Melissa Perello

Melissa Perello (born 1976), is an American chef best known for holding a Michelin star at her restaurant Frances. She had previously won a star at restaurant Fifth Floor, and has won awards from both Chronicles and Food & Wine magazines.

Whilst still at high school, she gained her first kitchen based job at a local country club, where she worked 40 hours a week. She dined at Aqua, and was invited into the kitchen. She subsequently impressed the chefs and was offered an apprenticeship at the restaurant. She attended Culinary Institute of America in 1994, whilst continuing to work at Aqua. She found her time at the restaurant intense on occasion, as chef Michael Mina would swear at her. She said that "I'd go home, cry, and have work-related anxiety dreams. But then when he praised my chiffonade of basil, it was all worth it".

She moved to Charles Nob Hill, a sister restaurant of Aqua, and under Ron Siegel she worked her way up through the ranks until she was executive chef. Whilst there she was named the Rising Star Chef in 2002 by Chronicles magazine, and was nominated on three occasions for a Rising Star James Beard Foundation Award.

She was awarded Food & Wine magazine's award for Best New Chef in 2004. She left to join restaurant Fifth Floor in 2006 as executive chef, which went on to win a Michelin star. After two years of planning, she opened her restaurant Frances in 2009, located in San Francisco, and quickly gained a Michelin star once more. She raised $400,000 for the restaurant through investors and had repaid them in full within eighteen months.

She has appeared on Food Network's Chefs vs. City as a contestant during season one. As of the 2012 Michelin Guide, she is one of ten female chefs in the United States to hold a Michelin star.