Sandeep and Nalini Agarwal. For the last 18 years Nalini Agarwal has been cooking traditional Indian meals from scratch almost every day.  She learned the secrets to Indian cooking from her mother. Sandeep Agarwal's family has been in the food business for 5 generations. His great-great-grandfather started his ghee (Indian clarified butter) business in 1889, in the Punjab province of India, and the business is still going strong.  The family, after making ghee for over a century, is also known as "Gheewale", which literally means "those who make ghee".  Sandeep and Nalini extended the family business to America, launching Pure Indian Foods in 2008 to produce organic ghee from grass-fed cows.  They are committed to preserving their family legacy by putting the quality above all.On their spare time Nalini practices yoga and Sandeep makes fermented beverages, sings and plays Indian drums.

Vaishali Anand's hospitality career spans 14 years and 3 continents (India, Australia and the United States.) She is the owner of "Mantra Culinary Classes" and specializes in healthy Indian cuisine.  An "ardent fan of Whole Foods Market philosophy", Vaishali uses the freshest seasonal produce available to create vegan, vegetarian and non-vegetarian Indian meals. Her passion is to contribute to her community by teaching people to cook at home and enjoy healthy, tasty food. 

Sabina Beesley, a Registered Dietician, became interested in food and the way it affects our health while studying medical anthropology. Her research focused on diseases developed by traditional populations as they immigrate to developed countries and adopt non-traditional diets.  She also spent time in Alaska seeing firsthand the ravaging affects of the American diet on Alaska Natives. She pursued her Master's in Nutrition at University of Washington and spends her days teaching patients how to incorporate whole foods to help avoid the pitfalls of fast/processed foods.   She is working on a television show with the Princeton Public Television that teaches children how to read labels and avoid harmful junk food.  Sabina worked in low income children's clinics, juvenile detention center, hospitals and currently in a surgical weight loss group. 

Joyce Fousek's cooking career began at age 7 with a cookbook her mother had given her.  Joyce cooked her way through the book and also learned from her mom, absorbing her Puerto Rican heritage. Then she honed her cooking skills raising (no less than) 5 boys... Along the way she continued her journey as a self-taught chef,   poring through every cookbook she could find and - of course - watching Julia Child (who was the only one around back then). When the boys grew up a little it was time to let the rest of the world marvel in her culinary talent and Joyce embarked on a 30-year professional career. Her experience has run the gamut from working in an English tea shop to owning a café (Flavor's café in Pennington) and a successful catering business. She joined Whole Foods Market 9 years ago as a catering liaison and then Prepared Foods team leader. Joyce now supports the marketing team with floor demos and a variety of classes at The Whisk and the Spoon. Joyce loves to paint, read and decorate and can't miss a yard sale, but most of all she loves to cook: "Nothing gives me more pleasure than having friends over for a fine meal."

 Felipe Katchucka's culinary mantra is BIG and BOLD flavors.  He developed a taste for it growing up a in a multi-cultural household (South American and Russian) where food influences were wide and varied from black beans and rice to borscht to dumplings...He is a graduate of the Peter Kump's NY Cooking School (now the Institute of Culinary Education) where he mastered French techniques. Before joining Whole Foods Market Felipe owned and operated L'Epicure Catering Company for 10 years. On his spare time he enjoys modern art and architecture.

Linda Monastra is a graduate of The Natural Gourmet Institute who works as a freelance chef specializing in vegetarian and health-supportive cooking. She has worked with Chef Eric Tucker at Millennium Restaurant in San Francisco. Currently Linda works as a culinary instructor, private chef, food writer, and recipe developer for magazines. In addition, she is co-founder of Three Birds Bakery, makers of small batch granola.

Christina Pirello, MFN, CCN is one of America's preeminent authorities on natural and whole foods. She's made it her purpose in life to show Americans that they can look their best and feel great too, by learning to eat natural, organic food. She is also the Emmy Award winning host of the national public television series, 'Christina Cooks' airing on more than 200 stations across the country. Christina has written five cookbooks, the bestselling Cooking the Whole Foods Way, plus Cook Your Way to the Life You Want, Glow, A Prescription for Radiant Health and Beauty and Christina Cooks: Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Whole Foods, But Were Afraid to Ask. Her latest book, This Crazy Vegan Life was published in January, 2009 and she is currently at work on her sixth book.In 2008, Christina founded The Christina Pirello Health Education Initiative, a non-profit organization dedicated to changing America's relationship with food, with community outreach, media programs and several in-school programs designed to teach our kids to make healthier choices.Christina holds a faculty position at Drexel University, where she lectures as a professor of culinary arts. She also serves on the board of The Farm Market Trust, The Green Council of Philadelphia, The Green City Youth Council of Philadelphia, The Chefs for Humanity Chef's Council and is a member of IACP (International Association of Culinary Professionals) and Women Chefs and Restaurateurs.  Christina earned both her Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Fine Arts from the University of Miami, and was awarded a Masters Degree in Nutrition from Philadelphia's Drexel University in 2003.

Karen Paritee, a NESTA Certified Life Strategies Coach, is the creator of A Way Out of the Weigh-in, a step-by-step process designed to reconnect her clients to what used to come naturally...eating when hungry and thus achieving and maintaining their perfect weight.  Karen helps her clients rediscover and "reboot" their "intuitive eater", to leave behind diet mentality and make peace with food. Karen discovered "Intuitive Eating" 9 years ago over a plate of fries that her 'eat whatever whenever and stay thin' friend had left on the plate.  "More than the fries themselves," she recalls "I craved her ability to stop eating."  Karen offers personal coaching as well as group workshops.

Anne-Renee Rice-Soumeillant went to France as a journalism student but - just like Julia Child - fell in love with French food and enrolled in a cooking school. She is a graduate of the École Supérieure de la Cuisine Française where she trained in classical French cuisine. Most recently, she worked as the sous-chef at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton where she concentrated on vegetarian cooking. She has also held positions at such well known restaurants as Paris's "Le Toupary", New York City's "La Grenouille", Philly's "Brasserie Perrier" and Princeton's Jasna Polana. Currently she concentrates on raising her two boys, teaching cooking classes and running a catering business. She is the owner of Cuisine, by Anne-Renee.

Christine Waltermyer is the founder and director of The Natural Kitchen Cooking School. With over a decade of experience in the field of natural cooking, she is a masterful chef and teacher specializing in macrobiotic and vegan cuisines. Christine is a regularly featured chef on Ebru TV's "Daily Connection" and in numerous publications." She teaches "Food for Life" cooking classes for The Cancer Project. She also has co-taught with legendary natural foods leader, Michio Kushi, at The Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in Lenox, Massachusetts. Her personal chef clients include well known celebrities. Christine's passion is to empower others with the skills and knowledge to create radiant health.

Nirit Yadin is a chef and a food writer. She fell in love with cooking when she came to Berkeley, CA to study philosophy. The vibrant foods scene of the Bay Area made her change her plans and enroll in the culinary program at the City College of San Francisco.  Nirit worked at top Bay Area restaurants until her kids were born. Then she shifted gears and became a food writer. She has written columns for publications in the NYC area and abroad and co-authored a book: "A Foodie Guide to New York City". Nirit joined Whole Foods Market in 2005. For the last 3 years she's been in charge of our cooking program at The Whisk and The Spoon.  Nirit specializes in healthy eating and gourmet cooking - which she considers the same thing.