The Chocolate Professor

Mary Luz Mejia is the first and so far only IICCT Level 3 chocolate taster in Canada. She completed her final level in Italy, the first two in Canada and now leads sensory tutored tastings and classes focusing on Canadian bean-to-bar chocolate across Canada and globally via virtual events. Colombian-born, Canadian-raised Mary Luz Mejia is a twice NATJA nominated freelance food/travel journalist, Gemini-nominated former food TV producer, and chocolate judge. Her work has been published in Saveur Magazine, The Toronto Star, The Globe & Mail, and Toronto Life to name a few. When not writing about chocolate or judging it, she loves savouring good dark milk or dark chocolate single estate varietals, ideally from Peru with fruit and floral notes.

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Rashmi Gopal Rao

Rashmi Gopal Rao is a freelance writer based in Bengaluru. She writes on various topics like travel, food, culture, architecture and design and has been published in various publications including National Geographic, Atlas Obscura, Nikkei Asia, Fodors, The National, Architectural Digest, Khaleej Times, The Sunday Hindu, The New Indian Express and Mint Lounge. Apart from travelling, she is passionate about anything related to home decor, antiques, vintage and thrift finds. So, when not exploring new places, cultures and cuisines, you can find her at flea markets! Follow her on @rashminotes.

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Luke Owen Smith

Luke Owen Smith has been an advocate for the craft chocolate industry for the past ten years, during which time he’s hosted many chocolate tasting and talks throughout New Zealand. His former business The Chocolate Bar was New Zealand’s first craft chocolate shop, and he was the co-founder of New Zealand’s only craft chocolate festival, Chocstock. These days you'll find him writing about chocolate (and beer!) for a variety of media outlets, judging at various chocolate awards, and generally promoting high quality, ethical chocolate in whatever way possible. Find Luke on Instagram at @lukeowensmith and at lukeowensmith.com

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Nupur Roopa

Nupur Roopa is a freelance writer from New Delhi. She writes about environmental issues, culture, food, health and wellness, history, social initiatives, and sustainability. Her work has been published in Al Jazeera, The Guardian, UK, Whetstone Journal, Earth Island Journal, The National News, (UAE), Reader’s Digest India, Mongabay India, and more.

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Lauren Adler

A pioneer in the craft chocolate industry, Lauren Adler founded Seattle retail store Chocolopolis in 2008. She is the Board President of the Fine Chocolate Industry Association and has been a speaker and panelist at FCIA’s Elevate Chocolate, Fancy Food Show, Northwest Chocolate Festival and Dallas Chocolate Festival. She served as a chocolate judge for the International Chocolate Awards, Good Food Awards and Northwest Chocolate Festival. Lauren enjoys sharing stories of cacao and chocolate with chocolate lovers and watching their “a-ha” moments as they discover quality chocolate’s complex flavors. You can find her at www.chocolopolis.com , @ChiefChocophile and @Chocolopolis

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Robin Catalano

Robin Catalano is a travel, culture, and food journalist. Her stories have appeared in National Geographic, Travel + Leisure, TIME, Smithsonian, Conde Nast Traveler, AFAR, Hemispheres, Robb Report, Fodor's, Food & Wine, Bon Appetit, Insider, Boston Globe, Albany Times Union, and more. A member of the Society of American Travel Writers and the International Federation of Journalists, she was selected as the summer 2020 Writer-in-Residence at Arrowhead, the historic home of Herman Melville in Pittsfield, Mass. In 2022, she was a finalist for the International Food Wine and Travel Writers Association's Excellence in Journalism award. She lives in the Hudson Valley.

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Barb Genuario

Barb Genuario is based near DC when not traveling for chocolate explorations as @chocochaser. She believes in building a chocolate community locally & nationally, and co-founded the DC Chocolate Society in early 2019. Barb has five years of hands-on chocolate-making experience with the DC craft maker Harper Macaw & was fortunate to represent Harper Macaw on a Peruvian cacao sourcing trip. Barb volunteers for numerous chocolate festivals and welcomes sharing chocolate knowledge with any who asks.

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Rebecca Frey

Rebecca Frey enjoyed a long career as a costume designer and wardrobe stylist before changing course to pursue her passion for food. She is a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu London, where she earned the Diplôme de Pâtisserie (French Pastry Techniques Diploma). She also holds an MSc in Culinary Innovation from Birkbeck, University of London, and a Professional Chocolatier's Certificate from Ecole Chocolat. She has written for websites including Serious Eats and Wine Enthusiast, and also shares recipes via her blog, Baste Cut Fold, and on Instagram: @bastecutfold. A Pennsylvania native and longtime New Yorker, Rebecca currently resides in London.

