Guts: A memoir of food, failure and taking impossible chances

by Melissa Leong

A gripping, incisive and darkly funny memoir from food and style icon and MasterChef Australia's first female judge, Melissa Leong.

'Leong serves up her raw, vibrant truth. Now that takes real guts.' – Kylie Kwong
'Utterly delectable' – Narelda Jacobs
'Melissa Leong is an Australian culinary and cultural treasure.' – Ronny Chieng

Gold Logie-nominated TV personality and food icon Melissa Leong bites down on her demons in this searing memoir, exploring themes of abuse in the hospitality industry, racism, mental health and, for a light palate cleanser, the thrill of mouth-wateringly memorable food. Most of all, she inspires the courage to create a life you really, really want.

From Melissa Leong (aka fooderati) — the first female judge of MasterChef Australia and Dessert Masters, fashion obsessive and self-confessed contrarian — comes an evocative, sharp, darkly funny and often brutal account of what it's like to try, fail and scrape together the confidence to try again. She invites you to consider your own limiting self-beliefs ... and give them the finger.

These stories take place inside kitchens and television studios, on farms and even in an abattoir. Leong shares how her dream of being a concert pianist crumbled due to chronic pain, her struggles with racism and identity as a first-generation Singaporean Chinese woman, how blowing up her life to reset her path was maybe (definitely!) worth it, and why going your own way absolutely is.

Garnished with Leong's favourite recipes, Guts is above all a glorious love letter to food, to choosing the unpredictable path and to believing in yourself even — and especially — when the odds are stacked against you.

No guts, no glory. Hope you're hungry.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Audiobook, Biography

331 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 30, 2025

Reviews

[Vicky · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 🌟 The book starts really well. Mel writes with honesty and insight about her past experiences and how they’ve shaped her life. Those early chapters feel generous and thoughtful.

At some point though, it shifts into more general life and mental health advice, and I found myself unsure who the book was really for? Memoir readers or self-help fans?

The mention of Pyrrole disorder gave me pause too, since it’s a pretty fringe diagnosis not widely accepted in mainstream medicine, and that section felt less grounded than the rest.

There are references to her time on MasterChef, but mostly through metaphor, which made me feel like I was missing some context. Totally fair enough for her not to go into it, but it did make parts of the story a bit opaque.

There are also moments where she refers to negative media reports about her without saying what they were. Without that context, those sections felt a bit abstract. It made me wonder if they mattered more to her than they do in reality to the wider public.

I love evocative food writing (thank you Nigel Slater), but some of the adjectives: “pillowy,” “toothsome,” “heady”, started to feel a little overused.

Overall, it left me with a sense of someone still processing how she’s been perceived, maybe externalising a bit of her perfectionism. It’s heartfelt and often beautifully written, just uneven in tone and focus.

(And for anyone listening to the audiobook, there’s an odd glitch in Chapter 12 where two voices overlap.)

[Melissa Black · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adore Melissa Leong, and it’s not just because we both share a name. And have Singaporean heritage. And are foodies. And are writers. And like to reference Gilmore Girls. Okay, we have a lot in common. But I preordered her memoir as soon as it was announced and I loved every bit of it. It’s soulful, sharp and beautifully written — equal parts feast and reflection.

[Amanda Vaughan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked Melissa Leong on Masterchef and was interested to know more about her. At first the book delivered with some childhood and early career details but then it lost coherence, mainly offering a lot of self help advice and circling back to the same points over and over again. No one has to write a memoir, but if you do, surely it should reveal more than that you are a private person!

[Penny Quotes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gosh this was such a beautiful memoir! I went to Melissa Leong’s book tour recently and she’s a delight. She always came across on TV as articulate and intelligent, and that’s consistent in her book too. You can hear her voice throughout these pages. Highly highly recommend. If you ever read this Mel, you’re an inspiration ✨

[Casey · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[ValTheBookEater]

I love you Melissa Leong. Thank you for articulating so much of your wisdom, story and experiences. I felt seen in many instances. This was the guts!

[lum琳]

she gives off older, overachieving sister that kinda goes off the rails in the best way possible because she's out here living her most authentic life and i love that for her and wish we would all stop settling as a society bc maybe that's why some of us are so miserable :^)

[Denise Gossow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Melissa is obviously a very strong woman and this books is about how she’s deals with adversity. Don’t expect an in-depth discussion of MasterChef or her relationships.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Badass childfree women doing badass childfree things.
Loved the integrity and determination throughout this, blended with those tasty foody, tie in recipes.

What a boss.

