Arlyn Blake, Publisher of the FOODcalendar, is an award winning cookbook author, food/wine and travel writer (over 1100 outlets). Considered 'den mother' to the food and beverage industry, Arlyn has been associated with the James Beard Foundation for over 10 years. She is involved in all areas of the industry, and generously donates her time through organizations such as SLOWFOOD, IACP, Chefs Collaborative, Culinary Historians and The American Institute of Wine and Food.

In her spare time, Arlyn takes opportunities to judge at competitions – she’s judged wines, cheeses, mustards, cookies, chocolates, honey, mushrooms, cookbooks and restaurants in countries all over the world, from Australia to Zambia (really). She's off soon to Chios to write about masticha, having just come back from the North Pole, where, unwillingly, she got used to seal meat/fat out of necessity. Stay tuned.