Jessica Alonzo, a Texas native, is currently the Fermentation Specialist at Petra and the Beast in Dallas, TX. She finds inspiration in traditional preservation techniques from various cultures and strives to apply them to locally sourced ingredients. Whole utilization plays a big role in her approach to fermentation as it pushes her to find new and inventive ways to preserve and create new flavors out of waste or byproducts.

Chef Sean Doherty earned a Grande Diplome from the renowned Le Cordon Bleu program in 2004 and was the opening Chef of The Corner Room and The Oyster Room at Boone's Fish House in Maine. He has spent the last 15+ years learning and exploring food preservation, including fermentation, foraging, baking, and brewing; with a strong focus on Asian pathways (koji, miso, soy sauce, garum and vinegars).

Johnny Drain works at the cutting edge of food, fermentation, food design, and sustainability, helping to rethink and reshape how we can feed the world in a more healthy, regenerative, equitable and ecologically-friendly way. Johnny has a PhD in Materials Science from the University of Oxford and is the co-founder and co-editor of MOLD Magazine, part of www.thisismold.com.

Kevin Fink was named one of FOOD & WINE Magazine’s “2016 Best New Chefs.” He has opened renowned Emmer & Rye, Hestia, Kalimotxo, Henbit and TLV. His culinary achievements include cooking at 13 Gobbi in Florence, Italy, front of house service at The French Laundry, and staging at Copenhagen’s Noma. From there, Fink continued on to the competitive Noma Test Kitchen, where he created unique techniques and dining trends.

Alfred Francese, a graduate of Culinary Institute of America in New York, worked at The Ocean House in Dennis Port, MA, and George’s at the Cove in San Diego, CA and Pondicheri and Uchi in Houston. In 2017, Francese joined the Emmer & Rye team, where he worked his way to Sous Chef and head of the fermentation program. His passion is to further explore fermentation to preserve food without wasting natural resources on transportation and refrigeration.

John Gibbons is an evolutionary genomicist in the Department of Food Science at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. John and his team are interested in understanding how the food environment has changed the genomes and traits of microbes used in traditional fermentation. A major focus of John's lab centers on the koji molds Aspergillus oryzae and Aspergillus sojae.

John Hutt is a chef and food theorist working at the intersection of history, culture, and technology. He was the chef, now advisor, at The Museum of Food and Drink and lectured at Parsons School of Design on Food Design, technology, and theory. He currently runs an R&D lab in Barcelona focused on robotics and new technology.

Sandor Ellix Katz is a fermentation revivalist. His books Wild Fermentation and the Art of Fermentation, along with the hundreds of fermentation workshops he has taught around the world, have helped to catalyze a broad revival of the fermentation arts. Sandor is the recipient of a James Beard award and other honors.

Mara King is a native of Hong Kong, chef and food professional with 2+ decades of experience. Co-founder of Ozuké, a fermented foods business that distributes throughout the US and now GM Operations for Fresh Thymes Eatery and Fresh Thymes Marketplace, a Good Foods 100 ranked restaurant and marketplace in Boulder, Colorado.

Meredith Leigh is a writer, activist, and teacher. She is a specialist in food and agriculture with expertise in ethical meat supply chains. Her books are The Ethical Meat Handbook: Mindful Meat Eating for the Modern Omnivore (3rd place, MFK Fisher Award, 2015) and Pure Charcuterie: The Craft and Poetry of Curing Meat and Home.

Stephen Lyman is one of the leading American experts on authentic Japanese shochu and is a certified shochu adviser through the Sake School of America (SSA). His book, The Complete Guide to Japanese Drinks, was a 2020 James Beard Book Award nominee and was chosen as Best in the World for Japanese Spirits by the 2020 Gourmand Book Awards.

Tavel Bristol-Joseph is the Pastry Chef and Partner at Emmer & Rye, Hestia, Kalimotxo, Henbit and TLV in Austin, TX. Tavel attended the New York Restaurant School before moving to Tucson where he joined Fox Restaurant Concepts. He received the StarChefs Rising Star Award in 2017 and this year was named one of FOOD & WINE Magazine’s “Best New Chefs of 2020.”

Nicco Muratore is the Executive Chef at Mamnoon Restaurant in Seattle. He was first introduced to fermentation and koji while working on a Fermentation Brunch hosted by Sandor Katz. Fueled by the possibilities of flavor, Nicco dove deep into learning how koji and fermentation can be applied in the modern restaurant kitchen.

Misti Norris is the Executive Chef and Owner of Petra and the Beast in Dallas. Focused on farms, foraging, fermentation, and fire, it was named one of Esquire’s Best Restaurants in America 2018. In 2016, Misti was a James Beard Award Rising Star Semifinalist and in 2019 was one of Food & Wine’s ten best new chefs in America

Kirsten K. Shockey is the author of forthcoming Homebrewed Vinegar, coauthor, with her husband, Christopher Shockey, of The Big Book of Cidermaking; (award winning) Miso, Tempeh, Natto & Other Tasty Ferments; Fiery Ferments; and the best-selling Fermented Vegetables. She leads workshops at fermentationschool.com.

Rich Shih, co-author of Koji Alchemy, is one of the leading culinary explorers of koji and miso in the United States. As a food preservation consultant, he helps chefs to build their larders and leverage fermentation to decrease waste. His blog, OurCookQuest, welcomes cooks of all experience levels to learn, share knowledge, and exchange ideas.

Chris Stewart joined Empirical Spirits in 2017 after four years of working behind the bar in Ireland and Denmark. He is, since 2019, head of Research and Development for the distillery. His work explores flavour through fermetation and distillation.

Jeremy Umansky is a chef/owner of Larder: A Curated Delicatessen & Bakery in Cleveland, Ohio, nominated by the James Beard Foundation as the Best New Restaurant in America in 2019. He has been featured in numerous publications like Bon Appetit and Saveur and was named “The Deli Prophet” by Food & Wine in the March 2019 Makers Issue.

James Wayman is the Executive Chef at Oyster Club and co-owner of Engine Room, Grass & Bone, and Nana’s in Mystic, CT. He has been featured in The New York Times, Saveur Magazine, and was named Best Chef by the Connecticut Restaurant Association. He is the co-chair of the board of directors for Yellow Farmhouse Education Center.

Jennifer Rothman is the Founding Director of the Yellow Farmhouse Education Center. Before that, she was the education director at Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture and the Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo and the Vice President of Children’s and Public Education at The New York Botanical Garden.

Bob Florence founded Moromi to focus on making hand-crafted, small-batch shoyu, miso, hot sauces and fermented condiments. His focus is on creating beautifully flavored seasonings for home and professional cooks based on locally produced ingredients using traditional methods.