Deb Perelman is a food writer and the home cook, photographer, and publisher behind the wildly popular Smitten Kitchen food blog. Winner of Saveur’s Best Cooking Blog of 2011 award, Smitten Kitchen has amassed a huge following due to Perelman’s ability to translate ambitious, sophisticated flavors into easy-to-follow recipes. The long-awaited New York Times bestseller The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook (2012) compiles favorite and innovative recipes, Perelman’s own beautiful photography, and is peppered with her distinctive “no-fuss” cooking philosophy.
Working out of her apartment’s 42-square-foot kitchen, Perelman draws on a unique sense of humor and personal anecdotes to connect with her audience. Her approachable style and infectious enthusiasm make her a great fit for special events, luncheons or dinners, women’s organizations, or anywhere food lovers congregate. Most recently, Perelman published Smitten Kitchen Every Day, which brings passionate home cooks new recipes designed to elevate their meals with her signature flavorful and approachable flair.
A graduate of George Washington University, Perelman cemented her love for food with odd jobs at bakeries, coffee shops, and ice cream stores before she began blogging. She has written for Martha Stewart Living, Parenting, and NPR, and she lives in New York City with her husband and son.
J. Kenji López-Alt, the director of this year’s Community Curated Series, is an American chef and food writer. His first book, The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science, became a critical and commercial success, charting on the New York Times Bestseller list and winning the 2016 James Beard Foundation Award for the best General Cooking cookbook. In 2023, he won his second James Beard Foundation Award for the Single Subject category for The Wok: Recipes and Techniques, his definitive guide to the science and technique of cooking in a wok.