MACHIKO CHIBA opened her own cooking school for Japanese, Western, and Chinese cooking in Sendai, Japan, in 1988. She has won many awards for cooking in Japan, and is a well-known cookbook author. She is currently a Japanese food consultant for Balducci's and teaches Japanese cooking at the Nippon Club Culture Center in New York City.
JOHN WHELEHAN holds the Level 4 Diploma from WSET (Wine and Spirit Education Trust), the highest qualification before the ultimate title Master of Wine. He has over twenty years' experience in his field and has had a regular column on wine in the Mainichi daily newspaper. He is currently a wine taster and marketing manager with Pieroth Japan.