Sophie Dening is a freelance journalist and editor. She was one of the founder editors of Mr & Mrs Smith, is a contributing editor at Harper’s Bazaar, and has written about travel and restaurants for The Daily Telegraph, Olive and Bon Appetit. She is the author of Paris guides for HG2.com and Wallpaper* City Guides, and is Editer’s in-house food and drink expert.

After dropping out of a tiny liberal arts college in New England and travelling the world, Canadian-born Englishman Adrian Moore found himself working in the luxury hotel industry as a glorified dogsbody. Named top concierge by Monocle, ‘Paris’ Hottest Food Blogger’ by Woman’s Wear Daily, and ‘Paris’ Bad Boy blogger’ by Newsweek/Budget Travel, Adrian balances his life between his day job as concierge at one of Paris’ top luxury hotels, writing freelance for international magazines, guides and websites, and sucking the marrow from the bones of the City of Light.

David Annand is a freelance journalist. Among other things, he writes about books, travel, clothes and design for a variety of titles, including GQ and The Sunday Telegraph. He is a proud trustee of Magic Breakfast, and co-owner of London’s nicest yoga studio: Yoga on the Lane in Dalston.

Debbie Bhowmik is a London-based hair colourist with over 25 years’ experience in the most renowned salons in and around Mayfair, including MichaelJohn, Daniel Galvin and Real (Josh Wood). Thanks to her starry international clientele, she has been called the ‘Concorde colourist’ by The Daily Telegraph, and named one of the top five colourists in London by the Evening Standard.

Rosie Birkett is a food writer and journalist who writes about chefs, restaurants, food and travel for The Guardian, The Independent, Stylist, Metro and Olive. Rosie has contributed to various cookbooks, including Nigel Haworth’s Obsession; and Phaidon’s new Where Chefs Eat. She is currently EasyJet Traveller’s intrepid food columnist, blogs at alotonherplate.com, and Tweets as @rosiefoodie. Based in Brixton, she travels the world to taste and report on different cuisines, recently specialising in America.

… is founder of the Kernel Brewery.

A native of Extremadura, José Pizarro has lived in the UK for 14 years and worked at some of London’s most prestigious Spanish restaurants, including Eyre Brothers and Brindisa. In May 2011 he opened his first solo venture, José in Bermondsey, winning hearts and critical acclaim. Then in November came Pizarro, just down the road. José has published two books: Seasonal Spanish Food and, in 2012, Spanish Flavours. 

Hedvig Opshaug is a Norwegian fashion blogger, freelance stylist, editor and photographer based in London. With a background is in sports, mathematics and finance, she headed into more creative waters in 2008, travelling to fashion weeks every season to soak up inspiration on the runway and on the streets, camera in hand. One of her mottos: live in the moment, and embrace all new challenges that come along – it’s never too late!

Kit Lee is a freelance fashion stylist, a third-generation dress-maker, a jack of all (creative) trades and blogger based in London. Senior assistant to stylist and fashion editor Marcella Martinelli for five years with the FT’s How To Spend It and Quintessentially, Kit now freelances for Asia-based luxury publications and advertising clients. She has penchants for fine jewellery, craftmanship and UK manufacturing, hydrangeas and fish-finger sandwiches.

Martin Morales moved to England from Peru when he was 11 years old. A former Apple, Disney and EMI executive, he decided to follow his heart and set up Ceviche in March 2012, bringing authentic Peruvian cuisine to the heart of Soho. Martin also runs Tiger’s Milk Records, the restaurant’s record label. In 2013, Martin wil publish a Ceviche book, and a open a second restaurant.

Life partners and business partners, Outsider Tart owners David Muniz and David Lesniak started baking for fun when they arrived in London in 2005, then decided to set up a stall at their local farmers’ market in Richmond in 2007. They delved into archives of family recipes, not only their own but also from families across America, before opening their characterful Chiswick bakery. They don’t stick to any baking rules – rather, the two Davids experiment and create their own unique methods for baking. Blue Plate, their soul food joint, is opening next door to Outsider Tart this winter.

Born in Seoul, raised in Warsaw and now London-based, Shini Park is the graphic designer and writer behind the fashion blog Park & Cube. She launched the blog in November 2008, after graduating from Central St Martins, posting photography and personal thoughts on topics ranging from fashion to food. Shini now works as the web designer and photographer for Editer.com. She also likes discovering secret London and undertaking fashion DIY projects.

