Meet the leaders: Melissa Leong

Melissa Leong is a journalist and television presenter, who was also a judge on Channel 10’s Dessert Masters. In this profile she reveals why “peace” is high on her new year’s wishlist. 

If you could re-read one book what would it be?
I loved A Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion. If I could read it again, never having read it, I would a million times over.

What is your favourite hotel and why?
I’ve had the fortune of staying in some pretty spectacular hotels around the world, and what I love is when everything is exactly where it needs to be, and it takes into account the environment that it’s in. Comfort, with consideration, is always appreciated.

The Rosewood in Phnom Penh, Cambodia is one such place — incredible food, warm service and a level of luxury that is unparalleled anywhere in the world. The Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles is a bit of a low-fi contrast for this, but there’s no discounting the value of myth, legend and privacy.

Did you make a new year’s resolution and if so what was it?
I have found these past years that it’s useful to choose a word, or a couple of words that mean something and focus on that. For the past few years, ‘peace’ has been high on the list. 

Podcasts or video streaming? And do you have any recommendations?
Both, because they’re convenient and they help me process without the silence … my brain is a very loud place sometimes! 

Podcasts: On The Scent — a perfume podcast by fragrance journalist and friend Suzy Nightingale and radio presenter Nicola Bonn. Suzy describes fragrance a lot like how I do with food, which is amazing for your soul but terrible for your bank account. 

Video streaming: I loved [the TV series] Boy Swallows Universe.

Who do you admire and why?
I admire my cats for training me to be so obsessed with them that I am THIS committed to continuing to give them the luxurious life they have become accustomed to. 

What is your Instagram feed most likely to be full of?
Extremes. This week alone, I’ve been on location in the Tasmanian wilderness filming a TV show and on a red carpet in a full-on fashion moment. The girl has range! 

Do you have a favourite designer?
Great design has the capacity to give us so much more than just beauty, or function. When it can combine form, function and feeling, then you’re cooking! 

My dining table is made by Daniel Barbera and it’s an art object that truly embodies all the tenets of great design. For clothing and accessories, it’s been a big Bottega Veneta year for me. 

What brings you joy?
Learning. I get a real thrill out of picking something new up that I didn’t know before. Whether that’s language, food, travel, there is true joy in discovering something new. 

Is exercise a must or a grind and how do you fit it into your lifestyle?
Both. There are definitely days where exercise is a more difficult proposition but having injured myself recently, I have realized how much I miss exercising. 

I have found sports that are both effective and fun for me, like Pilates and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and both require a concerted and consistent effort in order to excel. 

What do you hope people will remember about you?
I hope people think of me as being kind, true and real. In a world that is so often not as it seems, I would like to think that people know I’m just being me.