Harvard Book Store welcomes Melissa King—James Beard Award-winning chef, author, television personality, and author of the acclaimed cookbook Cook Like a King: Recipes from My California Chinese Kitchen—for a discussion of her new memoir, The Girl Who Became King. She will be joined in conversation by Karen Akunowicz—celebrity chef, as well as Chef and Owner of Fox & the Knife Enoteca in South Boston, Bar Volpe Ristorante, and Fox Pasta Company.
Melissa King is a James Beard Award-winning chef, author, and television personality. She is the author of the cookbook Cook Like a King: Recipes from My California Chinese Kitchen, which won the 2026 James Beard Award. She is the winner and fan favorite of Bravo’s Top Chef: All Stars L.A. and holds the record for the most challenge wins in the show’s history. Known for her modern California Chinese cuisine, she is a leading voice shaping conversations through food, cultural storytelling, and advocacy. A queer Shanghainese Cantonese American, she grew up in Los Angeles’s San Gabriel Valley. Her work has since taken her beyond the kitchen into television, fashion, and culture, including hosting Tasting Wild for National Geographic, curating the 2022 Met Gala menu, and being featured in global campaigns for Levi’s and GAP. She lives in San Francisco. Photo Credit: Ashley Batz
Karen Akunowicz is a celebrity chef, restauranteur and the 2018 James Beard Foundation Award winner for Best Chef: Northeast. In 2020 her debut restaurant Fox & the Knife was a James Beard Award finalist for Best New Restaurant in America. Chef Karen is the Chef/Owner of Fox & the Knife Enoteca in South Boston, Bar Volpe Ristorante, and Fox Pasta Company Chef Karen has been touted as “Boston’s Queen of Pasta” and her restaurant Fox & the Knife was called an “Instant Classic” by Food & Wine Magazine and named one of their “Best New Restaurants in America”. In 2024 Chef Karen opened her third restaurant, Fox & Flight by Karen Akunowicz in Logan Airport in Boston. Chef Akunowicz is a well-known television personality as a fan favorite on Bravo TV’s Emmy-nominated show Top Chef (seasons Season 13 as well as All-Stars). She is a rising star on The Food Network’s Tournament of Champions 3-5 and has appeared as a judge on Top Chef, Top Chef Canada, America’s Worst Cooks, Guy’s Grocery Games and America’s Test Kitchen Next Generation. She is a recurring Judge on Beat Bobby Flay. She was named one of the “21 Badass Women Changing the Food World” by Marie Claire Magazine and is the author of Crave: Bold Recipes That Make You Want Seconds.
