Elizabeth Karmel grew up in North Carolina and was raised on barbecue. She further honed her grill skills handling the marketing/public relations and culinary initiatives for her client Weber-Stephen Products Co. (Weber Grills) for a decade. She is a cookbook author, as well as the resident grilling consultant for Fine Cooking magazine. She has also written for Cooking Light, Bon Appetit, Saveur, and Redbook and has appeared on Food Network and Today. In 2004, Elizabeth launched her own line of kitchen and grilling tools call Grill Friends; her basting brush won a Silver Trophy at the 2005 Fancy Food Show and was the only brush recommended by Cook's Illustrated, beating out top national brands.

Bob Blumer is the creator and host of the award-winning Food Network show Surreal Food and author of four cookbooks. His new series, A Glutton for Punishment, is on Fine Living channel in the U.S. and on Food Network Canada.