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Mandy Naglich

Mandy Naglich is a certified taster, Advanced Cicerone®, National Homebrew Competition Gold Medalist, drinks educator, and writer. Her first book, How to Taste: A Guide to Discovering Flavor and Savoring Life, chronicles her adventures in the world of professional tasting and the methods anyone can use to get in touch with their senses. She covers the tastiest things happening in travel, dining, and drinks for a variety of print and online publications. Mandy lives, writes, and brews in New York City, but she documents her drinks adventures around the world at @drinkswithmandy.

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Mike Gerrard

Mike Gerrard is an award-winning writer who specialises in travel writing and writing about spirits. He combines the two in his website, Travel Distilled. He lives half the year in Cambridgeshire in England and the other half in Arizona, and you'll find him on Twitter as @Mike_Gerrard, @TravelDistilled, and @The_Vodka_Guy.

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Amber Selene Turpin

Amber Selene Turpin is an award-winning freelance writer originally from London and currently based in New Mexico. Her writing has appeared in VinePair, Pellicle, Hop Culture, and other publications. View more bylines at holliestephens.com, and follow her on Twitter @GlobeHops

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Allison Levine

Allison Levine is owner of Please The Palate, a marketing and event-planning agency. A freelance writer, she contributes to numerous publications while eating and drinking her way around the world. Allison is also the host of the wine podcast Wine Soundtrack USA and a co-host of Crush On This videos on YouTube. Contact her at allison@pleasethepalate.com.

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L.M. Archer

L.M. Archer is an award-winning writer for consumer, B2B, and B2C platforms and publications worldwide. She contributes to The Chocolate Professor, The Drinks Business, Wine Enthusiast, and Somm TV Magazine, among others. Find her at: www.lmarcher.com + IG/Twitter @lmarcherml

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Lynda Balslev

Lynda Balslev is an award winning writer and cookbook author living in Northern California, who focuses on food, wine, and travel. She is the author of five cookbooks and the nationally syndicated column and blog TasteFood. Her work has appeared in NPR, Eating Well, and Culture Cheese Magazine, among others. Lynda was selected as a 2018 fellow for the Symposium for Professional Wine Writers at Meadowood Napa, and she is the Chronicle Books award recipient to the Symposium for Professional Food Writers. Her favorite food-group is cheese, with an emphasis on stinky. Follow Lynda on instagram @tastefoodtravel or visit LyndaBalslev.com.

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Tania Banerjee

Tania Banerjee is a freelance writer from Kolkata based in Mumbai, India. She writes about travel, culture, environment and food. Her work has appeared in Whetstone, The Juggernaut, Lonely Planet, Business Line and more. You can find her on Instagram @taniabanerjee, Twitter @taniabanerjee, and her blog, Azure Sky Follows.

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Susan B. Barnes

Susan B. Barnes was born in Belgium and likes to think her love of chocolate comes naturally. Over the years, her byline has appeared in AFAR, Alcohol Professor, Allrecipes, Condé Nast Traveler, Food & Wine, Global Traveler and Travel + Leisure, among many others. She’s an active member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors, and the Society of American Travel Writers.

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Rinku Bhattacharya

Rinku Bhattacharya loves all things spice and writes the blog Spice Chronicles, that focuses on practical seasonal everyday cooking often using the Instant Pot. An experienced culinary instructor, Rinku’s classes focus on everyday cooking techniques, flavors and spices, working with grains, vegetables, Indian home cooking and working with the Instant Pot. She is the author of three cookbooks, The Bengali Five Spice Chronicles, Spices and Seasons and Intant Indian. Rinku can be found online on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

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Jennifer Billock

Jennifer Billock is an award-winning writer, bestselling author, and editor; co-host of the Macabre Traveler podcast; and editor of the Kitchen Witch Newsletter. She is currently dreaming of an around-the-world trip with her Boston terrier. Check out her website at jenniferbillock.com, and follow her on Twitter @jenniferbillock and Instagram @jenniferjoanbillock.

