Chef Joe Randall is a preeminent American chef. He has been the executive chef for a dozen restaurants, including the award-winning Closter restaurant in Buffalo, New York, and Fishmarket in Baltimore, Maryland. His affiliations include the American Culinary Federation, the Chefs de Cuisine Association of California, and the American Academy of Chefs. He is the founder and president of A Taste of Heritage Foundation, an organization devoted to introducing African-American chefs to a wider audience and supporting beginning chefs.

Toni Tipton-Martin is the first African-American editor of a major metropolitan daily newspaper, the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Formerly a member of the food staff of the Los Angeles Times, she lives in Dallas, Texas.