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Toni Tipton Martin is an award-winning food and nutrition journalist, cookbook author, and community activist whose recent book, the James Beard Award-winning 
At 18 years old, 
Founder Lisa Ekus launched the first cookbook of and media trained Emeril Lagasse before his enthusiastic “Bam!” hit the ears of culinary fans the world over. Padma, Bravo’s Top Chef judge and model/actress, has been twice to the Hatfield studios for TV prep work. Renowned Chefs Charlie Trotter, Norman Van Aken, and Julia Child have all graced the company’s offices and dining room table, among hundreds more. Book deals have been struck for more than 200 authors, and the company has worked with leading food manufacturers and represented some of the nation’s top restaurateurs and restaurants, books, and food companies on the public relations side. But, it’s her 5,000 volume cookbook library that inspires and feeds her soul, says Ekus. And, it’s where she can often be found doing research and choosing a new favorite recipe.
Jocelyn Delk Adams is the founder, author, national television expert and brand ambassador behind the award-winning and best-selling cookbook Grandbaby Cakes and the food website 
The Jackson Cannon Bar Knife design was a collaboration between R. Murphy Knives and Jackson Cannon, award-winning bartender and Bar Director of Island Creek Oyster Bar and Eastern Standard and owner of The Hawthorne in Boston. The Bar Knife has a squared-off blade tip that’s perfect for notching fruit, removing seeds, and slicing citrus peels. Its flush backside can be used to clean up the work area, like a squeegee. The Bar Knife’s handle is stabilized Cocobolo, a durable handsome tropical hardwood that contains moisture resistant natural oils. This board and knife set retails for $125.
ench-trained chef whose style of cooking is defined as “refined Southern cuisine,” a potent blend of classic technique, balanced flavors, and a keen sense of tradition.
When Lisa was approached to be Virginia’s agent, she was married to her second husband and had never been attracted to women. Little did she know that her business partnership with Virginia would develop into a deep friendship and, eventually, a committed and loving relationship.
Tell us a little about your background…I grew up as the oldest of three sisters. My father was a radiologist and my mom was his bookkeeper and owned two tennis boutiques in the tennis heyday. I graduated from Barnard College in New York City as an English major and knew I’d always work with books.I made my career in publishing, working at a literary agency, then as a publicist at Random House and Crown Books. I was married (for the first time) in 1981 to the father of my two daughters. We were married for 14 years. I left NYC and my job when my husband was offered a position in western Massachusetts. There were no publishing options where we lived and so I decided to launch my own company doing what I loved—public relations and working with books and authors.I established the first culinary PR agency in the country, Lisa Ekus Public Relations. Over the last 33 years, that business has grown tremendously and morphed intoThe Lisa Ekus Group, “Representing a World of Culinary Talent.” We have multiple divisions: Literary Agenting, Media Training, Talent Agenting, Literary à la Carte services, and PR/Marketing Consulting.After my divorce, I raised my two daughters as a single mother with a full-time business, until I met my second husband. I was married to him for 9 years.
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Because I work in the culinary field, representing cookbook authors, food writers, and chefs, Virginia sent me her first book proposal for 
. It was the cleanest proposal for a cookbook I had ever received. We were both going to the Greenbrier Food Writers’ Conference that year and I made an appointment to meet with her. Virginia’s initial appeal to me was that she is an extraordinary food writer. She is beautiful as well: Chanel red lipstick, pearls, and a way with a sentence that made me determined to represent her on the spot. She told me clearly that my agency was her first choice to represent her and she never approached another agent. Our work together grew into a friendship, which deepened over the years. And, like a slow-cooked dish, a deliciously meaningful partnership started simmering.
