Long before the accolades, TV appearances, and Michelin-starred kitchens, Melissa King was a child perched on a stool, stir-frying vegetables beside her mother. “I’ve been cooking since I was five,” she says, recalling how she was already preparing family dinners by age 11. “That was just my love language and how I express myself and how I sort of take care of the family.”  After earning a cognitive science degree from the University of California, Irvine and training at the Culinary Institute of America in upstate New York, King moved to San Francisco , where she built her foundation in Michelin kitchens before branching into butchery and private chef work. Then came Top Chef : an initial run in Boston, a triumphant return for the all-stars season in Los Angeles, and ultimately, a win—followed by judging roles.…