Marisa Baggett traveled to Los Angeles from her home in Mississippi with one goal in mind: to learn as much as she could about making great sushi. At the California Sushi Academy she studied sushi preparation, sushi culture, and how to make other Japanese dishes. She became the school's first black female graduate and returned to her Southern home to share her "Southern-style sushi." She teaches workshops on sushi making, caters sushi events, and works with caterers in the Memphis Jewish community to supply kosher sushi for special events. She is the author of Sushi Secrets: Easy Recipes for the Home Cook. Husband-and-wife team Justin Fox Burks and Amy Lawrence are the authors of The Southern Vegetarian: 100 Down-Home Recipes for the Modern Table. In 2014, Burks and Lawrence were invited to speak at the venerable James Beard House in New York City for the "Enlightened Eaters" series. Justin, Amy, and their recipes have been highlighted in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Woman's Day, The Kitchn, Local Palate, The Huffington Post, P. Allen Smith's Garden Home, Food Network, and Memphis magazine. Justin and Amy write their cooking blog (The Chubby Vegetarian), teach cooking classes, write articles about home cooking, and are developing new recipes for their follow-up cookbook. Allison Day is a dancer, web developer and food writer with a degree in economics and a passion for sushi. Allison lives in Southern California where she produces her Sushi Day blog.
