We were checking out Twitter messages and saw an interesting tweet from Melissa d’Arabian, host of the very popular Food Network show Ten Dollar Dinners with Melissa d’Arabian:
It turns out that Melissa and her family recently moved to Coronado – we are so happy to have her here on the island. Perhaps she’ll join Denise Jones and her Coronado ‘foodie’ friends at a future concert-in-the-park!
Here is her bio and some yummy sample videos. Be sure to catch her show on the Food Network Sundays at 9am. We can’t wait to try out a few recipes and get our hands on her cookbook!
In August 2009, Melissa d’Arabian won season five of Food Network Star, beating out thousands of hopefuls for the ultimate dream job: her own Food Network show. As a wife and a stay-at-home mother to her four preschool-aged daughters, Melissa embodies family home cooking at its finest. On her daytime cooking series, Ten Dollar Dinners with Melissa d’Arabian, she shares her tasty recipes and $10 promise: four people, ten bucks, infinite possibilities.
Cooking from a young age and always passionate about food, Melissa pairs her varied culinary and life experiences to provide food lifestyle solutions and approachable recipes for all stages of life. She finds culinary inspiration in family and friends, always cooking for people not just for the plate.
During her early childhood, Melissa lived with her mother and sister in Tucson, Ariz., where she learned about budget-conscious cooking out of necessity life lessons that have always remained at her core. Due to her mother’s schooling and career, Melissa also lived and went to school in San Diego and Bethesda, Md. She received a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from The University of Vermont in 1990, and then spent a year at sea on the entertainment staff of two cruise lines before earning her MBA at Georgetown University in 1993. To pay her way through business school, she held down several jobs including working as a live-in cook for a family of seven. Melissa then began her professional career in consulting and eventually worked in corporate finance at Disney in Burbank, Calif., and in merchandise finance at Euro Disney outside of Paris.
While working in Paris, Melissa met her husband, Philippe, who was born and raised in the south of France. They married in June 2003 and now have four daughters: Valentine; Charlotte; and twins, Margaux and Océane. Melissa continued working as a business and strategy consultant until she was put on bed rest for her twin pregnancy in June 2007 when she focused on being a stay-at-home mom.
Melissa has spent time volunteering and giving back to various organizations; she currently serves on the Executive Program Advisory Board of Act One, Inc., a non-profit organization founded to train Christians of all denominations for careers in mainstream film and television. Melissa believes strongly in her Christian faith and living her life with meaning and purpose. In addition to her family and cooking, Melissa enjoys theatre, reading non-fiction, writing, and movies. She also speaks Spanish and French.
