Chef Mai Pham
Born in Vietnam and raised there and in Thailand, Mai left after the Vietnam War in April 1975 and settled in the Washington, D.C. area.  She studied journalism at the University of Maryland, worked as a TV reporter and anchor, and was later appointed speechwriter to California Governor George Deukmejian.  In 1988, pursuing her love and passion for food and cooking, she opened the now critically acclaimed Lemon Grass, a Vietnamese and Thai restaurant in Sacramento, California.

Mai’s first book,“The Best of Vietnamese and Thai Cooking” was profiled on National Public Radio and featured in Martha Stewart Living and Art Culinaire magazines.  Her “Pleasures of the Vietnamese Table” was nominated for aJames Beard Awardand hailed by The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times and the Washington Post as one of the best cookbooks of 2001. 

A food columnist for The San Francisco Chronicle, Pham also regularly writes for The Los Angeles Times, Fine Cooking and other food publications. 

For the Food Network, Mai recently hosted an award-winning television documentary entitled, "My Country My Kitchen".  Phami’s return to Vietnam in 2000 was televised internationally by CNN, and is still shown on United and Delta airlines flights. 

Mai received an honorary master’s degree from the Culinary Institute of America and frequently instructs there as a guest-chef. 

She won the International Association of Culinary Professionals Bert Greene award and the Association of Food Journalists award for excellence in journalism.

Click here to buy Mai’s cookbooks.

Chef Heidi Krahling
Krahling is chef and owner of Insalata's restaurant in San Anselmo, California (Marin County), which is located about twenty minutes north of the Golden Gate Bridge.  Her menu reflects the culinary traditions of Italy, Spain, the South of France and the Middle East, and her dishes offer a fresh, California interpretation of classic, rustic Mediterranean cuisine.  Insalata's has established itself as a premier dining favorite in the San Francisco area, building on the philosophy that even the simplest of meals can be a memorable feast.

Krahling, known to legions of fans as "Her Lusciousness," sharpened her culinary teeth while majoring in Business Administration at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, California.  She bought into a popular coffee shop at Bass Lake near Yosemite, but the area's cold, quiet off-season winters sent her scurrying back to her alma mater where she acted as food production supervisor for the college's food-service department.

After two years of plating 1,500 breakfasts and lunches daily, Krahling decided the time was right to attend an institution more in keeping with her natural abilities.  Upon doing so, she became a graduate of Tante Marie's Cooking School in San Francisco.

Krahling worked under Joyce Goldstein at Square One before landing her first major solo gig as Chef du Cuisine at Butlers (one of Perry Butler's ventures) in Mill Valley, California for four years.  It was here that she was first recognized as a culinary force to be reckoned with, as critical accolades flowed.  San Francisco Focus' Best Chefs of 1988 gave her "Rising Star" status; USA Today named Krahling one of the Best Woman Chefs of 1988; and she was featured in Jim Burns and Betty Ann Brown's book Woman Chefs (Aris, 1987).

Following her time at Butler's, Krahling treated the residents of Smith Ranch Homes, a privileged retirement community in San Rafeal, to the bounty of her fresh, innovative fare.  She ran that kitchen for seven plus years before realizing her dream of opening Insalata's.

Along with husband, Mark, a former educator who helps run the business end of things at Insalata's, and a smattering of investors, Heidi formed Luscious Foods, Inc., and opened Insalata's seven years ago.  Truth-in-advertising has never been more evident.  If one word were to be used to describe Krahling's cooking, it would, indeed, be luscious.

Then San Francisco Chronicle has featured Insalata's in its Top 100 Bay Area Restaurant List for six consecutive years and the 2004 Zagat Survey of San Francisco Bay Area Restaurants touted Insalata's as a favorite of local San Anselmans whose passionate chef and accommodating staff create intensely flavored, creative Mediterranean dishes that compete with the very best of the big city.