Melissa Miranda

Melissa Miranda is an American chef and restaurateur. Miranda was named one of Food and Wine Magazine's 2022 Best New Chefs and is a 2023 James Beard Award semifinalist. She is the founder of Musang, a Filipino restaurant located in Seattle's Beacon Hill neighborhood.

Early life As a child, Miranda recalls her father's passion for food, as well as watching her grandmother cook, both of which served as moments of inspiration for her career as a chef. As a student, Miranda began working front of house in restaurants to earn some extra money.

Career

In 2016, Miranda founded Musang as a pop-up. She got funding to start a brick-and-mortar restaurant via Kickstarter, raising a total of $91,000. The restaurant opened in early 2020. Miranda appeared on Marcus Samuelsson's PBS show "No Passport Required" at the start of 2020.

In her restaurants and her publications, Miranda focuses on combining classic Filipino flavors with locally sourced, seasonal produce. At Musang, she focuses on educating the public about Filipino food through the restaurant's menu. She also starred in multiple videos for Bon Appetit Magazine and published six recipes on their website.

In 2022, Miranda was named one of Food and Wine Magazine's Best New Chefs.

As of 2023, Miranda is working on opening Kilig in Seattle's International District, which will serve bulalo and pancit.