Alice Hoffman is the author of more than thirty works of fiction, including Magic Lessons: The Prequel to Practical Magic, The World That We Knew, The Rules of Magic, The Marriage of Opposites, Practical Magic, The Red Garden, the Oprah’s Book Club selection Here on Earth, The Museum of Extraordinary Things, and The Dovekeepers. Her work has been published in more than twenty translations and more than one hundred foreign editions. The fourth and final novel in the Practical Magic series, The Book of Magic will be released in October of 2021.
In 1987 Gordon Hamsersley and his wife Fiona opened Hamersley's Bistro in a tiny storefront in Boston's up-and-coming South End. The restaurant's bistro inspired food was unique and simple, inspired by New England ingredients, was an immediate success and Hamersley's Bistro quickly became one of Boston’s favorites. Hamersley’s was closed in 2014 after a run of 27 years. From 2014 through 2016, Gordon wrote a cooking column for the Boston Globe featuring a wide array of recipes. He writes the food column for the magazine, Upland Almanac. He teaches cooking classes and students find his ability to relate food history to modern cooking techniques both informative and fun.
As Chief Operating Officer of Community Servings, Kevin Conner oversees all Delivery Department, facilities, and IT needs. Kevin, a native of upstate New York, has been a professional chef for 20 years. Prior to joining the staff of Community Servings, Kevin worked as the Executive Chef at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. Chef Conner is motivated by the significant impact that food can have on someone who is sick and he aims to integrate new recipes and different cuisines into the menu to help ensure that medically tailored meals are flavorful, while still meeting the dietary needs of the clients. Kevin is a graduate of Johnson & Wales Culinary Arts Program.
Chef Lydia Shire is a James Beard Award honoree and runs Scampo in the AAA Four Diamond Liberty Hotel; Towne Stove and Spirits, which opened in 2010 next to the Hynes Convention Center; and Locke-Ober, the city’s third-oldest restaurant.
Mary-Catherine Deibel and chef Deborah Hughes met at Peasant Stock Restaurant in Somerville in 1971 and formed a fast friendship there, which transformed into a business partnership with their opening, with Hughes’s husband Michael Silver, of UpStairs at the Pudding in 1982—during the exciting period when chef-owned and operated restaurants were just beginning. Known for its spirit of community and warmth, Mary-Catherine presided over the dining room, talking with every table, while Deborah ran the kitchen and later her famous herb-garden terrace, one of the first and best of outdoor dining rooms.
Michela Larson was one of the early pioneers in the Boston food renaissance in the 80’s and 90’s, starting with her groundbreaking Northern Italian restaurant Michela’s in East Cambridge. Currently, Michela is operating the blue at the Boca Raton Resort & Club after developing the restaurant’s new concept and overseeing transition and renovation. She also serves as co-founder and board member of Community Servings (servings.org), a not-for-profit food and nutrition program providing services throughout Massachusetts to individuals and families living with critical and chronic illnesses.
Susan Pories is the Director of the Hoffman Breast Center and Chief of Breast Surgery at Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, Massachusetts and an Associate Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Pories is the Associate Co-Director of the Arts and Humanities Initiative at Harvard Medical School and is dedicated to enriching medical education with the arts and humanities. Dr. Pories went to medical school and completed her surgical residency at the University of Vermont. Books edited by Dr. Pories include The Soul of a Doctor, The Soul of a Patient, Navigating Your Surgical Career, Cancer: Biography of a Disease, and In the Kitchen with Your Favorite Chefs.
