The Girl Who Became King: A Memoir

From award-winning chef, author, television personality, and activist Melissa King comes an intimate, captivating memoir about family, food, and finding her voice as a queer Chinese American chef

Growing up, Melissa King lived for the moment she would come home from school, grab her prized meat cleaver, and call her mom at work for instructions on how to prepare dinner for her family. She already knew cooking was her future, but she didn’t know just how much she’d have to fight to make that dream a reality.

Caught between two cultures growing up, King felt like she was stuck in a box that was only getting smaller. Her Shanghainese and Cantonese heritage meant that her immigrant parents had certain expectations—none of which included going to culinary school or falling in love with women. American culture also dictated that restaurant kitchens were a man’s world. But trying to live by these rules felt like no life at all. So King broke the mold, ending up in some of the most exciting fine dining kitchens in San Francisco and finding a home in its queer community. But after relentlessly working her way up from arranging cold appetizers to manning the meat station, and embracing her multilayered identity, she began to feel the culture she all but left behind begin to pull at her.

When she entered Top Chef as a reluctant contestant, inspired by her grandmother’s advice to follow her heart, her signature flavors—seasonal dishes melding California and Chinese cuisines—awakened and flourished as she looked to her heritage and hometown for inspiration. And being in the public eye connected her with her parents in a new way, allowing them to come to a loving mutual understanding of each other’s strengths and flaws.

In this heartfelt memoir, King shows that empowerment comes from embracing all the different ingredients that make up who she is, and believing in herself against the odds.