John Martin Taylor is a culinary historian and food writer currently living in Chengdu, China. He is an authority on the cooking of not only his native South, but also of Italy and the Caribbean, where he has lived. He is the former food editor of the French-language magazine, Ici New York. John is considered the expert on the culinary traditions of the lowcountry, the coastal plain of South Carolina and Georgia. He received a Masters in Film from the University of Georgia, and is an accomplished photographer as well. For 13 years, he owned and operated Hoppin' John's, a culinary bookstore and cooking school in Charleston, SC. He closed the shop in 1999 to concentrate on writing and consulting. He has appeared on both local and national radio and television. He is generally credited with reviving the traditional cuisine of the lowcountry and in renewing interest in stone-ground, whole grain grits and cornmeal. He sells heirloom corn products through his commercial site, www.hoppinjohns.com and blogs at www.hoppinjohns.net.