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Kristin Thalheimer Bingham

Kristin Thalheimer Bingham is a writer, editor, and frequent voice on Marketplace, part of American Public Media, heard on NPR. Kristin lives in Portland, Maine, and when she’s not writing, she spends a great deal of time surrounded by chocolate, as co-owner of Dean’s Sweets, an award-winning chocolatier. This grants her a unique perspective on the rewards and challenges facing small businesses, and a good deal of insight, should anyone need it, on the pros and cons of working full-time with a spouse. You can see more about Kristin’s writing at www.kristinthalheimerbingham.com. And you can find out more about Dean’s Sweets chocolate at www.deanssweets.com.

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Stacy Brooks

Stacy Brooks is a Minneapolis-based freelance journalist specializing in food and travel. Her writing has been published in Cheese Connoisseur, Wine Enthusiast, and Hemispheres, and she blogs at Tangled Up In Food.

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Adam Centamore

Adam is a professional wine and cheese educator who lives in the Boston area. He is also a culinary travel writer who has appeared in Saveur Magazine, Culture Cheese Magazine, Edible South Shore, and other print and online publications. His first book, Tasting Wine and Cheese - An Insider's Guide to Mastering the Principles of Pairing, was a finalist for Cookbook of the Year for the International Association of Culinary Professionals. He can be reached at adam@eatdrinklearn.com, and through his website, www.eatdrinklearn.com. Follow him on Instagram: @eatdrinklearn

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Carissa Chesanek

Carissa Chesanek is a writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in The Miami Herald, Food Network, Forbes Travel Guide, Tasting Table, and Zagat where she was the local dining editor for two years.

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Christine Clark

Christine Clark is a professional cheese and beverage nerd. She is a Certified Cheese Professional by the American Cheese Society. Her work has appeared in VinePair, Bon Appetit, Travel + Leisure, and AFAR and she has taught cheese and pairing classes across the United States. In her spare time, she plays with her chocolate lab and thinks about what she'll be eating next. Follow her latest adventures @yourcheesefriend or yourcheesefriend.com.

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Tenaya Darlington

Tenaya Darlington a.k.a. Madame Fromage is an author and cheese educator based in Philadelphia. By day, she teaches writing at Saint Joseph’s University. By night, she serves as Cheese Director for a pair of wine bars, called Tria. She lives online at madamefromageblog.com and @mmefromage.

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Sheana Davis

Sheana Davis is a Sonoma-based cheesemaker, caterer, culinary educator and proprietor of The Epicurean Connection. With over 25 years of farm-to-table experience, Davis creates Wine Country inspired edible experiences for food enthusiasts, engaging and inspiring cheese lovers through the process of creating fresh, delicious cheeses and a series of collaboration cheeses. Her award-winning cheeses including Delice de la Vallee and Creme de Fromage and seasonal creations are served at culinary events and Michelin-starred restaurants. Learn more at theepicureanconnection.com.

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Gordon Edgar

Gordon Edgar has been a cheesemonger and worker/owner at Rainbow Grocery Cooperative in San Francisco since 1994. He has judged numerous cheese competitions, spoken at cheese events all over the country, and written two books on cheese: Cheesemonger: A Life on the Wedge and Cheddar: A Journey to the Heart of America’s Most Iconic Cheese. Edgar still works behind a counter, writes an occasional cheese article, and is a member of the American Cheese Society's Judging and Competition Committee.

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Georgia Freedman

Georgia Freedman is a freelance journalist and editor based in the Bay Area. Georgia has written for Food & Wine, the Wall Street Journal, Afar, Martha Stewart Living, and many other publications and is the author of two cookbooks. She also produces the newsletter the California Table, which celebrates home cooks and home cooking from all across her home state.

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Sarah Fritsche

Sarah Fritsche is a San Francisco-based food writer and recipe developer. For over a decade she was a staff writer with The San Francisco Chronicle’s James Beard Award-winning Food team, where she reported on the Bay Area’s food scene and headed up The Chronicle’s test kitchen. Sarah earned her culinary degree from the California Culinary Academy, has worked in professional kitchens, and is a member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals. As a child, Sarah loved eating cheese so much that her mother nicknamed her, “Mouse.” Her cheese obsession continues, and she has been known to eat Bellwether Farms’ whole milk basket ricotta by the spoonful. You can find her on Instagram and Twitter, and at www.sarahfritsche.com.

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Lisa Futterman

Lisa Futterman, ACS CCP, is a cheese monger and freelance beverage journalist based in Chicago. Her love of cheese, wine, and spirits has taken her all over the world—from the Comté aging rooms in Fort St. Antoine in the Jura to the wild agave fields in the desert outside of Oaxaca.

