We are so excited to feature the divine Melissa Mayo, Chef and Author, on the blog today ahead of our exciting event in L.A. this coming May – ‘Cooking, Cocktails & Conversation’. To find out more details and to book tickets, click here.
- Tell us a little bit about yourself – who you are and what you do.
I’m a proudly Jewish chef, mom, wife, author, globetrotter, dreamer and eternal optimist. The glass is always overflowing to me. I was born in South Africa and raised on a steady diet of braaivleis (red meat cooked over an open charcoal flame). I learned to cook at my mom’s knee. I was her official taster. I was taught to taste my way to the perfect dish.
Like many South Africans I have a large personality. My front door is always open, and my home is full of guests and an abundance of good food. This is the South African way.I love steak, red wine, dark chocolate, expresso and karaoke.
After completing my MBA I moved to Los Angeles. I met my hunky South African husband, Saul, and gave birth to our beautiful daughter (and my best friend) Jade who is now 14.
We love to travel. I literally eat my way through each country, trying out new dishes and flavours. I developed a love affair with Italy. We recently bought a home in Lucca, where I plan on spending the summers until my daughter heads off to college. Then I plan on opening my cooking school and retiring to my Italian farm house with a big fig tree.
- What was the ‘uh ha’ moment that inspired you to get in to health and wellbeing?
After my daughter was born I decided to leave the world of finance. When she headed off to preschool, I took a gig cooking lunch for 30, at Oscar winner Hans Zimmer’s studio. This gave me time to experiment. Influenced by my South African roots and my travels, I created a style of cooking uniquely my own.
I also stared on Foodnetwork’s “Private Chefs of Beverly Hill’s” and spent 3 summers teaching a kids cooking camp on the Paramount lot.
My husband felt I wasn’t cooking enough for him. Hahahahaha….So I decided to open my own cooking school at home. I developed a large following and their support pushed me to launch my website 18 months ago. It has tons of free recipes, 2 minute cooking videos and posts about travel, health and fitness.
I’m passionate about food, but I also enjoy feeling fit and healthy. I believe abs are made in the kitchen. By cooking with fresh ingredients, you control what you put in your body.I enjoy grilling and roasting colorful, crunchy food that is visibly appealing, because people eat with their eyes first.
I take all my own photos and style my food so I am drawn to lots of color. It’s so important to “Eat the Rainbow”. Each colored ingredient has different nutrients our bodies need, and variety is the key. I cannot eat the same food all the time. I like all food groups equally and don’t have any foods I avoid. My motto is a little of everything, not a lot of anything.
I love simple, uncomplicated methods and my recipes are quick and based on what is in season. I like to serve food family style on huge platters. I also like food to be at room temperature so I can enjoy my guests. And being Jewish I entertain a lot. Sometimes I cook for 90 people and hosting Shabbos dinner each Friday is the best way to head into the weekend.
Last year I published my first cookbook. It focused on recipes for the Jewish holiday of Passover. I am so glad I was able to get it out before my mom passed away, so she could see I dedicated it to her. Knowing her recipes were cooked at thousands of Seders over Pesach gave me so much comfort.
- Talk us through a typical day in your life…
6am: Wakeup and mediate for 5 minutes. Grab a double expresso and breakfast and enjoy it while I read my book. Breakfast varies. I love oats in the winter, Greek yoghurt and fruit, rye toast and peanut butter, a kale and berry protein smoothie . And then the weekend is always steak and eggs or smoked salmon and bagels.
6:30am: Pack my daughter’s lunch and drop her at school
8am: Workout. My exercise of choice is always swimming in the ocean but if that is not possible I love the pool. I find the breathe in my ears is quite meditative and there is something healing to me about the water. I do most of my thinking when I swim. I also like to walk in nature or around the old cities in Italy. Nothing fast paced. Just a slow walk taking in all the beauty of the plants, butterflies and flowers. I am a yogi, but I tend to lean towards the geriatric style, slow placed, restorative classes with a lot of twists, stretching and forward bends. I am high energy person, so I use exercise to quiet my mind rather than to work out my body. I tend to put on muscle very quickly due to my high protein diet, so I avoid lunging, squatting and weights. I think it adds bulk.
