33-year-old Malaysian half-chef, half-engineer, all-foodie.

Born and raised in Kuala Lumpur, my first USA destination was a town up in Michigan which greeted its visitors with a road sign that says (yes, I am certain the sign is still there) "End of Earth 2 miles, Houghton 10 miles". Forget the remoteness, years later when I talk to people (non-Michigan denizens), they are more concerned about...

Louisa Cass is a communication professional from Australia who's worked in television and government.  She's currently studying food culture at the University of Gastronomic Sciences in northern Italy, and along with her classmates, is eating and drinking her way around Europe. She says she wants "important food issues to receive as much attention as gastroporn.”

Reformed banker turned tasteguru, Brita has been interested in gastronomy since her undergraduate days studying mathematics at Pitzer College.  After climbing the ranks in the challenging world of investment banking, Brita was inspired by her volunteer work with Slow Food to drastically change career paths.  Leaving banking she moved to Italy, where she currently resides, to enroll in a masters program in Food Culture at the University of Gastronomic Science...  

Ricardo was born in México City, and currently lives in Guadalajara Jalisco. He is a television producer with over 17 year of experience producing public and private television, he was selected for "Telemundo script writers 2006” (www.tallertelemundo.com)  Ricardo especially enjoys doing TV programs on Mexican culture and traditions. Six years ago he had the opportunity to produce “Pueblos de artesanos” a series about mexican handcraft all over the country, and “Artistas por si mismos” a documentary series about Mexican plastic artists...

Mom, marketer, tasteguru...

Noël Thévenet is a Californian who lives in Paris (well, St-Cloud). A co-founder of Tastegurus, she learned to cook and eat well from her mother, a Swiss expat living in LA. She traded working in the entertainment and music industry for a marketing career when she moved to France. Noel has a BA in French from Boston College and a MBA from ESSEC in France. She is married and has a seven year old daughter.

Tasteguru first and everything else follows.

Xanthie Drankus, co-founder of tastegurus, began her working life in kitchens – as a line cook at an upscale Italian restaurant in Chicago, at the same time developing pastries for cafés and coffee shops. Eventually she left the kitchen for an office and a career in marketing and communications. She holds a BA from Loyola in History, a Culinary Arts Certificate from the...