[Morgan]

I enjoyed this memoir, but I will admit that I'm not the intended audience for the hunting/meat-heavy eating sections - they are graphic and gruesome, and for someone who has made the decision to not eat animals it was quite intense. The sharp shift from retelling an experience learning to skin a rabbit into a story about her dog becoming injured and the grief associated with that truly made no sense to me. However, I really enjoyed the sections which force you to question culture in Australia and the importance of giving voice to diverse communities.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a huge Masterchef Australia fan and so elated a woman was a part of the judging table, so no surprise there when Melissa Leong announced the launch of her memoir, I jumped at the very second I could get my hands on this book.

The book is titled ‘Guts’ and yet I found it far from being gutsy not do I find the contents in this book particularly warming to the gut as well. Kudos to her for all her achievements but this book offered no depth into those achievements and funnily enough, when she summarised her marriage as a ‘should’, so is the publishing of this memoir.

I found some bits a great read and the food vocabulary is fantastic but it is also laced with a lot of humble bragging and let’s face it, gets a tad tired after a while.

The recipes in the book are also a nice touch, very Stanley Tucci of her to add her jazz to it but unless one is a novice cook or hid from the internet, it does scream basic and the peanut sauce she has in her book, well, as a fellow South East Asian- it is rather abysmal.

Overall, not a bad read while sipping on coffee but not one that captures the guts.

[Nicole Viljoen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️
Really enjoyed aspects of this book. I love hearing people’s stories and getting a glimpse of life through their eyes. I felt like the books didn’t follow any kind of order or direction which made it a bit harder to get into. I would’ve liked it if it was in chronological order or broken up into more specific themes. There were no juicy stories of her time on Masterchef which was interesting given it’s a memoir. Learning about her through this book I can kind of understand why she didn’t spend much time on that part of her life- she’s a private person. It was a good book. I’m pleased I read it but wouldn’t necessarily recommend it.

[Nick Iwan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Had a pretty rough year of unfinished books, so I was really wanting to bring in the new year with something decent. Personally, Mel is among the coolest people I wish I knew, so I expected her book to be great — and it was. Her natural articulation and storytelling made it really easy to read, but more importantly, made me want to keep reading. I found it super motivating and comforting. It’s the perfect book for someone in a bit of a rut, at a crossroads, or feeling unsure about life decisions. It really emphasises that everyone is genuinely on their own path.

[Dimity Powell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Raw, gritty, spicy, satisfying, memorable - just like one of the many dishes Melissa garnishes her memoir with. It was everything I expected and then some. I love the fluid speak and compelling delivery this lady employs to deliver (some of) her inner most feels. It takes some guts and even more balls along with buckets of gravitas to articulate so humbly and so eloquently with such razar sharp unapolgetic conviction. I love that! Full marks for relatablility (for me in spades!) and respect.

[Fofi Meehan · Rating 4 out of 5]

As with many Aussies, Melissa Leong came onto my radar when she joined MasterChef as a judge. There is no doubt that Melissa can write and has the gift of bringing food and situations to life so you feel like you are actually there. I found this book to be raw, authentic and really sassy and I really loved it.

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author writes about her background and in the process discusses mental health, race, marriage and burnout.
It was interesting to read how she found her way to a career she enjoys and a life she is comfortable with.
It was not a bad read but I wasn't always engaged, perhaps due to her private nature.

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Knew very very little about Melissa before listening to her audiobook. Didn’t even know her, but I related to this so much I listened to it in less than 24 hours. Strongly recommend this read to anyone who can read.

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found Melissa’s writing to be more witty than I expected. I love a good reference to the Gilmore Girls, and they were peppered throughout the book. A fascinating life, with more challenges than I expected.

[Emily Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting read about someone I really didn't know much about. It does get repetitive towards the end of the book and coming into this without being a MasterChef viewer I had to google some of the events alluded to.

[Andrew Walton · Rating 5 out of 5]

With the genre of food books from those within and around the industry, Melissa has hit a very high benchmark in the way she has written about the depth of her life experiences and inner feelings.
Thank you for sharing the raw and open moments with us.

[Nadia Myers · Rating 2 out of 5]

as much as I wanted to like this book, it just wasn't gutsy. it feels like a self help book and is vague and insubstantial in the learnings she is trying to convey. I like my memoirs to be deep and personal and this is at arms reach.

[Jill Stephens · Rating 5 out of 5]

The bomb. This highly resonates with me. A must read !!

[Maddie Irwin]

Listened to on audible, narrated by Melissa herself.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐

[Alma G · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this. I didn’t really have an opinion on Melissa Leong beforehand but this book felt like a coffee with an old friend.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

fantastic

[Megs Gopalan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was probably one of my favourite books to have read. It’s awe inspiring and such eye opener about the pressures of life and a reminder - that it’s fine not to get everything right.

[Satria · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very authentic memoir which has offered me a different lens on the concept of food, multiculturalism and fame. I like the recipes included throughout.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable, but I also found it a little repetitive and self-help centric at times which unfortunately minimised the depth and importance of her experiences.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an inspirational read. I hope one day I can gain the same confidence and veracity that she has.