MasterChef Australia judge Melissa Leong is using her ‘cool superpower’ – spreading love of food through words – to guide children through the culinary universe
- Australian TV personality and food critic Melissa Leong grew up a voracious reader, and credits her Singaporean heritage for her passion for eating ‘everything’
- She’s now fusing her love of food and the written word in A Taste Adventure, which aims to inspire children to try diverse dishes and become ‘food nerds’
“The most valuable lesson I have learned [from children] is that cheese goes with pretty much everything,” seasoned food writer Melissa Leong tells me. She is only half-joking.
“Dairy is never a bad idea. Cheese and pasta – no matter where you come from, it’s pretty special if it’s the right combination of squidgy textures and pungent flavours.”
“Like Kraft instant macaroni and cheese?” I ask.
“Long live the blue boxes,” she replies, with a grin.
Leong – one of Australia’s most prominent culinary experts – takes the world of food incredibly seriously, and treats it indiscriminately. As a first-generation Singaporean-Australian, Leong grew up rarely questioning the virtues of food.
“We ate everything growing up. It was just, ‘food is joy, you should just enjoy it.’ I very much believed that I should eat whatever is in front of me, that I should explore things that are unfamiliar to me,” she says.
