About the author

Susan McKenna Grant co-founded Alias Research Inc., a world leader in the development of computer graphics software products. In search of a different lifestyle after retiring from that business, she spent several years traveling in Europe studying cooking and baking at such institutions as Le Cordon Bleu and L'Ecole Lenôtre in Paris and the L'Ecole Française de Boulangerie d'Aurillac in the Auvergne region of France.

Susan soon put her studies into practice and, with her husband Michael, now owns and operates 'La Petraia', an agriturismo in Tuscany's oldest wine region, Chianti Classico, offering fine dining, luxury accommodation and cooking classes. After nearly a decade of restoration and replanting, the 165 acre property, one of the highest farms in the area, now includes vineyards, olive and fruit orchards, and a wide variety of vegetable and ornamental gardens.