Flo Braker, author of the award-winning Sweet Miniatures: The Art of Making Bite-Size Desserts (Chronicle Books, 2000) and The Simple Art of Perfect Baking, has been teaching baking techniques and her sweet miniatures across the country for more than twenty-five years. The Baker Columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle since 1989, Flo lives in Palo Alto, CA.John Phillip Carroll has written numerous cookbooks, including California the Beautiful Cookbook and four books in the Williams-Sonoma Kitchen Library series. His most recent work, The Mayo Clinic Williams-Sonoma Cookbook, won the IACP Julia Child Award in the Health & Special Diet category, as well as the award for Best Health Book at… The World Cookbook Awards in Versailles.Julia B. Cookenboo previously served as the Pastry Chef at Oliveto restaurant in Oakland, CA and at Zuni Cafénbsp;©n San Francisco. Julie lives in Richmond, CA.Marion Cunningham was born in Southern California and now lives in Walnut Creek. She was responsible for the complete version of The Fannie Farmer Cookbook and is the author of The Fannie Farmer Baking Book, The Breakfast Book, The Supper Book, Cooking with Children and Learning to Cook with Marion Cunningham. She travels throughout the country giving cooking demonstrations, has contributed articles to Bon Appetit, Food & Wine, and Gourmet magazines, and writes a column for the San Francisco Chronicle and the Los Angeles Times. Marion is a founding member of The Bakers Dozen and lives in Walnut Creek, CA.Carol Field, writer and journalist, is the author of five award-winning books about Italy and its food, all of which feature bread and baking including In NonnaÂ's Kitchen: Recipes and Traditions from ItalyÂ's Grandmothers, Focaccia: Simple Breads from the Italian Oven, Italy in Small Bites, Celebrating Italy, and The Italian Baker. Her latest work is Mangoes and Quince, a novel with recipes. Carol lives in San Francisco, CA.Fran Gage owned the well-respected Fran Gage Pâtisserie Franç¡©se in San Francisco. She closed the bakery following a fire in 1995 and is now teaching and writing, with articles published in national magazines. Her first book, Bread and Chocolate, My Food Life In and Around San Francisco (Sasquatch Books, 1999) is a collection of stories about food with recipes to match. Fran lives in San Francisco, CA.David Lebovitz is the author of the best-selling Room for Dessert, which the New York Times called Â"brilliantly appealing (with) recipes so good it becomes clear what a master baker he is.Â" Named one of the Â"Top Five Pastry Chefs in the Bay AreaÂ" by the San Francisco Chronicle, David teaches cooking nationwide and writes for major food publications. He trained at Chez Panisse restaurant. David lives in San Francisco, CA.Alice Medrich is the only two-time James Beard Cookbook of the Year Award winner, for Chocolate: Extraordinary Chocolate Desserts and Chocolate and the Art of Low-Fat Desserts, both Warner Books. Her forthcoming book, A Year in Chocolate will be published this Fall. Alice appeared in Â"Baking at JuliaÂ'sÂ" on PBS and contributed to the New Joy of Cooking. Alice lives in Berkeley, CA.Robert Morocco admits to being a Â"cookieholicÂ" for as long as he can remember. He founded Délices Cakes in California, which became known throughout the San Francisco Bay Area for elegant cakes, especially wedding cakes and, of course, cookies. Robert lives in Walnut Creek, CA.Peter Reinhart is the founder of the award-winning Brother JuniperÂ's Bakery in Santa Rosa, California. One of his cookbooks, Wild Yeast Country Bread, was the 1998 recipient of the James Beard Award in the Best Baking and Desserts category. He also wrote and edited the bread chapter for the revised Joy of Cooking. For five years prior to teaching at Johnson and Wales, Peter was a full-time instructor at the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco. Peter lives in Santa Rosa, CA.Lindsey Remolif Shere