Born in Peru and based in San Francisco, Nico Vera is a writer, mixologist, chef, and photographer. He shares stories, original pisco cocktails, and traditional Peruvian recipes on his blog, Pisco Trail. Nico is the resident Peruvian chef at 18 Reasons, a cooking school in San Francisco. Through his pop-up dinners and classes he takes diners on a gastronomical tour of Peru’s criollo cuisine, a fusion of Inca, Spanish, African, Chinese, and Japanese cultures. At an early age, his mom taught him how to cook and his father made him his first Pisco Sour. He returns to Lima every year to visit family and stay up to date on culinary and cocktail trends. Growing up listening to Afro-Peruvian and Latin music, Nico loves to dance and play hand drums. To connect with Pachamama (Mother Earth), he runs on mountain trails in California, Colorado, and Peru.
Often called the founder of modern southwestern cuisine, Mark Miller's anthropological approach to food has led him to explore cuisines in over 100 countries around the world. His cooking career began at Chez Panisse and he later would open the restaurants Fourth Street Grill, Red Sage, Coyote Café, and Wildfire. He lives in New Mexico.
Maricel E. Presilla is the chef-owner of two pan-Latin restaurants (Cucharama and Zafra) and a cooking atelier (Ultramarinos), president/founder of Gran Cacao Company (a cacao importer), a frequent contributor to Saveur, and a former medieval Spanish history professor (Rutgers). She has been profiled in the New York Times and Washington Post, and led the White House's Latin culture showcase in 2010. She was named the James Beard Best Chef Mid-Atlantic in 2012; her opus, Gran Cocina Latina: The Food of Latin America, won the James Beard Book of the Year in 2013; and she was inducted into the Beard Foundation's Hall of Fame in 2015.
Maria del Carmen Fleytas (MSc) is the Paraguay Program Director at WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society).
Food and lifestyle writer W. Scott Koenig founded AGringoInMexico.com in 2012 to report on Mexican travel destinations, food, culture, events, and adventure. He also writes columns for DiningOut San Diego, SanDiegoRed.com, and DiscoverBaja.com. An organizer of Baja California culinary tours for media, chefs, educators, and culinary professionals, Koenig’s also worked in regional film and video production with BBC, KPBS Public Television, and the Culinary Institute of America. The owner of Koenig Creative LLC, a San Diego based creative services agency, he has over 30 years of experience as a marketer, creative director, and graphic designer. A frequent visitor to Baja California and Mexico, Koenig enjoys time with family and friends over a taco or a great meal.
