Formerly a line chef at The Restaurant at the Getty, owner of The Garden Light Restaurant, and currently the owner of Melissa Ward Organic Gourmet Catering, Melissa is as passionate about great tasting food as she is about healthy living.

Melissa enjoys being a long time enthusiast of organic foods, having pioneered organic style when she opened a raw foods vegetarian restaurant, The Garden Light, in Leucadia, California. The restaurant not only served delicious dishes created from organically grown produce, but offered ongoing education to the community in how to eat, live and heal in harmony with nature. Melissa later collaborated in the opening of the first natural foods store in Paia, Maui, Pyramid Natural Foods, and assisted in the creation of the Wright Way Organic Resource Center in Malibu, California.

She has studied food therapies and holistic healing techniques in Europe and in the US, including studies with the renowned healer Bernard Jensen. As a published writer Melissa contributes articles about food, recipes, nutrition, and healthy living. In addition to her work as a caterer and counselor, Melissa teaches cooking classes both privately and to groups, including nutritionally oriented classes for the LAUSD for the Nutrition Network. Being a self-taught chef, Melissa brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the art of organic gourmet food preparation. Her classes are filled with tips & techniques to assist you in easily preparing tasty organic meals right in your own kitchen.
Melissa is a certified nutritional consultant through the American Nutritional Consultants Association, a member of Women Chefs and Restaurateurs, and holds a degree in English Literature from the University of California at Los Angeles. Melissa is currently available for private classes, group classes, personal chef services, catering, restaurant and nutritional consultations.