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Phil Galewitz

Phil Galewitz has been writing about the the craft brewing industry for a decade, including five years for The Alcohol Professor. He lives in Washington D.C. While beer was his first culinary love, cheese now tops on his list. Twitter: @philgalewitz. Instagram: @philmorebeer.

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Jim Gladstone

Jim Gladstone has written extensively about the arts, cuisine and travel. He is a freelance writer and creative consultant based in San Francisco. www.jimgladstone.com.

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Sarah J. Gim

Sarah J. Gim cooks, styles, photographs, and writes about food and drink from her home base in Los Angeles. She is the founder of TasteSpotting, a community-curated food, drink, and recipe content platform and community, and TheDeliciousLife.com, the online home of her personal writings on food, wine, dining out, and relationships. Her work has been featured in Glamour, Vogue, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, and on camera for the FoodNetwork. You can follow Sarah's daily delicious escapades with her pups on instagram @TheDelicious.

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Lisa Waterman Gray

A longtime freelance food writer, Lisa Waterman Gray has a passion for chocolate. Her profile of Kansas chocolate shops was a recent cover story for KANSAS! Magazine, and she previously wrote about chocolate shops across the nation for USAToday/10Best. Waterman Gray also creates twelve chocolate-focused recipe posts, each October through December, at lisawatermangray.com/visual-traveler-blog. In addition, her recipe for Chocolate Lover’s Pumpkin Pie, won a local dessert competition several years ago.

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Jennifer Greco

Jennifer Greco has steadily been tasting her way through each and every cheese produced in France, a project that started one day on a whim and that has developed into a full-fledged infatuation. To date, she has tasted just under 400 of the approximately 1500 cheeses in France. Based in Paris, she leads virtual cheese workshops, gourmet food and wine tours, and small group tastings, which can be booked through her website, and with Paris by Mouth. She writes about regional French cheeses on her blog, Chez Loulou, and for a handful of publications. Follow her on Facebook and Instagram.

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Kristine Hansen

Kristine Hansen is a Milwaukee food, travel and design writer and author of Wisconsin Cheese Cookbook: Creamy, Cheesy, Sweet, and Savory Recipes from the State's Best Creameries (Globe Pequot Press). She also contributes to Wine Enthusiast, Milwaukee Magazine, architecturaldigest.com, shondaland.com, travelandleisure.com and marthastewart.com. Her next book--a travel guide to Wisconsin farm life--publishes in May of 2021.

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Michele Herrmann

Michele Herrmann writes about travel, hotels, food and drink, history, arts and culture and other fun stuff for various publications and travel and lifestyle companies.

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Kathleen Thompson Hill

Kathleen Thompson Hill’s writing has appeared in Culture cheese magazine, the Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, Sunset magazine, and Edible Marin & Wine Country and many other publications. She is a Compagnon of the Guilde Internationale des Fromagers and is a member of Les Dames d’Escoffier’s San Francisco and Sonoma chapters. For 12 years she has been Food & Wine Editor of the Sonoma Index-Tribune and hosts a radio show on KSVY 93.1 FM in Sonoma, California and is founder and director of the Sonoma School Garden Project. Her Kathleen Hill Culinary Collection includes nearly 4,000 kitchen utensils signs and pamphlets.

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Hannah Howard

Hannah Howard spent her formative years in New York eating, drinking, serving, bartending, cooking on a hot line, flipping giant wheels of cheese, and managing restaurants. She is the author of Feast: True Love in and Out of the Kitchen and the forthcoming memoir Plenty: On Making Food and Family. She writes for New York Magazine, Salon, and SELF and teaches food writing classes at Catapult. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband, baby girl, and dog.

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Jeanette Hurt

Jeanette Hurt is the author of 15 books on food and drink, including Wisconsin Cocktails, Drink Like a Woman, The Joy of Cider, The Cheeses of Wisconsin and more. She is also the cheese and spirits contributor to Milwaukee Public Radio.

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Alexandra Jones

Alexandra Jones is a writer, cheesemonger, and food educator with more than 10 years experience working directly with small-scale farmers and cheesemakers. She has written for publications like Food & Wine, USA Today, The Counter, Civil Eats, Thrillist, and the Philadelphia Inquirer and is one-third of the team behind Collective Creamery, a women-powered artisan cheese subscription based in southeast Pennsylvania. She is the author of the forthcoming Stuff Every Cheese Lover Should Know, publishing with Quirk Books this fall.

