Melissa Hemsley

Melissa Hemsley is a self-taught chef, food columnist and best-selling cookbook author. A sustainability champion with a passion for spreading feel-good food that is healthy, affordable, and nourishing, Melissa is followed by over 200K people on Instagram, avidly anticipating her recipes and wellness advice. Seeking to create delicious food with zero waste, she is at the forefront of the clean eating movement. When booked as a speaker, Melissa passionately discusses her simple healthy approach to life and delves into some of her nourishing food recipes.

Beginning her career as a private Chef for VIP clients, including Take That, Melissa rapidly established herself as a talented chef with an abundance of innovative recipes. She held the role of Brand Manager at Vivobarefoot & Terra Plana before joining the Columbo Group as a Sales & Marketing Director. In 2010 she Founded Hemsley & Hemsley, becoming Director and Cook. As well as running her own company, Melissa is a recipe writer and sustainability columnist for The Telegraph and Vogue magazine.

In 2019 she launched Sustainability Sessions, a series of community panel discussions featuring experts such as Grace Dent, Anita Rani, Skye Gyngell, Bryon Gordon, June Sarpong MBE, Matt Haig and Fearne Cotton. The panel typically discuss various topics, including farming, travel, plastic pollution, mental health, fast fashion, green beauty, and slow living. Moreover, Melissa has published five internationally bestselling cookbooks, The Art of Eating Well, Eat Happy, Eat Green, Good + Simple and most recently, Feel Good.

As a distinguished personality in the food scene, Melissa is a judge for several prestigious events and awards, such as the GQ Food & Drinks Awards, Soil Association (Best of Organic awards), the Guild of Fine Foods and YBFS. Furthermore, she was the host of the Sustainable Restaurant Association award in 2019 and the Veg Summit Awards in 2020. On a mission to empower people to make meaningful, sustainable changes in their daily lives, Melissa supports the food waste charity The Felix Project, where she is involved in rescuing surplus food and cooking for vulnerable communities. She is also an ambassador for Mental Health Mates, the Fairtrade Foundation and Women Supporting Women.