Dr. Eric Block.  Eric Block, Carla Rizzo Delray Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at the University at Albany, State University of New York, is a world authority on garlic science. The New York Times called his 2010 454 page book “Garlic and Other Alliums: The Lore and the Science” (published by the Royal Society of Chemistry) “the definitive word on the alliums.” Block has given live interviews on garlic on National Public Radio’s Science Friday (USA) as well as CBC. His research has been featured in the Globe and Mail, the New York Times, Le Monde, the Los Angeles Times, the Boston Globe, Science, and Scientific American, among other publications. He has appeared in the Canadian documentary films, “Garlic” and “Onions” [Foodessences Series, David Bishop Productions, Halifax, N.S., 1997, 1999].

Block, born in New York City, received a B.S. in chemistry from Queens College of the City University of New York and a Ph.D. in chemistry from Harvard University, where he worked with 1990 Nobel Laureate E.J. Corey. Block has been Visiting Professor at Harvard, the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel and Cambridge University, and was the recipient of a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship, the American Chemical Society’s Award for Advancement of Application of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, and the 2012 Sterling Hendricks Lectureship Award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, among other honors. He is the author of 238 scientific papers, 8 patents, and 4 books, many of which deal with garlic and other alliums, and the chemistry of the elements sulfur and selenium. Block has trained more than 60 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows during his 45 years in academia. In addition to his 40+ years of research on garlic and other alliums, Block has recently done pioneering research on olfaction (the sense of smell).

His webpage can be found at: http://www.albany.edu/chemistry/eblock.shtml and information on his work on the sense of smell can be found at:  http://wnyt.com/article/stories/S2508344.shtml.

Stephanie Gladman.  Stephanie is a Registered Dietitian with a Master of Health Science in Nutrition Communication. She has professional experience working at a hospital and a fitness centre where she consulted individuals and groups on various topics. These included, but are not limited to, healthy eating, weight management, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.  Having spent three months volunteering in India, she also taught health and hygienic practices to Tamil-speaking children.  As a devoted foodie with a passion for health and wellness, she prides herself on providing tailor-made food plans and creatively communicating nutritional knowledge to diverse populations. Her counseling style is motivational and supportive so that clients can make realistic choices to achieve their goals. From keeping up on the latest developments in the field and experimenting in the kitchen, she has always been dedicated to the promotion of eating well.

Warren Ham.  Warren was born in 1957 on a small mixed farm in Eastern Saskatchewan that could have been the backdrop for a William Kurelek painting.  Warren left Simon Fraser University one credit short of a degree in Theatre, which his excuse being a ‘bad actor’, and one bulb short of a full bushel for the balance of his working life. He grew a ¼ acre of garlic 25 years ago after reading an article by Ted Mackza the Fish lake garlic man in the now sadly defunct Harrowsmith Magazine. Warrens reasoning was that if even half of what Ted said was true one could at least have a little fun.

Over the years Warren has been a part of growing plots of garlic  from 1  to 100 acres.  Many of those years supplying the major grocery chains across Canada and the US, but mainly   providing garlic seed to individual growers, farmers, and seed houses across North America, and England.  As a member of the Garlic Growers Assoc of Ontario for 25 years he has served in most capacities. Warren worked on the case that went before the International Trade Tribunal to block Chinese garlic from being dumped into the Canadian market. He has worked with the University of Guelph, the ontario government, and international growers to develop disease and virus free garlic seed for the strains of garlic grown in Ontario.

Warren, wife Nicola and the kids live on a 50 acre farm “Augusts’ Harvest” just north of Stratford.  Their daughter Reicza grows a bit and has a booth here today.  Augusts Harvest supplies organic garlic, shallot, vegetables, and Saskatoon berries through distribution channels as varied as CSA food boxes to grocery chains and seed houses across North America.

Both immigrant grandfathers given names were August as well as being Warren’s middle name.  So the farm name Augusts Harvest is not about being austere, or about a season, but refers to new beginnings.

Dr. Raji Iyer.  Rajeshwari (Raji) Iyer was born in Bhusaval, Maharashtra and grew up in Bombay where she did her early schooling and undergraduate education ( B.Sc  & M.Sc)  from the University of  Bombay.

