In her debut cookbook, Top Chef All-Stars champion and award-winning chef Melissa King shares 120 of her favorite dishes, blending her California sensibility with the Chinese cuisine of her childhood. “Ever since I first tasted Melissa’s cooking on Top Chef , I’ve been waiting for this book. Her food is beautiful and comforting, elegant, and very doable.”—Padma Lakshmi From the moment she could see over the kitchen counter, Melissa King would spend hours in the kitchen with her mom. For King, the kitchen was a place to play with fire and knives. Now, it's a space where King can express herself, melding the Cantonese flavors with which she grew up and the French, Italian, and Californian ones of the Michelin-starred restaurants in which she trained. Cook Like a King features 120 unforgettable dishes that showcase King's effortless blending of these cuisines, like in her Lemongrass Cioppino and Miso Caesar with Gai Lan and Chrysanthemum Greens . She includes nostalgic, homestyle dishes like her grandmother’s Shanghainese Lion's Head Meatballs and her mother’s Black Vinegar Ribs , and, of course, her famous Hong Kong Milk Tea Tiramisu , which made renowned Italian butcher and Top Chef guest judge Dario Cecchini shed tears of joy. King keeps the needs of the home cook in mind, making recipes accessible while inspiring readers to experiment with food, culture, and flavor. Her recipes, crafted from a lifetime spent cooking for her Chinese family, in restaurants, and on television, show how simple techniques, attention, and graceful application of the Asian pantry can elevate familiar dishes and create new, thrilling classics. With stunning photography, personal stories, and expert guidance, Cook Like a King is a thoughtful, playful examination of the flavors that shape our lives. “Ever since I first tasted Melissa’s cooking on Top Chef , I’ve been waiting for this book. Her food is beautiful and comforting, elegant, and very doable. Part of her genius is blending flavors and cultures with intention, so each dish seems both familiar and like nothing you’ve ever tasted. Buy this book. Use it often. I know I will.” —Padma Lakshmi, New York Times bestselling author and award-winning executive producer and TV host “To honor who we are as chefs is hard enough. To do so unapologetically, deliciously, and with style is even more difficult. To do all that and inspire others to cook, to create food so irresistible that I am insistent that you buy this book that my friend made for you, well, that is pure magic. And magic is indeed what’s inside these covers. Melissa King is a phenomenal talent, a superb cook in every sense of the word, and her recipes—several of which I have had the pleasure of eating—are incomparably craveable. You will be cooking out of this book for years and years. And wowing whoever is at your table.” —Andrew Zimmern “Chef Melissa is one of the most talented chefs in the country. I have had the privilege to have her food many times, and now we all can cook her food at home. I can’t wait to eat through this book with my family.” —Marcus Samuelsson, award-winning chef, author, and restaurateur Chef Melissa King is best known as the winner of Bravo’s Top Chef All-Stars : Los Angeles Season 17 and the winner of All-Star’s Fan Favorite. King holds more challenge wins than any other competitor in the show's history. She is the host of Tasting Wild , the National Geographic docuseries and serves as a guest judge on Top Chef , Food Network’s The Julia Child Challenge , Pamela Anderson’s Cooking with Love , and America’s Test Kitchen: The Next Generation . Along with being a chef-entrepreneur, event curator, television personality, philanthropist, and model, she is an activist who speaks publicly on issues of women’s empowerment, LGBTQ+ rights, sustainability, food education, and diversity in entrepreneurship. Out Magazine named her one of the 100 LGBTQ+ individuals making a groundbreaking impact on the world. JJ Goode helps people write books, and mostly cookbooks, which are the best books. He has coauthored several New York Times bestsellers and has been nominated for several James Beard awards. Introduction I had been trying to wow famed Italian butcher Dario Cecchini. I didn’t mean to make him cry. I was in Tuscany for the finale of Top Chef: All-Stars , contemplating the sweet ending to the four-course meal I would prepare for the judges. I didn’t know it at the time but this meal would ultimately change my life. To honor where we were, I decided to make tiramisu, the iconic Italian dessert of espresso-soaked ladyfingers layered with mascarpone custard. I didn’t want to fundamentally change the dish, but I did want to add a bit of me. I thought of my childhood home. There was my mom and dad, both first-gen immigrants from Hong Kong and hard-working engineers, and my sister and me, who raced around the house wearing the Styrofoam sweaters that cradle Asian