Hi, I’m Melissa!

I am a seasoned Chef and coffee lover living in New Orleans with a diverse culinary background and an insatiable passion for cooking and sharing my story through feeding others. I was born in the third largest city in the Atlantic Coast of Honduras, La Ceiba, Atlántida, Honduras.

Growing up I spent summers in Honduras on my grandmother’s farm. This time is one of my most cherished memories, allowing me to learn so much about my heritage, cultivate a love for cooking at a young age and help my family on the farm.

I spent the remainder of the year in Providence, Rhode Island where life was vastly different, but also contributed to developing the person I have become today and influenced my culinary style.

Around the age of 16 my family and I relocated to New Orleans and I felt I had finally found the place to truly cultivate my culinary interests outside of Honduras. Life, family, heritage and the city of New Orleans inspired me to enter the culinary industry. After graduating High School I immediately took advantage of any and every opportunity to cultivate my passion for cooking, working my way up in local restaurants. I have continuously grown and evolved as a Chef starting from the bottom and working my way up through the culinary industry.

When I’m not in the kitchen I enjoy spending time at the beach with my two dogs Charlotte & Maximilian or traveling the world to discover new places and culinary experiences. I enjoy getting lost in the culture and experience of new places, and use this as inspiration for the experiences I deliver through my cooking.

From 1999-2006 I worked in Milan, Italy developing and perfecting style of culinary artistry. In 2011, I joined Mondo’s Restaurant for Chef Susan Spicer, Winner of the 2010 James Beard Award for best Chef in South. In 2012 I joined the team for R’evolution Restaurant for John Folse & Rick Tramonto. In 2013 I worked has Sous Chef Doris Metropolitan. This was the year I also brought Saveur Catering to the New Orleans area. In 2015 worked for Chef Alon Shaya at Dominica Restaurant & Shaya Restaurant. In 2015, I was the James Beard award winner best Chef in the South. In 2016 I achieved Best New Restaurant and in 2017 I founded Araujo Restaurant Group.

Araujo Group LLC. is a small, independent restaurant group located in New Orleans , Louisiana that specializes in one-off food concepts where our focus is on quality food, drinks and customer service. We aim to provide warm, friendly environments to our staff and guests in the neighborhoods. we inhabit. We only serve the highest quality ingredients with a focus on organic produce, family, farm-raised meats and product from as close to New Orleans and Louisiana as we can get.