At the age of 22 she made her sojourn westward to the United States to pursue graduate studies in Chemistry. She completed her Ph.D.  in Chemistry under the direction of Professor Eric Block from the State University of New York, Albany (SUNYA) in 1988. Her doctoral work involved the study of sulfur compounds in the essential oil of garlic. After postdoctoral  stints  in Chemistry  at the University of Geneva, Switzerland, Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Boston and at the University of Toronto respectively,  she worked for a few years as a Synthetic Chemist  doing Process Research in the development of drugs and drug intermediates in the Pharmaceutical Industry in Toronto. Her work in  industry has helped provide a practical focus to her teaching. Over the past 17 years she has taught Chemistry  and Science related courses at post-secondary Institutions both in the US and Canada. She has taught courses in Organic Chemistry, Pharmaceutical Discovery,Toxicology,  Inorganic, Analytical and Biochemistry as well as a variety of Science courses on Drug Addictions, Forensic Science and Living in the Environment. She is currently a contract  faculty member in  Chemistry at York University  and Ryerson University in Toronto. Her professional  interests include Curriculum Development in Chemistry and  Science Education. She is the mother of a special needs- autistic young man  and her personal interests  include  music , chess, writing poetry  and special education. Some of her poems can be viewed at zine -5.com, South Asian Women’s Forum and Chennaionline.  She lives in Brampton with her husband Sriram Subrahmanyan and son Nikhil.

Sang Kim.  Sang Kim is a restaurateur, chef and author. He has owned or consulted for some of the most iconic modern Japanese and Korean restaurants in the city of Toronto, including Blowfish, KI Modern Japanese, Ame Cuisine and KOKO! Share Bar. He has published two books, Ballad Of A Karaoke Cowboy and A Dream Called Laundry. His third book, Woody Allen Ate My Kimchi, candid and hilarious behind-the-scenes stories at Toronto’s top restaurants, will be launched in 2013. Some of the stories from the book can be found on his literary blog: www.karaokecowboy.blogspot.com.

He is the co-director of SPoT (Small Press of Toronto) bi-annual book fair, held at various venues around the city. He is also the co-organizer of Reel Eats, a monthly gastronomic, film and storytelling event that brings together a famous food film, top local chefs and raconteurs for a grand night of deliciousness. He is currently producing a unique book series, called COOK/BOOK, where he cooks in the kitchens of some of Canada’s most prominent writers. Proceeds from the sale of the cookbook will go to various local food charities. Writers signed on include Austin Clarke, Joy Kogawa, Katherine Govier and many more.

Sang runs Toronto’s most popular sushi-making class, a hands-on workshop that deals with issues around sustainable seafood. For information about his popular sushi making classes, go to: www.sushimakingforthesoul.com

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Dr. Robert Litke.    When he’s not teaching environmental philosophy at Wilfred Laurier University, Robert has been growing rare and heirloom strains of garlic for the past fifteen years. Robert will once again be giving away hundreds of bulbs of his heirloom garlic.

Dr Elizabeth Miller. Recognized internationally for her expertise on Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula – its origins in folklore, literature and history, as well as its influence on the culture of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.  In addition to her lectures, and participation in several television documentaries on both sides of the Atlantic, Dr. Miller has been interviewed by major media including the BBC, ABC (“20/20″), CBC, the Guardian, U.S. News & World Report, the New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, Entertainment Weekly, the Globe & Mail, the Los Angeles Times, and the Wall Street Journal. Her publications on Dracula include dozens of articles and several books: Reflections on Dracula (1997), Dracula: The Shade and the Shadow (1998), Dracula: Sense & Nonsense (2000; rev 2006), A Dracula Handbook (2005), and Bram Stoker’s Dracula: A Documentary Journey into Vampire Country and the Dracula Phenomenon (2009).

Liz Primeau.  Liz is the author of numerous books on gardening, including the best-seller Front Yard Gardens: Growing More Than Grass, and recently, In Pursuit of Garlic: An Intimate Look at the Divinely Odorous Bulb. She is also the founding editor of Canadian Gardening magazine and the former host of Canadian Gardening Television on HGTV. A much-in-demand speaker, she frequently gives talks at horticultural society meetings and garden shows across Canada and the United States. She lives in Mississauga, Ontario.

Ron Raymer.  Ron is a Classically French-trained Chef with more than 30 years experience in the Hospitality Industry. Ron’s culinary journey began at the Church Restaurant in Stratford under renowned Chef, Jean-Marie Lacroix.  Following a stint at the Ben Miller Inn with the late Chef William “Ben” Merritt and Chef Chris Wolfe, he became the Executive Chef of the London Hunt and Country Club; a position he held for 7 years.  After a period of various Management positions with Greenhill’s Country Club, S.I.R Corp, Kelsey’s,  and McMaster University, Ron came to Toronto as the Chef of the Bloor Street Diner. Ron won and shared  a number of awards during this time including  Store of the Year, 3 x Store of Quarter, Franchise of the Year, the Perfect  6 Host award at the 1991 Skate Canada, a Milton Chamber of Commerce Businessman of the Year nomination and a Ontario Provincial Police Commissioner’s Award for his effort in the implementation of  the Designated Driver Program across Canada. In 1995 Ron began working with Catering Doyen Dinah Koo and has been entrenched in the Private  Catering Industry since then.