Melissa Cookston Biography
Melissa Cookston is an American TV Personality, Chef, Restaurateur, and Author well-known for appearing on TV shows like “Barbecue Showdown” (most recently). Some of the other shows he has starred in include “Food Paradise”, “Last Call Food Brawl”, and “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives”.
Melissa Cookston Age
Cookston is 56 years old as of 2024. She was born in the year 1968 in Ruleville, Mississippi, United States. However, Cookston has managed to keep her date and month of birth away from the limelight, hence it is difficult to know when she celebrates her birthday.
Melissa Cookston Height
Cookston stands at an approximate height of 5 feet 8 inches.
Melissa Cookston Family
Cookston was brought up in Pontotoc, Mississippi, and Greenville, Mississippi. However, she has managed to keep her personal life away from the limelight hence she has not disclosed any information about her parents. It is also not known if Cookston has any siblings.
Melissa Cookston Husband | Daughter
Cookston is a married woman and her spouse is called Pete. The couple takes great pride in being mom and dad to their one daughter, Lauren. The family resides happily in Hernando, Mississippi.
Melissa Cookston’s Net Worth
Cookston has an estimated net worth of between $5 Million and $10 Million which she has earned through her successful career as a TV Personality, Chef, and Author.
Melissa Cookston Career
Cookston is a successful chef, TV personality, restaurateur, and author. As a television personality, he has appeared in a number of reality cooking shows (some listed down on this page and others on the biography part). As a restaurateur, Cookston has owned several restaurants in the United States. She has been the owner of The BBQ Allstars in Southaven, Mississippi since November 2021. Since January 2011, she has also owned Memphis Barbeque in Horn Lake, Mississippi. Additionally, Cookston has been running Melissa Cookston, LLC since the year 2011. According to his Twitter bio, she also works as a Brand Ambassador for Prairie Fresh Pork.
In the year 1996, Cookston began cooking barbecue and competing in contests, winning multiple awards. In the year 2007, she and her husband, Pete, left their jobs to travel across the country for barbecue competitions. They opened their very 1st restaurant, Memphis BBQ Company, in the year 2011, which you can find in Georgia and Mississippi. Cookston also started STEAK by Melissa in Southaven, Mississippi, in October 2016, but it closed in the year 2020. She also opened Green Tomato Catering, a restaurant for catering and plate lunches, in Horn Lake, Mississippi in the year 2019. She still leads Yazoo’s Delta Q barbecue team as their pitmaster. In the year 2017, Cookston started breeding her own special pigs.
Over the years of her cooking career, Cookston has become a World BBQ Champion 7 times and has been inducted into the BBQ Hall of Fame. Additionally, she took top prize at the Memphis in May American Barbecue World Championship.
Melissa Cookston Barbecue Showdown Sn 2
Cookston is the judge in Season 2 of the reality TV cooking show “Barbecue Showdown”, which premiered on July 4, 2024, on Netflix. The show features 8 competitors from around the United States who make delicious and creative barbecues for a chance to win $50K. In this season, Kevin Bludso is also a judge, and Michelle Buteau is the host.
Melissa Cookston Philanthropy
In the year 2019, Melissa started a nonprofit called The World Junior BBQ League to involve kids in BBQ competitions and teach them skills like leadership and teamwork.
Melissa Cookston Books
As an author, Cookston has written 2 cookbooks;
- Smokin’ Hot in the South (2016)
- Smokin in the Boy’s Room (2014)
Melissa Cookston TV Shows
Some of the other shows Cookston has appeared in apart from the ones mentioned in the biography part include;
- BBQ Pitmasters (2009)
- FabLife (2016)
- Tamron Hall (2021)
- Chopped (2012 – 2018)
- The Kitchen
- Today (2014 – 2023)
- The Chew
- Home & Family
- CBS This Morning
Melissa Cookston Website
Cookston has a website where she updates her portfolio. To visit her website, click HERE.
Melissa Cookston Social Media Platforms
She is active on her social media accounts and is often seen posting on her Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. She has over 239K followers on Instagram, over 39K followers on Facebook, and over 8.2K followers on Twitter.