Chris Hobbs

Christopher Hobbs is a fourth generation herbalist and botanist with over 30 years experience. Founder of Native Herb Custom Extracts, now operating as Rainbow Light Custom Extracts, and the Institute for Natural Products Research, Christopher writes and lectures internationally on herbal medicine.

His specialties include analyzing the relationship between herbs and the immune system; adaptogenic herbs, Native American uses of herbs, the pharmacology and chemistry of herbal medicines, herbs for the liver and the botany and taxonomy of herbs.

Christopher has taught and lectured at universities and medical schools such as Stanford University Medical School, Yale Medical School, Bastyr University and the National School of Naturopathic Medicine; including on-going classes at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Todd Spanier

Todd Spanier is self-dubbed the “Mushroom King” for a reason. With his 7-foot stature, passion for the fungi kingdom and star-studded clientele, it’s hard to deny the regal rights of this mushroom purveyor.

Spanier owns the store King of Mushrooms in Daly City, California and is one of the most successful mushroom retailers in the Greater Bay Area. He supplies fresh truffles, porcinis, chanterelles and many less-well-known fungi to grocery outlets, private chefs, catering companies and close to 250 restaurants.  He also leads foraging trips for local chefs and hosts five-course mushroom dinners at local restaurants.

Massimo Caporale

Native to Northern Italy, Massimo Caporale was born to a village in Padua and spent many years living near Lago di Como (Lake Como) before immigrating to the United States.  In his early career, Massimo studied in the hotel and culinary fields in Italy, worked as a pastry chef and learned the craft of gelato making.  Like the gelato that bears his name, those who know Massimo would tell you he's both sweet in nature and adventurous in spirit. Long before he left Italy in midlife to start a new venture from scratch (just like he makes his gelato); Massimo was the team leader on the Italian national hang gliding team.  Massimo’s gelato has been selected by Oprah Winfrey’s O Magazine as “things we think are just great!”

Jozseph Schultz

Jozseph Schultz currently lectures in the Culinary Arts& Hospitality Management Program at Cabrillo College in Aptos, CA.  He recently taught Food Matters, a class in culinary anthropology at the University of California, Santa Cruz.  He is an avid lecturer at the forefront of the traditional and ethnic food movement, bringing historical, scientific and practical perspectives to issues of food, farming, cooking and dining.

Jozseph was Executive Chef and owner of India Joze, a restaurant known for its eccentric menu and culinary style.  India Joze Restaurant fused together the cuisines of Europe and Asia with his own specialty style.  The recipient of numerous local and regional awards, India Joze was voted number one restaurant in Santa Cruz in a reader’s of PBS magazine’s Focus in 1995.

Sean Baker

Sean Baker was chef at Zibibbo in Palo Alto, which was named one of the 20 best American restaurants by the readers of Gourmet Magazine, and was chef Millennium in San Francisco, where the primary focus of food was on supporting the essential earthly concepts of organic food production. Baker is now Chief Chef at Gabriella’s Café in Santa Cruz where he continues to blow minds away with his tantalizing culinary feats.  Baker was noted as gratifying the palates of a packed house at a Bonny Doon wine dinner, with his multi-course magic that produced raves from winemaker Randall Grahm and other finicky gourmands. “These wines make me think,” admitted Chef Baker of the Bonny Doon array he tasted before designing the menu matches. His thinking made delicious sense with a half dozen wines, many from the winery’s biodynamic Ca’ del Solo vineyard near Soledad.  Coupling excellent wine with great mushroom dishes, Baker is able to find the complimentary flavors that blend both forms into a passion of excellence.