Melissa Leong

Biography

Few in Australia can boast the culinary credentials of Melissa Leong. An accomplished food and travel writer, food media consultant, radio broadcaster, television presenter, MC and cookbook editor, this first-generation Singaporean Australian isn’t afraid to eat anything at least once. 

Living proof that not being sure what you want to be when you grow up can make for a life less boring, Melissa’s instinct is always to say yes to the unexpected. Her professional background has spanned advertising, food media consulting, PR, journalism, and cookbook publishing, working with big name culinary personalities. From travelling solo to far flung places in the world, to living on an abattoir in rural Tasmania just to better understand the trials and tribulations of primary food industry, Melissa has written her own rule book on how her experiences amount to better relating to others and the world around her. 

It is this commitment to understanding what connects us as humans that has served her well as occasional food and travel columnist for Escape, as well as for publications such as delicious Magazine, News.com.au and The Guardian and her regular monthly column in STELLAR Magazine. 

In television, she was seen as co-host and judge on The Chefs’ Line then in 2020, she become the first female judge and co-host of Network TEN’s all-new MasterChef to critical acclaim. 

Melissa continues to draw on that human connection to celebrate the stories of others, through the great equaliser of all people: food.