Hari Nayak is part of the creative new generation of chefs from Asia. As a young boy, he watched his grandmother grind fresh spices in the traditional stone mortar, and knew that being around good food was what he wanted to do, always. Since graduating from the Culinary Institute of America, Hari has worked in the food industry for more than twenty years-including stints at renowned New York restaurants like Aquavit and Daniel, as well as others in London and Paris. He is the author of seven other cookbooks including Modern Indian Cooking and My Indian Kitchen. Hari was born in Udupi, India and now lives in New Jersey. http://www.harinayak.com

Jack Turkel has been a professional photographer for more than forty years. From the space shuttle and mountain tops to his photographs of the everyday, his creative eye has expertly captured an impressive list of subjects and settings. He did the photography for both My Indian Kitchen and Easy Indian Cooking, too.