Laura Lehrman: Usually I ask fairly long, multi-part questions when I interview a StarChef. If you're willing, I'd like to conduct this interview in a different way or format. What I'd like to do is mention a word or phrase and have you free associate, if you will, and tell our readers what pops into your head when you hear the word or words. Is this okay with you?

Melissa Kelly: That would be just fine.

LL: Great! Here goes...Early Food Remembrances

MK: I have some great food memories from my grandmother. I loved her cappelleti - little pasta hats stuffed with pork and veal and ricotta. My grandmother also made wonderful sweet rice cakes "fruttalinis." She made the little cakes out of leftover rice, then rolled them in sugar and pan-fried them in olive oil. They never made it off the draining platter onto the serving plate when I was around. I don't know if she made these up or not. These memories are from the time I was 6 or 7 years old.

LL: Hardest Lessons At Cooking School

MK: For me, it was when I went to cooking school. At that time, there weren't that many women attending The Culinary Institute of America. I was constantly being challenged by my classmates and the instructors, especially because I was a woman. Some of my classmates kind of squeaked by. While the male students were often out drinking beer in the evenings, I was busy reading class notes and books and I think I got more out of school than they did. The guys thought that they already knew the material. I wasn't as sure of myself. (Interviewer's Note: Melissa Kelly graduated first in her class.)

LL: Most Valuable Kitchen Training Experiences

MK: I worked with Larry Forgione for 6 years which gave me invaluable experience. I did a short stint at Chez Panisse where I discovered my own style. Being there helped me a lot. The food was simple. It was like the food I grew up with, but had never cooked in a restaurant before that time. I started integrating my past and the food that I knew and developed my own style. The Chez Panisse experience was enlightening.

LL: Alice Waters

MK: I didn't work directly with Alice Waters at Chez Panisse in Berkeley. In order to be able to cook there, I had to be on a trial basis working in the kitchen for three weeks first. Then I had to plan and prepare and serve a whole meal to Alice and her associates and be critiqued. Her presence was felt in the restaurant at all times. We all knew about her thoughts about food and community. Her involvement and sense of responsibility with the community was the biggest lesson I learned there. She has done so much for this industry and gives so much back. I try to emulate her and hope that I too can make my part of the world a better place to live.

LL: Women In Professional Kitchens

MK: I've worked with a lot of women, mostly at Larry Forgione's restaurants and I've done special events with women. I find them to be very organized. They are concerned and quite thorough. They make lists. Men often think that it's just going to happen without all of the organization and attention to details that women are concerned about. I have two women working in my kitchen here at the Old Chatham Sheepherding Company Inn. I don't go for genders. It's not important to me. I have noticed that the dynamics in the kitchen are different when the two men who work in this kitchen work together side by side compared to when one of them works alongside me. This could be because we're man and woman working together or because I'm their boss; I'm not really sure. Luckily, who ever works here seems to stay working for a long time. We don't have much personnel turnover.

LL: Important Kitchen Tools

MK: Knives are #1. I use the robocoup a lot.

LL: Old Chatham Sheepherding Company Inn

MK: This place has been great for me. I started working with Tom and Nancy Clark, the owners, at the inception of this great project in 1995. I am lucky enough to have been the opening chef. Nancy Clark is a very creative, talented interior designer. Tom Clark is the agriculturist. He was a sheepherder and you know that we produce our own cheese here. The original house that we started with was old and run down. We decided that we would have a garden and a greenhouse. My ideas and theirs started taking shape. The concept was basically to have a Bed and Breakfast establishment. I said that if I was going to come there that there must be a restaurant. The restaurant originally had 35 seats. There are 48 now. In the summer, there are 100 people a night on the waiting list. The Hudson Valley is home for me. It's where I went to school and it's where I have worked as a chef. I have great connections with neighbor clients and local farmers as well as other chefs who are in the area. I value my good ties with the CIA and think that it's very nice being so close to the school. The Old Chatham Sheepherding Company Inn has been a good thing.

LL: Tips And Tricks For The Home Cook

MK: I teach some cooking classes here and there and I try to impress upon home cooks that the ingredients are the most important part of cooking. It's vital to use great ingredients. They are available especially in the summer from all the local farmer stands. Rely on a butcher and a fish person because they are specialists and they know what to give you and understand their ingredients. Support your local town suppliers. Home cooks tend not to use enough spices and fresh herbs. They're afraid of using salt to season their food and butter too. Use these in moderation to add flavor to your food. Many home cooks just don't put enough flair into their food. These days fresh herbs are readily available even in supermarkets. Great ingredients are easier to get now more than ever.

LL: Winning a James Beard Award

MK: Surprising to me. It was nice just to be nominated. The first time that I was nominated was such a thrill. My family - my mother, my brother, my sister, my fiancé all came to the Awards. And they were more disappointed than I that I didn't win that year. To me, it was such a personal sense of accomplishment and recognition. So, this year when it happened that I did win a Beard award, I had asked everyone not to attend because I didn't want them to be letdown again. It felt so wonderful to win because with this award you are nominated and voted on by your peers. When I won, I called the restaurant and told them at 8:30 p.m. My sister brought my mother down to Manhattan and surprised me that night. It's also such a nice thing for my staff. I consider it to be a huge honor. There's great competition and I feel bad for the guy who loses because last year was so heart-wrenching for me. It's particularly special to me because we're kind of in the woods and we don't usually get the exposure that the big city chefs and restaurants get. I like to think that it shows that you don't have to be in the city to achieve this kind of recognition, that there are great chefs anywhere. Especially, if you let your backyard be your garden and depend on and support all your purveyors.

LL: The Future

MK: Of course it's every chef's dream to have their own restaurant. Where I'm working now would be hard to top. Not too many people can create a place like this. Ultimately I do intend to go off on my own. It will be the final part of the puzzle for me. I've been working very hard for 13 years now. I've been engaged for 2 and a half years, I'm 34 years old and would like to have at least one child. If I'm going to have a family and a life, I need to be in a position where I can call the shots. My goal is to figure it out. I actually think that I need a wife myself. I work 90 to 100 hours a week now. My focus is to get this down to 70 hours a week. My fiancé is the talented baker here at the Inn, but our schedules are so different and we definitely want to start spending more time together.

LL: Anything That You Want To Add

MK: For me, being a chef means more than being a chef. It's important to think about the farmer and the people on the receiving end of what I'm doing. I care about quality of life. I want to teach people about food. The end results? - think about it. Do I want to help big corporations which are manufacturers or help farmers? I work closely with farmers and I want them to know what people want to buy from them. We build relationships. For example, there's a local butcher who smokes my bacon the way I want to have it. When you build relationships like this, it all comes back to you. It becomes a full circle.

Interview was conducted by Laura Lehrman for StarChefs.