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Ellen Kanner

Ellen Kanner is the award-winning author of Feeding the Hungry Ghost: Life, Faith and What to Eat for Dinner (VegNews’ Book of the Year, PETA’s debut Book of the Month Club pick), the e- book, Beans: A Handful of Magic, and is contributor to outlets including Huffington Post, VegNews, Civil Eats and EatingWell. She’s been exploring the intersection of food, culture, wellness, and sustainability for over 20 years as the syndicated columnist the Edgie Veggie and Huffington Post’s Meatless Monday blogger, as well as contributor to outlets including Civil Eats, Saveur, EatingWell, VegNews, and Whole Foods Magazine. More at soulfulvegan.com.

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Julie Kendrick

Julie Kendrick is a Minneapolis-based food writer with bylines in HuffPost, Condé Nast Traveler, EatingWell and Delta Sky. Follow her on Twitter @KendrickWorks.

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Dakota Kim

Dakota Kim covers food, TV, travel and culture. She has written for The New York Times, NPR, Vox, Thrillist, VICE, Sunset, LAist and Food52. She is the Digital Editor at Edible San Luis Obispo.

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Devorah Lev-Tov

Devorah Lev-Tov is a food, drinks, and travel writer based in Brooklyn, New York. She has written for publications including The New York Times, Saveur, Eater, Tasting Table, Food & Wine, Conde Nast Traveler, Vogue, Zagat, USA Today, Thrillist, and more. She's traveled to France, India, Italy, China, Israel, and beyond, visiting cheesemakers and dairies along the way.

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Adam Levy

Adam Levy is the “Chocolate Professor” and founder of the International Beverage Competitions Group and runs beer, wine and spirits competitions in New York, Berlin, Melbourne and Asia/Hong Kong. He is in constant search of all things delicious and shares his knowledge with the world. Born in New York with a lust for travel and a desire to visit producers around the world. He loves his dog Garret Oliver and wears Red to proudly represent Rutgers Sports.

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Megan Lloyd

Megan Lloyd is a freelance writer and journalist living in Sevilla, Spain. She specializes in food, drink, travel, and all things Spanish. Her work has appeared in places like TASTE, Eater, and Serious Eats, to name a few. You can follow her edible Spanish adventures on Instagram @meganfranceslloyd or check out her portfolio: www.meganfranceslloyd.com.

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Katie Lockhart

Katie Lockhart is a travel and food journalist, copywriter and content creator traveling full-time around Asia. She writes for National Geographic, Travel + Leisure, Conde Nast Traveler, Robb Report, Afar and many more. You can follow her work and adventures on Instagram @findyourhappyplate.

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Joshua Lurie

Joshua Lurie founded FoodGPS.com, a Los Angeles based company that showcases the best-tasting food and drink through online coverage and custom culinary tours. Follow him on Instagram.

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Kelly Magyarics

Kelly Magyarics is a wine, spirits, travel, food and lifestyle writer in the Washington, D.C. area. You can reach her at www.kellymagyarics.com or on Twitter and Instagram @kmagyarics.

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Andrew McFetridge

Andrew McFetridge is an NYC-based Certified Sommelier, Spanish and French Wine Scholar, and self-described wine nerd. Andrew graduated from The University of North Florida where he received a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism. Andrew is also an ambassador for DO Cava and has had his writing featured in SommJournal Magazine. He favors cheeses that are creamy, salty or blue.

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Anna Mindess

Anna Mindess is a writer living in Berkeley, California, who focuses on food, culture, and travel. Her work has appeared in The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, AFAR, Gastro Obscura, Fodor's, and Lonely Planet, among others. In 2018, she was awarded First Place by the Association of Food Journalists. Anna also works as an American Sign Language interpreter and seeks out Deaf-owned restaurants wherever she travels.

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Debbie Oakes

Debbie Oakes is a lifestyle and travel writer who lives between London and Umbria. On the road she has found inspirational people, exotic food and lifelong friends and, in equal measure, poverty, injustice and pain. The road gives and the road takes away, but it never stops teaching. Her work has appeared in international publications including South China Morning Post, Bangkok Post, Prestige Magazine and Lifestyle + Travel Magazine. She is also a wedding celebrant weaving words of power to celebrate life, love food and everything in between. You can reach her + follow her adventures in Italy on Instagram @umbriatuscanygram.

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Kelsey Ogletree

Kelsey Ogletree is a freelance journalist writing about the joy of food (including cheese!) for publications like Better Homes & Gardens, AllRecipes, Real Simple and more. A former Chicagoan, she first learned about cheese through many trips to nearby Wisconsin. Her favorite snack is a hunk of Manchego paired with a few Effie’s Oatcakes.