Carl Brown started bartending in his home town of Bury St Edmunds, then, following a stint under mixologist Mickael Perron, he went to work for Hilton Worldwide, latterly at the Waldorf Astoria. He later joined the Gorgeous Group, who introduced him to Dishoom, where he has developed drinks including the Bombay Pimm’s and the Naughty Gola Ices from the summer 2011 pop-up, Chowpatty Beach, plus the menu at the Permit Room in Dishoom Shoreditch.

Maddie Bryett started her career in wine at Oddbins. Several wine exams later, her thirst for knowledge of all things vinous had intensified, and she was lured to France by a Gallic charmer. She spent the next three years getting her hands dirty, making wine and growing vines, then spent time in Switzerland, before returning to England and taking on her current role as wholesale manager with Borough Wines.

Penelope Chilvers designed her first collection seven years ago, following a spell in Spain, where she spotted the fashion potential of the traditional riding boot. She has won renown with her beautifully made shoes, including the equestrian boot with which she made her name, sought-after urban snow boots, the Dandy slipper, and summer espadrilles made according to traditional Catalan methods. She now offers a bespoke online service; her designs are also sold at Selfridges, Liberty and Harrods, and fashion stores worldwide.

Felicity Cloake writes the weekly ‘How to Make the Perfect…’ column for The Guardian, and the New Statesman’s food column. Her first book, Perfect: 68 Essential Recipes for Every Cook’s Repertoire was published in 2011, swiftly followed by an ebook, Perfect Christmas Day. Her next, Perfect Host: 155 Easy Recipes for Feeding People and Having Fun will be out next spring. She lives in London with four extremely well-fed housemates.

Tony Conigliaro is not only acknowledged as a ground-breaking drinks creator, but also as one of the most respected bartenders in the UK, opening and running some of the best bars in London. He studied fine art and art history for five years, then worked in fashion prior to his involvement in drinks, and credits a broad spectrum of influences, from chefs and perfumers to scientists and designers. In 2012 he opened Le Coq in Paris, and published a book called, simply, Drinks (Ebury).

Keith Cooke, aka Cookie, started out doing the drinks at friends’ parties, and went on to work on events in the UK and abroad. He arrived on the doorstep of Viajante in Bethnal Green in 2011, and has created, as well as served, some superb cocktails for his East London and international clientele.

Born in Paris and resident in London since 1998, Laurent Delafon developed the Diptyque brand in the UK before starting United Perfumes with Christopher Yu, launching Cire Trudon and Maison Francis Kurkdjian, and undertaking private commission projects for clients such as the Berkeley Hotel, Faye Toogood, Kyoku for Men, Tom Dixon and Yauatcha. Laurent previously worked at Laurent-Perrier and the luxury goods branding agency Large Smith & Walford.

Clive started his career cleaning the windows of Limeys boutique in Nottingham, and came to London to work for Browns on South Molton Street in the late 1980s. He went on to work with Richard James, then bought and rebranded the tailoring business Kilgour. In 2008 Kilgour was sold, and Clive launched Rake: a modern menswear collection of versatile separates that responds to an international clientele.

With 15 years’ experience in floristry, Luis da Silva is course director at McQueens Flower School, and also plays a key role on the events team, designing displays for Vanity Fair’s Oscars party, and Cannes Film Festival. He qualified at Capel Manor, then worked for some of the top florists in the UK, namely Moyses Stevens, Rob Van Helden, Detta Phillips and Angel Flowers. Luis is responsible for the in-house flower displays at Claridge’s.

Andrew Diprose is art director of Wired and his own The Ride Journal. He grew up on the south coast of England, then moved to London to work on magazines in 1994, spending time at GQ, Elle, Esquire, Tatler and Smash Hits. As well as art directing Wired, Andrew publishes The Ride Journal, a non-profit cycling periodical, with his brother. He was awarded BSME art director of the year in 2011. He secretly wishes he lived in the countryside.

