’s upcoming events, follow her on Twitter and Instagram.