10am: Cook and style and shoot some recipes. Edit these and post the recipe to my site. Do any social media posts and reply to all questions and comments from my community. I am a one woman team so there is always work to be done.
12pm: Lunch is usually a salad with some sort of whole grain, lot of different colors and a grilled protein. I love tuna and beets and I probably eat ½ a cup of olive oil a day. Some days I am lucky enough to grab sushi and a glass of vino with a girlfriend. And then an expresso to digest my meal.
1pm: There’s always a lot of laundry, house work, errands and grocery shopping. I am a mom and wife first so some days my work just has to wait and I am okay with that.
2pm: Fetch my daughter from school and head home and make her a light and healthy lunch to tide her over to dinner time.
3pm: Snack. Usually some nuts, or a few blocks of dark chocolate or some biltong (South African style beef jerky) and another expresso.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BNh4kZQAHQ9/?taken-by=chefmelissamayo
4pm: I’m DONE for the day. It’s family time. My phone is put on silent. I put on the music of Andrea Bocelli. I pour myself a glass of wine, and drink it while I make dinner. We use the BBQ a lot, so I prep some fish, chicken, steak or lamb to go on the grill. I also make a huge salad and roasted veggies. My husband is 6’4” and is very active with a healthy appetite and my daughter is already taller than me so dinner time is our biggest meal.
5:30pm: Dinnertime. Saul grills the food and we eat together. This is actually my favourite part of the day. I grew up eating dinner with my family, something that most American’s don’t do. We slow down, catch up on our day, savour each other’s company and the food in front of us. We eat like we are in Italy. Long, slow, lazy meals. Then I load the dishwasher and clean up.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BQ3vO59gle7/?taken-by=chefmelissamayo
7pm: Bath time followed by some TV time or sometimes just a book. I love the library and read any free chance I get. I find this is the best way to fall asleep. I also meditate for 5 minutes before bed time.
- Coffee or tea?
Always coffee. And none of the fancy lattes and cappuccinos. My Nespresso machine works overtime. I love a straight up short shot of black expresso, strong enough to spit a whole in the sidewalk. I probably have 4 a day and can fall asleep straight after having one. I think the Italian lifestyle has worn off on me.
- What is your indulgence of choice?
My weakness is salt and vinegar chips. I can flatten a bag on my own. It’s a serious addiction for which there is no cure. I think it’s the crunch factor that gets me.
- Three foods you can’t live without?
Steak, Italian Olive Oil (I have about ½ a cup every day), dark chocolate. And red wine for sure. I think I’d take wine over air.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BQp_k1FAnWX/?taken-by=chefmelissamayo
- What’s your go-to snack for those days on the run?
Biltong (South African style beef jerky), a handful of nuts with a piece of fruit or dried fruit
- And any last words of advice or tips for those starting out on their health journey?
Be kind to yourself. You only have this moment so make it count. I’m in my mid 40’s and I have finally learned to be comfortable in my own skin. I wish I could tell my 20 or 30 year old self to be okay with the choices I made. I’d tell myself, not look for approval from others. I like my own company and I am no longer concerned with how I look on the outside, but how I feel on the inside. If something or someone doesn’t bring me peace, I make no apologies for stepping away. I am very protective of my energy and I am most happy when I am creating something. When I am inspired I feel closest to G-d. I want to use my work to bring light to those around me and to lift them up an encourage them. Giving is so much better than receiving. My goal now is to make sure that I will be strong enough and have enough energy to be able to keep up with my grandchildren. I want to age gracefully, winkles and all. My smile and my frown lines show a life well lived. I have earned them all and I finally realize, true beauty shines from the inside.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BTkEu5GlADj/?taken-by=jshealth
Join Jess and Melissa at their event in May – click here for tickets!
Website https://www.melissamayo.com/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ChefMelissaMayo
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/chefmelissamayo/
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9uO05Z1O27cx7g2qzlQSUA