Jesse Dunford-Wood is chef at the Mall Tavern in Notting Hill, where he cooks colourful, seasonal, nostalgic British food. He previously worked with Rowley Leigh, Mark Hix and Michael Caines, and opened the National Dining Rooms at the National Gallery in 2006 with Oliver Peyton. He has also done stints with Charlie Trotter in Chicago, and Mark Best in Sydney. He recently opened Parlour in Kensal Green.

Food sparks happy childhood memories for Lucy Folk, from playing behind the scenes at her father’s café to making her very first pasta necklace in kindergarten. In 2007, armed with industry knowledge after a stint with Berlin-based creatives Chicks on Speed, Lucy began to transform everyday food motifs – pretzels, popcorn, corn chips – into charming pieces beloved of Erykah Badu and Lily Allen. Her limited-edition wares are sold in boutiques in Paris, London, Seoul and Brussels.

Born in northeastern France, Sébastien Gaudard is a second-generation pâtissier who came to Paris in the early 1990s, working under Pierre Hermé at Fauchon, and succeeding him in 1996. In 2003 he launched Délicabar in Bon Marché and, at the end of 2011, opened his own pâtisserie on the Rue des Martyrs, reviving one of the oldest cake shops in Paris.

Sarah Glenny is the outdoor plant and shop manager at Clifton Nurseries, and an expert in bedding and tender plants. She is a trained florist with an MA in sculpture, and has worked at Clifton for almost a decade. She loves combining horticultural knowledge with creative skills, and is always striving to stock the nursery with new and unusual plants.

Patrick Grant is creative director of E Tautz, founded in 1867, incorporated into Savile Row tailor Norton & Sons in 1968, and relaunched in 2009. Grant believes a man should always be suitably dressed, and aims to provides gentlemen with a ‘uniform for a life less ordinary’, creating elegant clothing with a dose of schoolboy wit. In 2010, E Tautz was recognised as British menswear designer of the year at the British Fashion Awards.

Wright Brothers started in 2002 as a two-man family business delivering oysters to London restaurants. In 2005, co-founders and brothers-in-law Ben Wright and Robin Hancock took over the lease of the Duchy of Cornwall Oyster Farm, and opened Wright Brothers Oyster & Porter House in Borough. The Ferryboat Inn followed in 2009, on the waterfront at Helford Passage. In November 2010 Robin and Ben opened their second London restaurant, Wright Brothers Soho Oyster House, offering only the freshest fish and shellfish from sustainable stocks. Wright Brothers also supply London’s leading restaurants with oysters and seafood.

Born in Canada and raised in New Zealand, Anna first trained as a chef under Fergus Henderson in 1992 at the French House Dining Room. In 2001, Anna, Peter Gordon and partners opened the award-winning Marylebone restaurant, the Providores; Anna left in 2005 to develop the Modern Pantry, which opened its doors in August 2008. In 2012 she was awarded an MBE in HM the Queen’s New Year’s Honours list.

Before launching the online beauty boutique Cult Beauty, Jessica DeLuca specialised in designing and implementing large-scale web applications for investment banks. Five years ago, she decided to marry her two obsessions – beauty and databases – and shake things up in online retail. Alexia Inge worked as a model, learning tricks from top hair and make-up artists, then as a fashion journalist and PR. Together, the pair founded Cult Beauty in 2008, dedicated to unearthing only the coolest and most effective beauty products from all over the world.

Juliet Kinsman is editor-in-chief of boutique hotel guide Mr & Mrs Smith. Her travel and interiors articles have appeared in titles from Condé Nast Traveller to the Financial Times. Among her favourite locales are her childhood home of NYC, and her London neighbourhood, Kensal Green, which she celebrates on her blog, Park Life. She is a connoisseur of coffee, cheap-chic cottages and compound adjectives; if she were given a pound for every chic hotel she’d written about polysyllabically she’d be able to buy her own hip hideaway.

New Zealander Miles Kirby is Caravan’s co-owner, executive chef and head roaster. He began his career in Wellington, before moving to the Netherlands and then London, where he became head chef at the Providores and Tapa Room in 2001. In 2010, Miles opened Caravan on Exmouth Market: a restaurant, bar and coffee roastery. Caravan’s second site opened in August 2012 in the Granary Building, King’s Cross, where Miles’ nomadic leanings are evident in his signature, seasonal menus of ‘food well-travelled’.

