Chef Melissa Cottingham

Chef & Owner

Enthusiastic about cultural cuisines, Chef Melissa Cottingham believes that the best way to learn about a culture is to join them in their kitchen. Raised in Memphis, Tennessee she began cooking alongside her mother at the age of twelve, but recently unlocked that young passion and made it a career. She is currently a private chef and owner of a pop up restaurant called Melnificent Wingz, where she curates menus, manages partnerships, and oversees service as an expo chef. Melissa has been featured in numerous publications including three features in the Los Angeles Times, Eater LA, Complex Magazine, LA Weekly, Yelp, and more. She has also been featured on Tasty Tuesdays on Good Day LA, CBS LA News, ABC's Supermarket Sweep, Spectrum 1 News, Tastemade's Frankie vs The Internet, & Food Network's first vegan competition show, "It's CompliPlated." She has graced the palates of some of your favorite entertainers including: Tracee Ellis Ross, Kim Kardashian, Marsai Martin, Larenz Tate, Kym Whitley, Jonathan McReynolds, Jenifer Lewis, Stevie Wonder, Anthony Anderson, and many more. Her brand partnerships include Peacock, Spotify, McDonald's, One Hope Wine, and Extraordinary Families Foster & Youth Agency. She has also showcased her talents live at the 2022 KJLH Womens Health Expo & Western Food Service & Hospitality Expo. With a smile and personality that can't help but charm you, Melissa unorthodox, soulful and memorable southern fusion dishes will give you a hug from the inside out.After finding her late mothers cookbooks and hand-written recipes, Melissa knew that she had to get back to her first love, so she took a closer look at pursuing her passion for cooking. Dedicated to learning everything about her craft, in spring of 2015, while still working in production, she enrolled in night culinary classes at The New School of Cooking. While there, Chef was selected to lead her classmates for the graduation lunch; she assisted various chefs with their demos, and her photo is still used in promotional materials for the annual Women’s Chef & Restaurateur event hosted by the school.She is ServSafe certified in both food handling and food management, and also holds certifications from HarvardX in Contract Law and Yale University in Negotiation—skills that support her leadership in culinary operations and partnerships. When she’s not at a culinary event or testing cultural spices, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, volunteering her time to mentor youth at the Extraordinary Families Foster Care & Adoption Foundation, and finding the best chicken wing places worldwide. With a smile and personality that can’t help but charm you, her courageous story of triumph, strength, and love is the drive behind her passion for cooking. Her greatest pleasure will always be bringing people together around over comfort food.