The Stars

The following is a list of just a small portion of the highly esteemed culinarians who made up the world-renowned faculty of the 2000 Worlds of Flavor Conference on the foods of India and Southeast Asia, including some of their publications and awards. They truly are the tops in their field.

Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid: authors of Hot Sour Salty Sweet, Seductions of Rice, and Flatbreads and Flavors. They have traveled extensively in Southeast Asia for 30 years, and are accomplished photographers and lecturers.

Laxmi Hiremath: author of Laxmi's Vegetarian Kitchen, frequent contributor to major publications, and teacher and food consultant of Indian cooking. Laxmi is the owner and chef of Laxmi's Delights in San Francisco.

Madhur Jaffrey: author of many books on the cuisines of India and Southeast Asia, and a renowned expert on Indian and other Asian cuisines. Madhur is also an accomplished stage and screen actress.

Kasma Loha-unchit: author of It Rains Fishes and Dancing Shrimp. Kasma is an IACP cookbook award winner and the owner of the only Thai cooking school in the States.

Maya Kaimal: author of Savoring the Spice Coast of India on the cooking of Kerala. Maya is the photography editor of Saveur magazine, and a Julia Child Award winner.

Sri Owen: author of 11 cookbooks on South Asian cuisine and frequent lecturer on the foods of Indonesia. Sri has hosted many television series on the cooking of South Asia.

Neela Paniz: owner and chef of L.A.'s finest Indian restaurant and author of Bombay Café Cookbook. She leads Indian market tours and frequently teaches culinary classes on the cuisines of India.

Mai Pham: author of the Pleasures of the Vietnamese Table and the Best of Vietnamese and Thai Cooking. Mai owns the nationally acclaimed Lemon Grass Restaurant in Sacramento and leads culinary tours to Vietnam for the CIA (Culinary Institute of America).

Julie Sahni: culinary historian and award-winning chef. Julie is the author of many award-winning cookbooks and one of the top experts on the cooking of regional India. She has also led culinary tours of India for many years.

Rohit Singh: owner and chef of a nationally acclaimed Indian bakery and curry shop in Berkeley. He has a forthcoming cookbook on the regional rural cuisines of India and is a master of tandoori and flatbreads.

Su-Mei Yu: author of Cracking the Coconut, and the owner of the nationally acclaimed Saffron restaurant chain in San Diego. Su is considered one of the ultimate authorities on maintaining the purity and authenticity of Thai cuisine.