Tim Little launched his first shoe collection in 1997 from his store on the King’s Road, and in Selfridges and Barneys New York. Since then, he has designed for many big brands, and was asked to revive the ailing Grenson name in 2005. He bought the company in 2010, having totally fallen in love with it, and has built it into a modern British heritage brand that now sells in many of the best stores in the world.

Chloe Lonsdale, founder and creative director of MiH Jeans, has jeans in her genes. Her father set up the legendary Jean Machine stores, and her model mother was the face of British jeans brand Made in Heaven, owned by Chloe’s godfather. In 2005, after studying fashion design at Central St Martins, Chloe relaunched the Made in Heaven label as MiH Jeans, which now has over 500 stockists worldwide. She recently relaunched Jean Machine, a concise collection of jeans for the modern man with an understated approach to style.

Uyen Luu is a writer, photographer, food and prop stylist, consultant on Vietnamese food, and a very good cook. She trained in fine art film and video at Central St Martins, and later designed and retailed clothing and jewellery for her own boutique in Soho. She runs supperclubs in her Hackney home, and writes and blogs about food, recipes and travel; she is currently writing a Vietnamese cook book.

Greg Malouf was the executive chef at MoMo restaurant (Melbourne) for 12 years, where he delighted diners with flavours of his Middle Eastern heritage. With his former wife Lucy Malouf, Greg has written six cookbooks, each widely acclaimed for showcasing traditional ingredients and regional dishes. In spring/summer 2012, Greg acted as consultant head chef at Petersham Nurseries Café in Richmond, and retained the restaurant’s Michelin star.

After four years as pastry chef at St John Bread & Wine London, Lillie O’Brien embarked on a career as a full-time jam maker, aka London Borough of Jam, fearlessly combining the traditional and the unconventional. She produces her seasonal jams in small batches using copper pans in Hackney, London.

Lee Potter Cavanagh is group bar manager for Hix restaurants. He previously worked at some of Australia’s top bars, including the Victoria Room, Lotus, Hemmesphere and The Rum Diaries. Winner of many awards, Lee has presented at Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans, hosted the annual Australia-wide bartender competition Coney Island Bartender Bumfight, and been appointed Australia’s ambassador for punch by a rum brand from Nicaragua.

Londoner Gabriel Pryce, head chef and co-founder of Rita’s Bar and Dining, spent five years at film school, then ran into old friend Jackson Boxer back at home, and was taken under the wing of Mat Williams, then head chef at Brunswick House Café. In 2012, he set about creating something new with Jackson and old friends Missy Flynn and Real Gold’s Deano Jo, and Rita’s was born.

Claire Ptak is an American pastry chef, formerly at legendary Chez Panisse restaurant in California. She moved to London in 2005, and founded Violet Cakes, making delicious American-style cakes and treats made with seasonal, natural and organic ingredients. She began with a stall at Broadway Market then, in 2010, opened Violet, her acclaimed bakery and café in Hackney. Claire is also a food stylist and the author of three cookbooks: Leon: Baking & Puddings, The Whoopie Pie Book, and The Home-Made Sweet Shop.

Giorgio Ravelli is the head chef of Upstairs at the Ten Bells. He grew up in his father’s restaurant on Lake Maggiore in Locarno, moving to neighbouring Lugano for a three-year chef apprenticeship, followed by a year at Michelin-starred La Table d’Edgard in Lausanne. Since then Giorgio has worked at the Ledbury in London, Berlin’s VAU, and Cellier Morel in Montpellier. Returning to London, he became head chef at Upstairs at the Ten Bells in June 2012.

Geoff Robinson fell into bartending as a means of paying his university tuition. He fell harder than he expected, and has remained locked into the industry ever since. After helping to open an award-winning cocktail bar in his native Vancouver, he ventured out to do some travelling. He ended up in London, working at ECC Chinatown. Following his stint there, he took up the bar manager position at Happiness Forgets in Hoxton Square, a small basement cocktail bar that has since been accorded some acclaim, including being named 12th best bar in the world by Drinks International.

