Rachel Edwards-Stuart graduated in 2003 from Corpus Christi College at Cambridge, in Biochemistry. She then moved to Paris to work with Dr Hervé This at the College du France, and also trained as a chef. While in Paris, Rachel spent much of her time developing and strengthening the collaboration between chefs and scientists, particularly in chef training.  Rachel moved to Nottingham University in 2005, for a PhD in Creating Innovative Texture and Flavour experiences, which was sponsored by Heston Blumenthal and supervised by the Food Flavour Group. Rachel now works in food retail.

Jamie Goode is a London-based wine writer who came to the field via a PhD in plant biology and several years of working as a book editor. He publishes wineanorak.com, which is now one of the leading wine websites. He won the 2007 Glenfiddich Wine Writer of the year award, writes the weekly wine column for The Sunday Express, and contributes regularly to a range of publications including World of Fine Wine, Wine Business International and Wines and Vines. His first book, Wine Science, won the Glenfiddich Award for Drinks Book in 2006. He's currently working on a book on Natural Wine.

James Hoffmann and his partner Anette Moldvaer own Square Mile Coffee Roasters.  He provides training, education and consultancy to a broad spectrum of the coffee industry, including barista training, course development, general coffee education, cupping and tasting training and more café-specific advice and consulting. He publishes a coffee blog, jimseven.com. James was the World Barista Champion in 2007.

Bronwen Percival graduated from Wellesley College with a degree in biochemistry and spent two years as a Peace Corps volunteer in northern Senegal.  While working on a dissertation on farmhouse cheeses as a graduate student in Anthropology at the University of Oxford, she discovered Neal’s Yard Dairy, where she is now the buyer.

Francis Percival read History at Christ’s College Cambridge before embarking on a career in professional food.  After stints as a chef and a fishmonger, he now dedicates his time to writing about wine and food.  He writes a regular column for The World of Fine Wine and contributes regularly to publications such as Decanter, Saveur, Gourmet, and Culture.