THE MAGAZINE MAKERS

Co-Publisher and Editor in Chief Carol Newman’s devotion with Art Culinaire began as executive editor of AC Issues 71-75 under publisher Franz Mitterer. She worked with legendary chefs Charlie Trotter, David Bouley, Lidia Bastianich, Michel Richard, Ron Siegel, Charlie Palmer, and Gray Kuntz, to name a few. She proudly reeled in exclusive features with Daniel Humm, Josh DeChellis, and architect David Rockwell. Carol edited the third ‘Best of Art Culinaire’ tome and contributed to several other issues (84, 85, 104, and, 109). Over the years, Carol has written about small plates, wild game, and sustainable wine for Food Arts. Other writing highlights include authoring the inaugural magazine, Epicure, for the first annual Pebble Beach Food and Wine, covering chefs and properties for Rosewood Hotels and Resorts, and writing about her cross-country golf odyssey for The Golfer magazine. A CIA Hyde Park student from 1994-1996, Carol admits that her chickens untrussed too easily, her consommés clouded, and terrines were forgettable. Yet her externship at Chocolatier and Pastry Art and Design magazines proved guiding lights. Carol appreciates good humor, an entrepreneurial spirit, and great writing.

Co-Publisher and Director of Operations Lars Ryssdal was a fixture on the Northwest wine scene for over 25 years. He comes to Art Culinaire with a deep background as a wine educator and twice-certified sommelier. As Lars puts it, “I’ve spent my entire life carrying a bag.” Among his many roles, Lars served as General Manager of Ackerman Family Vineyards, Brand Manager for Corliss Wine Estates and working sommelier for Seastar Restaurant, The Herbfarm, and Cascadia. Lars takes pride in his 10-year stint as Chef Sommelier for the Children’s Hospital Auction of Washington Wines, and his appointment by the Washington Wine Commission as the state’s first and only “Ambassador of Wine.” Lars has helped facilitate the careers of many aspiring sommeliers with his heartfelt involvement in the Court of Master Sommeliers and Society of Wine Educators. Before wine, Lars hustled records in the San Francisco Bay Area for 10 years. He promoted the early Huey Lewis and the News albums (among many others), represented Motown and Stevie Wonder the night John Lennon was shot, and made San Francisco the breakout market for Bobby Caldwell’s hit, ‘What You Won’t Do for Love.’ Lars heads the sommelier team at Taste Washington and San Francisco’s Meals on Wheels Star Chefs & Vintners Gala. He still listens to a lot of music.

Art Director and Chicago-native Elena Bragg has been with Art Culinaire since Issue 134. 10 years ago she put her life-long enthusiasm for art and design to practical application with a career in publishing. Her objective within Art Culinaire is to delicately balance text, photography, and design, harmonizing the stories and recipes on each page. She greatly cares about typography, color, visual storytelling, and her golden retriever Oats who accompanies her on hikes and fly fishing expeditions in her new home state of Colorado.+ Check out Elena’s website

