Kate Harvey lives in Charlottesville, where she divides her time between writing, performing and teaching classical music, and cooking. She did most of the magic in our test kitchen. Kate has a master’s degree in piano performance and a B.A. from Notre Dame. She has been a journalist, and an editorial assistant, and currently blogs at Something-Ivory.blogspot.com. This is her first book. Kate was recently married in the Finger Lakes, and of course local food and Riesling were served!

Karl Zinsmeister has written for magazines and newspapers including The Atlantic and The Wall Street Journal. He and his wife Ann produced a PBS film aired nationally in 2007. He has written several books, including a memoir; two Iraq War journals written as an embedded reporter; and even a Marvel comic book. He has been a magazine editor-in-chief, an executive at the historic Stickley company, and currently serves at The Philanthropy Roundtable. In previous lives, Karl was an aide to Daniel Patrick Moynihan in the U.S. Senate, and George W. Bush in the White House. An avid outdoorsman, gardener, and renovator of old houses, he currently lives on a houseboat in Washington, D.C.

Photographer Noah Zinsmeister is a student at Columbia University studying Economics and Mathematics. His photography has been featured in art exhibits, magazines, and newspapers, and he maintains a homepage at NoahZinsmeister.com. His camera of choice is a Canon; this is his first book. During production, he ate more than his fair share of the dishes as they emerged from oven and skillet—usually after photographing them. Noah is a political enthusiast and in his free time, enjoys playing tennis.

Noah and Kate are sixth-generation residents of the Finger Lakes. Karl is their father.