From a young age, Melissa Perello knew she wanted to be a chef. The New Jersey native got her culinary feet wet while working at a country club in Houston, where she grew up. In 1994, Perello enrolled in the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park. Upon graduating, she moved to San Francisco to work under Michael Mina at Aqua, before moving on to Charles Nob Hill with Ron Siegel. Suffering from burnout, she hung up her toque on New Year’s Eve in 2006, and spent time collecting her thoughts while traveling with family and friends. Upon her return to San Francisco, Perello started planning her comeback. Perello opened Frances in the Castro neighborhood in 2009. In 2015, Perello opened her second restaurant, Octavia.