Melissa Perfit is the Executive Chef at Bar Crudo in San Francisco, CA. She was born in Canberra, Australia, but moved to Gainesville, FL at a young age. While attending Florida State University, working towards a degree in media productions and film, Melissa spent a semester abroad in London where she fell in love with food and cooking. Her first job in a kitchen was doing prep at a restaurant in Florida. After graduating, Melissa set her sights on culinary school in San Francisco and enrolled at California Culinary Academy. Over the next ten years she cooked in multiple kitchens in San Francisco including Hog Island Oyster Co, Farina, Rn74 for Michael Mina, Bar Tartine as sous chef for Chris Kronner and Nick Balla, and finally landed the position of Chef De Cuisine for Charles Phan’s restaurant Hard Water. In 2014, Melissa received an offer from the owners of Bar Crudo to take over the Executive Chef position, where she has been leading the kitchen ever since.
