Alexandra Leaf is a culinary historian and cookbook author. She writes for a variety of publications including The Philadelphia Daily News, Gastronomica and Country Living and most recently SAVEUR. She has been featured on radio and television, including NPR and CNN, and in such print media as The New York Times, Food and Wine, and Travel and Leisure. Alexandra is a member of Les Dames d'Escoffier International; is a board member of The New York Food Museum; and is former chair of Culinary Historians of New York. Alexandra holds a Masters' degree in Comparative Literature from NYU and speaks fluent French and Italian. In 1992, she was awarded a Soros Foundation Teaching Fellowship and in 2002 was cited for her outstanding contribution to the James Beard Foundation. Her award-winning (IACP) cookbook "Van Gogh's Table at the Auberge Ravoux" (Artisan Books, 2001) has just been reissued in paperback. In 2002, the French edition of the book was published by Hoebecke. Alexandra's first book, "The Impressionists' Table: Recipes and Gastronomy of 19th Century France" was published in 1994 by Rizzoli International. Alexandra is a well-known expert on chocolate and is the principal organizer of the 92nd St. Y's annual World Chocolate Extravaganza. She lectures around the country on the history, manufacture and appreciation of fine chocolate. In addition, she teaches tasting classes at the Institute for Culinary Education and at the 92nd St. Y in New York City where she resides.

Robert Bell is a PhD student in the department of History at New York University, wherein he has cultivated a refined interest in themes of historical urban change and cultural development and is highly attuned to the curious, idiosyncratic local histories of New York City. As a docent, Robert engages tour participants with the monumental history of New York’s urban spaces, while also sharing the history of quotidian, daily realities and lives that form the city’s particular charm and character. Robert was born in San Francisco, raised in Canada, and has lived in Brooklyn for the past nine years.

Mitch holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in History and Philosophy from the University of Paris, Sorbonne. His passion for urban history began during his 7 years in Paris, where he worked in his spare time as a city guide and teacher of history and philosophy. His scholarly work has focused on theories of truth as they express themselves in art, literature and theology. Since moving to New York City 12 years ago, he has authored four books on east coast cities, and actively pursues his side-passions for composing classical music (he recently premiered his second opera), and photography (his work has appeared in the New York Times, The New Yorker and Time, amongst other