GREG PATENT was born in Hong Kong, spent his early childhood in Shanghai, and immigrated to the United States with his family when he was eleven. He earned a PhD from the University of California at Berkeley and became a full professor of zoology at the University of Montana before leaving to pursue a career in cooking, his first love. He is a veteran baker, cooking teacher, and cookbook author whose books include the James Beard Award–winning Baking in America, which was also named "Best of the Best" by Food & Wine magazine. He was a longtime contributing editor to Cooking Light and also has written articles for Gastronomica and Fine Cooking. He lives in Missoula, Montana, with his wife, Dorothy.

Photographer KELLY GORHAM began his professional career in 1995 after earning a bachelor's degree in photography from Montana State University. He has since worked as a staff photographer for newspapers in Montana and Nevada and as a corporate photographer in the Seattle area. Since 2003, he has been a freelance photographer based from his home state of Montana.

Videographer DAVID McLEAN has worked in film and video production for more than thirty years. He has worked in broadcast television as a production manager and producer. He has also filmed footage for CBS, NBC, ABC, PBS, and the ZDF network in Germany and worked as a freelance producer for wildlife and outdoor programs. He produced, shot, and edited a series of twenty-six half-hour cooking shows for TV sponsored by Cuisinart.