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Tamara Palmer

Tamara Palmer is a freelance writer and editor with a passion for confections. She is the publisher of California Eating, a recently relaunched small-batch print zine and weekly newsletter, a food columnist for 48 Hills in San Francisco and a contributing writer for CNET. She’s been rediscovering the joy of reading through founding a Music Book Club, where she’ll publish a book about Bay Area rap.

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Shoshi Parks

Shoshi Parks is a Bay Area-based freelance writer specializing in food, travel, and history. Her work has appeared at NPR, Smithsonian, Gastro Obscura, Civil Eats, Vinepair, Vice, and a variety of other outlets. Find her online at www.shoshiparks.net.

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David Phillips

David Phillips is a cheese buyer and department manager at Potash Markets, a unique small chain of grocery stores in Chicago. He is a Certified Cheese Professional through the American Cheese Society, and has called Chicago home since 1988. He conducts occasional beer and cheese pairing events, and maintains a rusty blog site www.cheeseandcheers.com.

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Deborah R. Prinz

Rabbi Deborah R. Prinz authored the pioneering bestseller On the Chocolate Trail. It provided the foundation for the museum exhibit, "Semite Sweet: On Jews and Chocolate" at the Bernard Museum, NYC, now available to travel. Her forthcoming book about Jewish celebratory breads will be released in 2023 (Behrman House). Rabbi Prinz lectures in-person and virtually about chocolate and Jewish celebratory breads nationally and internationally.

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Alec Scott

Alec Scott has contributed to the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Guardian and Smithsonian Magazine. He is the author of Until It Shimmers and Oldest San Francisco, and has taught writing at Stanford.

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Shobitha Ramadasan

Shobitha Ramadasan is a former lawyer turned chocolate sommelier. She has trained with chocolate professionals in France and is certified by the International Institute of Chocolate & Cacao Tasting (Level 2). She teaches chocolate tasting workshops and is a proponent of chocolate being a powerful teacher in embracing diversity and inclusion. After a decade of the sweet life in France, she is now based in Dublin, Ireland. Find her online at chocolatesomm.com and on Instagram @thechocolatesommelier_ie

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Carol Penn-Romine

Carol Penn-Romine is an award-winning food writer based in Seattle. Her work has appeared in Best Food Writing 2013 and 2016 editions, Culture Cheese Magazine, Gastronomica, Leite’s Culinaria, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times and several Edible publications. She also works as a cheesemonger and contends that many of the world’s problems could be solved if only people sat down and ate cheese together. You can find her work at www.hungrypassport.com. Follow her on Instagram: @hungrypassport.

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Summer Rylander

Summer Rylander is a freelance food and travel writer based in Nuremberg, Germany. She is an avid home cook with a special fondness for Swedish cheeses and buffalo milk mozzarella, both of which she has written about for Culture. Her work has also appeared in Travel + Leisure, TheKitchn, and more.

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Alisa Scerrato

Alisa Scerrato is a Boston-based writer, editor, and educator. She has a master’s degree in Arts and Humanities Education from New York University and over two decades of experience in her field. As a journalist, she covers topics that deal with food, art, and culture. In 2020, Alisa won a San Francisco Press Club Award — 1st Place, Digital Media, Feature Story/Light Nature for her story "As Tony's Pizza Napoletana turns 10, owner reflects on changing North Beach." Find Alisa on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.

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JoEllen Schilke

JoEllen Schilke politely but firmly questions authority. She produces Art in Your Ear, a weekly talk show on the arts, on WMNF 88.5fm. She’s using her recently obtained MA in Digital Journalism to get people to call her Mast-her, so far with little success. JoEllen slakes her curiosity through interviews and writing. She owned a restaurant for a dozen years. JoEllen’s been a personal chef, grief therapist, reporter, anchor, and author.

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Stef Schwalb

Stef Schwalb is a freelance writer and editor who specializes in food, beverage, business, and design. Her work has been featured in Boston Magazine and Boston Home, Designing Lighting, ForceBrands, and is a Contributing Editor to The SOMM Journal and Tasting Panel Magazine. She holds the WSET Level 3 certification and is pursuing ongoing wine and spirits educational opportunities in between deadlines. You can find her on Instagram and Twitter via @StefSchwalb.

