about melissa
Melissa Muller Daka is a professional cook, writer and gastronomist who specializes in the diverse cuisines of the Mediterranean region. She holds a B.A. in Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures from Columbia University and a degree in Culinary Arts and International Breadmaking from the French Culinary Institute.
Once dubbed “the Kitchen Mistress” by a New York Post critic, Melissa was born in New York, but owes her passion for food to her childhood years in rural Sicily, where she learned the value of being connected to the land.
By the time Melissa was four years old, she was a regular sous-chef in her mother’s kitchen. On one of her “shifts,” she found herself standing on a stool over the stove-top, stirring a hot pot of pudding, when suddenly a huge bubble burst from the pot and landed on her arm. She recalls that day so clearly, not just because of the pain, but because the experience sparked a feeling in her of being challenged by the kitchen and all its mysterious attractions.
At the age of 23, Melissa’s childhood dream of opening a restaurant came to fruition, when she designed and developed “Osteria del Gallo Nero,” a Tuscan country-style restaurant in Greenwich Village, which she successfully operated and owned for the duration of the restaurant’s lease.
Currently, Melissa and her husband, Tarek, a CPA and fellow food lover, own and operate Eolo – Sicilia a Tavola, a Sicilian restaurant in Chelsea. In addition, Melissa is completing a Master’s degree at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, where she is focusing on the craft of writing about food and its relation to culture.
Food is the theme of all of Melissa’s endeavors. So at events, when asked the inevitable, “What do you do?” she replies, “Food…food is what I do.”
