Joel Fisher "Wine Guru" The wine columnist for the Culinary Connection of the Chefs de Cuisine Association of California. He was a Contributing Editor of Patterson's Beverage Journal. From 1999 to 2006 he was a wine instructor for the Culinary Arts Department of the Art Institute of California-Los Angeles and is a founding partner of the educational Wine Vine and Dine, which conducts programs throughout Southern California. Sommelier for the Escoffier Association of Southern California, Joel is also a member of Patterson Magazine's tasting panel. Joel travels extensively through "wine country" and frequently broadcast live from vaious winerys & vineyards. Dr. Fisher is a member of the Society of Wine Educators, The Circle of Wine Writers (UK) and was awarded a Wine Enthusiast Media Scholarship for 2005 at the Culinary Institute of America. He is the author of the Wine Work Book now in its 6th edition. In 2004 he co-led a program for chefs and culinary students to the Culinary Olympics in Erfurt, Germany and to wineries in Burgundy and Champagne. In June 2006 he again led a program, "Wine and Cuisine of Iberia," to Spain and Portugal. In the 1960's, Joel M. Fisher (JMF) served in many Washington positions, including as Public Relations Director to Charlie Rhyne's World Peace Through Law Committee, before returning to California to teach. Two years later he was awarded the Ford Foundation supported National Committee Fellowship and was appointed Director of the Arts and Sciences and State Legislative Divisions of his party's national committee. As part of the 1968 presidential campaign, Fisher operated in 13 states.
Dan Berger "Vintage Expeiences"Dan Berger has been a wine columnist since 1976 and has resided in Sonoma County since 1986. Today, in addition to his privately published weekly wine commentary, Dan Berger's Vintage Experiences, Dan writes a nationally syndicated wine column for Creators Syndicate as well as articles for Decanter, Robb Report, Cheers, Beverage Dynamics, and numerous other publications. Mr. Berger was the full-time wine columnist and reporter for the Los Angeles Times from 1988 to 1996. His Los Angeles Times column was carried nationally by the Los Angeles Times-Washington Post News Service. During that time, he commuted from Sonoma County to Los Angeles, so he could maintain his residence and affiliations in wine country. He is a judge at many wine competitions, including numerous shows in Australia, as well as competitions in Slovenia, Belgium and across the United States, judging in at least a dozen competitions each year. He also coordinates two wine competitions in California. He is a speaker at wine symposiums and universities on topics such as wine marketing, trends in the industry, regional character of wines, and the healthful benefits of moderate consumption. He also speaks to assorted large groups interested in learning about wine, many of them unrelated to the wine business.
"Dandy Don" Whittamore - "Dandy Don's Homemade Ice cream"A music biz whiz who promoted (and garnered gold records for) artists such as The Beatles, Elvis, David Bowie, Cat Stevens and John Denver, Don Whittemore established Dandy Don's HomeMade Ice Cream in 1981. Specializing in sundae bar catering and serving fine restaurants and markets in Southern California, Dandy Don's HomeMade Ice Cream has been winning gold medals at the Los Angeles County Fair since 1996. We bring hot fudge sundaes to large corporations, television and movie sets, and private homes. We bring our homemade ice cream with up to 35 toppings to "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno", The Walt Disney Company, Comedy Central, USC, and the Concern Foundation charity. We serve ice cream and sorbet to over 150 restaurants, hotels, and country clubs in the Los Angeles area. Great chefs and pastry chefs trust us to make their desserts something special. A few of them are Café Bizou, Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel, The Farm of Beverly Hills, Max, Restaurant Christine, Fred 62 and Crustacean.
Jim Lahey - "My Bread: The Revolutionary No-Work, No-Knead Method" Jim Lahey studied sculpting at SUNY Stonybrook and the School of Visual Arts but soon headed off to Italy to work with bakers in northeastern and central Italy. He opened the Sullivan Street Bakery in New York City in 1994; the bakery has since moved farther uptown to Manhattan's west side. His new pizza restaurant, Co., opened in Manhattan in early 2009. The process couldn't be more simple, or the results more inspiring. My Bread devotes chapters to Jim's variations on the basic loaf, including an olive loaf, pecorino cheese bread, pancetta rolls, the classic Italian baguette (stirato), and the stunning bread stick studded with tomatoes, olives, or garlic (stecca). He gets even more creative with loaves like Peanut Butter and Jelly Bread, others that use juice instead of water, and his Irish Brown Bread, which calls for Guinness stout. For any leftover loaves, Jim includes what to do with old bread (try bread soup or a chocolate torte) and how to make truly special sandwiches. And no book by Jim Lahey would be complete without his Sullivan Street Bakery signature, pizza Bianca—light, crispy flatbread with olive oil and rosemary that Jim has made even better than that of Italy's finest bakeries. Other pizza recipes, like a pomodoro (tomato), only require you to spread the risen dough across a baking sheet and add toppings before baking. Here—finally—Jim Lahey gives us a cookbook that enables us to fit quality bread into our lives at home. color photos throughout.