Melissa Villegas

General Manager

Melissa Villegas leads Little Saint as General Manager with a decade of distinguished culinary expertise. Melissa received her Bachelor of Arts in Culinary Administration and Service from the Culinary Art School in her native Tijuana, Mexico.

Melissa’s international culinary experience commenced with an internship in Hastings, England, starting as a Line Cook and then becoming Manager. Melissa returned to the Culinary Art School to start her Master’s in Mexican Cuisine, during which she became a Co-owner and General Manager of Mantequilla, a brunch restaurant of her own in Mexico, and then Saketori, where she implemented Japanese culinary techniques using only local Mexican ingredients. In addition, she interned at Noma’s pop-up in Mexico under René Redzepi, first in production and then in service. Upon achieving her Master’s, Melissa relocated to Copenhagen to work for Rosio Sanchez at Hija de Sanchez as General Manager of two taqueria locations. Most recently, Melissa led the team at Noma’s Popl, an upscale burger restaurant, as Manager working alongside Little Saint’s Culinary Director, Stu Stalker, prior to moving to Healdsburg to join Little Saint.