Melissa Leong: ‘The weirdest thing I’ve done for love? Live on an abattoir’
You’re a judge on this year’s Dessert Masters. What are you secretly the master of?
I am the master of dodging a question. I feel like the last couple of years have been a good time to flex my media training. You don’t always want to, as human beings, share everything of who you are. I feel like I can say what I want to say, but keep a little bit for myself. And I think that’s something we should all be good at doing: holding a little bit back for ourselves and our loved ones.
What is the most memorable dessert you have ever eaten?
An experimental dessert I had in Slovenia a couple of years ago by Ana Roš at Hiša Franko in the Soča Valley. She was working on a dessert that involved beef fat ice-cream. Being in rural Slovenia, it was all about finding interesting ways to use everything she has available to her. And that wasn’t a finished dish. There was a little bit of graininess still involved in the churning of the beef fat into ice-cream, but it was delicious nonetheless. There’s a Chef’s Table about her from a couple of years ago.
If you had a sandwich named after you, what would be in it?
If I think about the sandwich I really want to eat right now, it’s marinated artichoke, mortadella, sopressa, fontina; I’m thinking pickled Italian vegetable deli roll.
One of the best sandwiches I’ve ever had in my entire life is a muffuletta. I had it from Central Grocery, which is the originator of it in New Orleans. When I went to order the sandwich I said: “One sandwich.” And the guy just looked at me like I was insane. When he gave me the sandwich, I realised why – it’s the entire loaf, so it feeds about six people. I was just travelling with one other person, and over the period of the next couple of days, every time we would come home a little bit sauced we just ate a bit more sandwich. A good deli sandwich is a thing of beauty.
What do you do when you can’t get to sleep?
I do battle with insomnia from time to time. I’m one of those – I listen to creepy stories from Reddit being read in a monotone voice. I’ve been listening to Patric Gagne’s book Sociopath: A Memoir, and it is voiced by the author. She ends up getting a doctorate in psychology, specialising in sociopathy, and she’s the most self-aware sociopath I’ve ever heard of. She’s explaining, from the driver’s seat, what it’s like to be her, and what she can feel and what she can’t. It’s very interesting but also helps me go to sleep because the sociopath is out there and in my ears, but not in my house.
What’s the oldest thing you own, and why do you still have it?
I think with Chinese custom we tend to get rid of stuff, because new means auspicious. So I don’t tend to hold on to a lot; I’m pretty good when I move house. But if I really think about it, it’s probably a bracelet I inherited from my grandmother on my father’s side, which is two dragon heads interlocked.
What’s been your most cringeworthy run-in with a celebrity?
It’s with Luke McGregor, who has become a friend of mine now! A couple of Logies ago, I was wearing a dress with gloves that extended into sleeves, so there was no gap to take your hand out. Gorgeous, gorgeous gown. He shook my hand, and he’s like: “How are you going to go to the loo in that dress?” And I didn’t really think about that when I tried it on.
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Luke is so lovingly awkward, and so am I, which is why we ended up bonding. We workshopped how I was going to go to the loo in this dress, and the answer was not to drink much water or anything at all so I didn’t have to go. In the end, I basically had to take the entire thing off to go and wash my hands, semi-naked, then get dressed again.
What book or film do you always return to?
I really love watching Ratatouille. It’s just wholesome and lovely and beautiful. And on the other side of the coin, the entire Fast and Furious franchise. Polar opposites, but they’re both really comforting. I just rewatched Tokyo Drift. Don’t ask me how many times I’ve seen it. It’s one of the worst and best movies of all time. I will routinely work my way through the entire Fast and Furious franchise because, you know, there’s nothing like family.
What’s the weirdest thing you’ve done for love?
Live on an abattoir in Tasmania for about a year. My boyfriend at the time owned and ran the abattoir and came from an engineering background; he ended up teaching himself how to be a slaughterman and a butcher.
I’m still a very meaty kind of gal. I do feel like that entire experience made me so much more appreciative of the fullness of life, our access to meat. If you ever have the opportunity to see how it goes from animal to your dinner plate, you should do it. Because if you can’t face how your food gets to you, then maybe you shouldn’t eat it.
I definitely don’t eat as much meat as I used to, because I want to make more conscious choices. I think if something has given its life for your nourishment, wasting it is highly disrespectful. Obviously, you need to be rational as well and flexible with how you live. But that’s the way I look at meat.
What song do you want played at your funeral?
Probably getting a little bit emo, but the Nine Inch Nails cover of Hurt gets me every single time. I’m not too ashamed to admit I want people to cry at my funeral. Otherwise, These Boots Were Made for Walkin’ by Nancy Sinatra. And if I could submit a third (this is, like, the pinball that goes on inside my brain on a daily basis): Killing in the Name.
Who do you want to play you in the biopic about your life?
Well, that’s a question about representation, isn’t it? Like, years ago, it’d be whoever the reigning Hollywood superstar at the time was – but who looks like us? I feel very fortunate in some small way on the small screen to be a part of the visibility of east Asian women in popular culture and in the media.
Who would I have to play me? Michelle Yeoh is a badass. Did you see her at the Bottega Veneta show recently? My god. Her body of work from being an accomplished martial artist to an actor to comedy, drama … just the depth and range of her ability, the fact that she’s into combat sports as well, just gives zero fucks. The more she progresses in life, the more elegant and graceful and powerful she becomes. Just as a as a human being for reference in life, I could do worse than to emulate her in any capacity.
I’m really glad that there are more actors to pick from these days for us as people of colour. Long may it continue.
Dessert Masters returns Monday 14 October at 7.30pm on 10 and 10Play