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Amy Sherman

Amy Sherman is the editor-in-chief of The Chocolate Professor. She is the author of several cookbooks including Williams Sonoma New Flavors for Appetizers and A Microwave, A Mug, A Meal. She has written about chocolate for the Fine Chocolate Industry Association, Tasting Table, Epicurious and KQED’s Bay Area Bites. She is also editor-in-chief of sister publications The Cheese Professor and The Alcohol Professor.

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Elisa Shoenberger

Elisa Shoenberger is a freelance writer and journalist in Chicago. She has written about food and drink for Wine Enthusiast, Huffington Post, Rewire, Midwesterner, Farm Flavor, and others. She also has written for the Boston Globe, US News and World Report, WIRED Magazine, and others. She has a B.A. in Latin American History from the University of Chicago, M.A. in Latin American Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and an M.B.A. in Marketing and Operations Management from Loyola University Chicago. She makes cheese in her spare time. Twitter: @vogontroubadour and at Mischief and Writing.

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Hollie Stephens

Hollie Stephens is an award-winning freelance writer originally from London and currently based in New Mexico. Her writing has appeared in VinePair, Pellicle, Hop Culture, and other publications. View more bylines at Holliestephens.com, and follow her on Twitter @GlobeHops

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Liz Susman Karp

Liz Susman Karp writes about culinary history and anthropology, foodways, restaurants, and the intersection of food and culture. Her work has been published in Zagat Stories, Heated, The Nosher, Inside Hook, Modern Farmer and Westchester Magazine, among others. She feels fortunate to live in New York’s Hudson Valley, where she enjoys exploring the area’s rich agricultural heritage and offerings.

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Estelle Tracy

Estelle Tracy is an award-winning food writer and chocolate sommelier based in the Philadelphia area. A French native, she discovered the bean-to-bar movement in 2015 and has been leading chocolate tastings ever since. She’s the author of a food survival guide for French expats in the US, a regular contributor for Edible Delmarva magazine, and the founder of 37 Chocolates, a chocolate education company. Find out more at 37chocolates.com.

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Rebecca Treon

Rebecca Treon is a Denver-based food, travel, and lifestyles writer. Born and raised in Colorado, she’s also a fluent Spanish speaker. She has visited Mexico, France, Spain, Italy, England, Ireland, Holland, and Argentina and half the states. Rebecca has written for publications like BBC Travel, Huffington Post, Thrillist, Hemispheres, and many others. She’s worked as an editor at American Bungalow and DiningOut and is a correspondent for Denver & the West for Time Out. She’s the author of the forthcoming book, Colorado Food Trails. She is the proud mother of a son and a daughter and can be found at @RebeccaTreon on Instagram.

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Leena Trivedi-Grenier

Leena Trivedi-Grenier is an Oakland-based food and culture writer who loves her colby cheese snack sticks just as much as a gooey piece of triple cream Brillat-Savarin. She’s a two-time Association of Food Journalists award finalist, and her work has appeared in The San Francisco Chronicle, NPR, and Eater. You can find her on Instagram, Twitter and at leenaeats.com.

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Felice Thorpe

Felice Thorpe is a California native with strong roots in agriculture. She is currently President of the California Artisan Cheese Guild and formerly National Sales Director for Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese. She is a graduate of the Mons Academie Opus Caseus, a French cheese program for cheese professionals. She is an expert in cheese pairings and a 2019 Cheese Judge for the Good Food Foundation.

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Flora Tsapovsky

Flora Tsapovsky is a style, food and culture writer splitting her time between San Francisco and Tel Aviv. She has contributed to publications including San Francisco Chronicle, Bon Appetit, Afar and VinePair. She likes her cheeses funky.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Pamela Vachon

Pamela Vachon is a freelance food and travel writer whose work has also appeared in Wine Enthusiast, Bon Appétit, CNET, and VinePair, among others. She is also a certified sommelier, experienced bartender, voiceover artist, musician, and instructor at NYC's Murray's Cheese.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Paul Vachon

A lifelong Michigan resident, Paul Vachon is an author, freelance writer, and public speaker. He possesses a strong interest in Detroit history and has written four previous books devoted to the subject. He’s also written guidebooks on Michigan travel. Paul is a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors. In his spare time, Paul enjoys traveling, nature photography, and acting in community theatre. He likes to take leisurely drives around the state, always hoping to bump into a good story idea. Paul also thinks having a map of the state on the back of his left hand is pretty cool.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Hailey Valkema