Barb Rybicki a contributing editor and writer to Art Culinaire Magazine is also a freelance marketing consultant specializing in cultural analysis to help brands stay in step with consumers by anticipating change. She has deeply explored such topics as the future of snacking, beer, and breakfast, evolving meanings of ‘generosity’ in the U.S. for a chocolatier, and of ‘authenticity’ for a cheesemaker, and the transformation of stigmatized products from ‘ick to wow’. In Issue 115, Barb writes about native cuisine’s Renaissance. In AC Issue, 119, Barb explores the challenges of feeding school kids who live in Barrow, Alaska.
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Steve Legato Steve’s images define Art Culinaire. With his artistic sensibility, elegance, and precision, Steve doesn’t just shoot images, he crafts compelling food and chef stories. If you own an AC collection, look for Steve’s work that goes back to issues in the 60’s. We’re so fortunate to continue to have Steve’s work grace our pages and inspire you. When he isn’t carrying a camera, Steve’s a passionate wood worker and a multi-instrumentalist, notably an accomplished bass player in a Rush tribute band. Steve never misses an opportunity to cook and often his home cooking involves long braises or smoking fish. Past speaking engagements on food photography include seminars at Temple University, The Institute of Culinary Education (ICE), The Antonelli Institute, and Philadelphia Inquirer. Philanthropic endeavours include The Vetri Foundation, Habitat for Humanity, Operation Second Chance (providing support for wounded combat veterans), Neighborhood Bike Works and Manna, Philadelphia.
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Andrea D’Agosto is a Los Angeles-based  lifestyle photographer and artist. She grew up in a small town in Wisconsin working in her family’s restaurants where food presentation and family recipes sparked her interest. After attending school in Madison Wisconsin, she moved west to Los Angeles. Since then Andrea has been photographing some of the best and most well-known restaurants in Southern California including Spago, CUT, Bestia, Tar & Roses, Rustic Canyon, Alma, Din Tai Fung, Salt’s Cure, Under Belly, Hinoki and the Bird, Little Fork and Willie Jane. Andrea shot the rustic Bernhard Mairinger photos for Art Culinaire 111,   Matthew Kenney in Issue 112, Niki Nakayama at n/naka for Issue 115, Della Gossett in Issue 125, and the feature on Tristan Aitchison at Providence, whose dish adorns the cover.
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Evan Sung is a prominent food, lifestyle, and travel photographer based in Brooklyn, New York. A native Manhattanite, Evan has made his way through the world from Iceland to Senegal to Seventh Avenue. In addition to his freelance tenure with The New York Times, and many book bylines, we are fortunate to have Evan make magic happen inside the pages of Art Culinaire. Find Evan’s brooding shots of Wolfgang Ban’s dishes in Issue 111. In Issue 116, find Evan’s dazzling cover shot of David Bouley’s Scottish Langoustine, among many lovely others.
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Kelly Puleio pushes the conventional ideas of beauty. A fine art photography graduate of the Art Institute of Philadelphia and the California College of the Arts, Kelly’s unique perspective graces our pages. We’re fortunate to have such a dynamic talent based locally in San Francisco, not far from Art Culinaire’s headquarters. In Issue 113, her camera captures the minimalist finesse of James Syhabout at Oakland’s Commis. Issue 117 features Kelly’s beautiful cover shot of Christopher Kostow’s chocolate blackberry.
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Greg Rannells’s high school classmates voted Greg “most versatile,” recognition that amused him. Today, he wonders if there might be some truth to it. After graduating Southeast Missouri State University with a business degree, Greg sold Xerox machines, then surgical lasers, frequently observing eye surgeries. He disc jockeyed for several radio stations, drove a dump truck, and set dynamite until his career transformed to photography. Greg spent eight years photographing fashion in Los Angeles before emotionally connecting to food photography. All food cultures fascinate Greg, driving his own kitchen experiments. Over the years his home has evolved into a food lab with continuous projects clogging counters; masas made from various colored corns and numerous fermentations that include home-brewed Lao Padaek fish sauce, still unopened after 1½ years. Greg says “I learn something from each interaction in three decades of visual storytelling. The culinary artisans I meet are so generous in sharing their knowledge.” We’re incredibly fortunate to have crossed paths and collaborate with Greg who began shooting with Art Culinaire in 2021. His back-to-back photographs grace the covers of Issues 139 and 140. Greg embodies his Mantra: “I eat, I travel, I live!”
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Charity Lynne Burggraaf hails from the Pacific Northwest where she studied commercial photography at Seattle Central Creative Academy. For the past 15 years she’s worked as a food photographer collaborating on over 30 national and international cookbooks. Since 2011, Art Culinaire has been fortunate to team up with Charity on features in Seattle and the Olympic Peninsula, Canada, and the Mountain States. Charity’s gorgeous cover shot illuminates Issue 114 as it captures the Pacific Northwest perfectly: Olympia oysters on the half shell with lemon ice and trout roe photographed in the rain. It provides a window into Chef Renee Erickson’s broader oysters feature.  When not passionately documenting the lives of artisans, chefs, and restaurants, Charity gardens, throws pottery and cooks at home.
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Derek Richmond always finds ways to push the limits on the Chicago food scene. “I explore alternative angles and different types of lighting to reveal other perspectives.” Derek’s edge drives his success as a professional photographer and inspires him to pursue personal projects that dare to be different. Look for Derek’s work in Issues 114 and 115 and other upcoming issues. On the side, Derek relishes pickling, and he’s expressing himself through his personal project The Richmond Pickle Company, “Creative to the Richmond Pickle.”
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Chad Jenkins is a new contributor to Art Culinaire. He began exploring photography as a teen, inspired by the natural landscapes and snow sports of the Pacific Northwest. At 18, Chad joined the Marine Corps where he spent the next eight years. During his second enlistment in Iraq, he rediscovered his passion for photography. After his tour of duty, Chad started a successful commercial photography career and has not looked back. Chad’s photo of sommelier legend Larry Stone graces 111’s cover and, in the same issue, he captures doughnuts at The French Laundry.
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Greg De Villiers has spent more than four years living in and traveling around the Southern Cone—Peru, Chile, Uruguay, Brazil, and Argentina. He hails from South Africa, but currently works between Lima and Buenos Aires as a freelance food photographer and writer. We met Greg in Lima where he photographed chefs Pedro Miguel Schiaffano (Malabar) and Virgilio Martinez (Central). Greg triumphs in Issue 112 with his colorful cover photograph, and inside stories and photos about three prominent Cape Town, South Africa chefs. In Issue 115 Greg visits Kamilla Seidler of Gustu in La Paz, Bolivia.
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