Hailey Valkema is Florida-based chef, baker, and food writer who enjoys running her local cake business, cooking for family and friends, and baking for her community. When she’s not writing or in the kitchen you’ll find her reading about the history and science of food, or watching tv show’s about it.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kathleen Willcox

Kathleen Willcox has been writing about the business and culture of wine and food for more years than she’d care to reveal. Her work appears regularly in Wine Searcher, Wine Enthusiast, The Vintner Project and many other publications. Kathleen also co-authored a book called Hudson Valley Wine: A History of Taste & Terroir, which was published in 2017. Follow her wine explorations on Instagram at @kathleenwillcox.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Marcella Wright

Marcella Wright began working in the cheese industry in 2008 for Fred Meyer, a division of Kroger. During her employment with Kroger, she was a Special Matter Expert and opened 75 Murray’s Cheese Shops by training the staff and setting the cheese cases. She is a member of the International Guilde des Fromagers, New World Order. Her certifications include being an American Cheese Society Certified Cheese Professional and a ServSafe Food Protection Manager Certification. She now lives in NE Georgia with her husband of 41 years where she sells cheese at Sweet Combs of Honey, offers cheese classes, events, and special orders. She is also a cat rescuer and is currently caring for 10 cats, 4 of which live in the house.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lauren Johnson-Wünscher

Lauren Johnson-Wünscher is an American wine buyer and food and beverage writer based in Berlin, Germany. Follow her on Instagram at @laurenjwunscht.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Thei Zervaki

Thei Zervaki is citizen of the world who writes about one-of-a-kind foods, distant lands, and food poetry. She loves culinary history books, strong coffee, and a glass of Riesling on hot nights. Find her at wedesserts.com and on IG @thefullybooked.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rebecca Deurlein

Rebecca Deurlein believes everything is interesting, and she loves finding the story everywhere she goes. Her passion is discovering people and places that have gone unnoticed and bringing light to what makes them unique. Her focus is travel, food and beverage, active lifestyles, and wellness. She’s been published in publications, including Travel & Leisure, Fodor’s, Wine Enthusiast, Eater, Atlas Obscura, Hemispheres, Eating Well, the Houston Chronicle, and Texas Monthly. Rebecca is the author of the internationally acclaimed parenting book Teenagers 101 and has made guest appearances on TV and podcasts. She is based out of Houston, Texas.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Fija Callaghan

Fija Callaghan spent several years as a chocolatier and bean-to-bar chocolate maker before becoming an author and freelance writer. She trained with the International Institute of Chocolate & Cacao Tasting and Valrhona’s École du Grand Chocolat, and served as a judge for two international chocolatier competitions. Now, as a poet, short story writer, and novelist, Fija incorporates craft drinking chocolate into her creative process.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Elizabeth Karmel

Elizabeth Karmel has more than 25 years of experience that spans virtually every aspect of the food industry. She is an award-winning chef, journalist, cookbook author, brand expert, brand and culinary consultant, housewares product designer, and more. She contributes to publications including Forbes, Associated Press and the Washington Post, is the author of three acclaimed cookbooks and also writes the weekly newsletter What’s 4 Dinner? with Anthony Underwood.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Luciana Squadrilli

Luciana Squadrilli is a food and travel writer based in Rome. Senior editor at Food&Wine Italia magazine, she also contributes as a freelancer to many other publications, both in Italy and abroad, mostly about pizza and extra virgin olive oil. She runs the online magazine pizzaontheroad.eu and is a contributor to Culinary Backstreets from Naples.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

N.C. Stevens

N.C. Stevens became interested in the folkways of drinking after living in Madagascar. An occasional home distiller, he documents the intersection of culture and beverages through travel, research, and expert interviews at DrinkingFolk.com. He covers all beverages but focuses on distilled spirits.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kelsey Erin Shipman

Kelsey Erin Shipman is a writer based in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. She writes articles on food and culture, and ghostwrites books for creative professionals on doing what you love. Her work has appeared in USA Today, The Austin Chronicle, as well as numerous literary journals. She served as the Writer-In-Residence at the Katherine Anne Porter Literary Center. A native Texan, she loves big dogs and breakfast tacos.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Abbe Wichman

Abbe Wichman is a food and drink writer based in Westchester, NY. A contributor to Westchester Magazine and HuffPost, her writing has also been featured in Spoonful and a number of Edible publications. She especially loves to profile the passionate people in food and drink. Follow her on Instagram @abbewichman and on Twitter @abbe_wichman.