Imogen Roy first discovered fashion illustrating her own punk-grunge fashion collections at the age of 12. Escaping from Scotland to London as a teenager, she cut her teeth as an intern at Vogue and Esquire, founded the blog Eight London, and freelanced for publications including Editer.com. But, as Diana Vreeland said: ‘The best thing about London is Paris.’ Thanks to a strategic degree in French literature, Imogen now works in PR and digital communications for French luxury leather brand Jitrois.

Born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Scully, as he is known by all, started his culinary career at the age of 17 in Sydney, Australia. Now head chef at Yotam Ottolenghi’s stylish restaurant NOPI in North Piccadilly, Scully first worked under Yotam back in 2004 at Ottolenghi, which has four sites across London. His international CV includes the Bathers’ Pavilion and Restaurant Balzac in Sydney, and Correa’s Restaurant in Moscow.

Founded by Sam Galsworthy, Fairfax Hall and Jared Brown, Sipsmith was London’s first copper distillery to launch in London for nearly 200 years. Sam and Fairfax were inspired by the microdistilleries popping up in the USA, and wanted to bring small-scale, handcrafted gin production back to London, the home of gin. After jumping through a multitude of hoops, they  got a distiller’s licence and commissioned Prudence, a beautiful 300L copper pot still made by a family-run artisan producer in Germany.

Drawing inspiration from the worlds of art, architecture and London subcultures, Oliver Spencer founded his label in 2002. He aimed to bridge the gap between dress-up and dress-down, bringing a fashion sensibility to the mainstream, tempered by a relaxed attitude. The brand has now sells to over 100 stores worldwide, and has four stand-alone stores. The design is intelligent and sophisticated, marked by attention to detail, fine craftsmanship and use of colour.

Kyle Stewart is co-founder/owner of the Goodhood Store and MAMC creative agency. Designer turned entrepreneur, also a menswear consultant, he lives and works in East London, and has a particular interest in counterculture and its influence on clothing.

Faye Toogood is a British designer. Her furniture and objects demonstrate a preoccupation with materiality and experimentation. All her pieces are handmade by small-scale fabricators and traditional artisans, honouring the rawness and irregularity of the chosen material. With an academic training in the theory and practise of fine art, and a vocational background at the forefront of the magazine industry, Faye approaches product design with a singular eye.

Phil Usher, group pastry chef for Caprice Holdings, has been creating delectable desserts for 34, the Ivy, Scott’s, J Sheekey and Daphne’s for the past 14 years. He works closely with an army of pastry chefs – at Christmas, they collectively bake 10,000 mince pies for their customers. In 1997, Phil won the Academy for Culinary Arts Award for Excellence and, as an Academician, he sits on the panel of judges for this annual event.

Anna Gerber and Britt Iversen founded and now run Visual Editions, based in Clerkenwell. They publish books and produce apps and events that are all, in some way, about making ‘great-looking stories’.

Tim Williams is director of operations at Workshop Coffee, formerly known as ST ALi. He came to work in food as a student, finding his part-time job in a market more interesting than his degree in political science. He worked in a number of the excellent coffee establishments in Melbourne, then moved to London in 2006, joining the team at Flat White in Soho, before helping to rebrand Climpson & Sons. Following stints cooking at the Modern Pantry in Clerkenwell, and working in coffee in LA, Tim spent a year at Square Mile Coffee Roasters before joining what is now Workshop Coffee Co, dedicated to sourcing, roasting and serving the best coffee possible.

Paul A Young is a groundbreaking and inspirational chocolatier at the forefront of the British chocolate scene. Training as a chef before moving into the world of chocolate, Paul has a passion for his craft and a cutting-edge creativity that have won him many awards and seen him ranked amongst the world’s best chocolatiers. Paul now has three chocolateries in London, including his flagship store on Wardour Street in Soho.

Ed Smith left his job as a City lawyer one year ago. He retrained as a chef at Westminster Kingsway, and now cooks, writes and consults for a living. His food blog www.rocketandsquash.com features both restaurant reviews and recipes.

Luca Missaglia is from Milan, Italy. He always knew he wanted to work in the hospitality business, and decided on bartending as a vocation following his experience of the exceptional service in some of the glamorous cocktail bars of his native city. He came to London in 2008 and, in 2011, after a stint at LAB Bar (London Academy of Bartenders), Luca joined Quo Vadis, the legendary restaurant, bar and private members’ club in Soho. Luca is particularly proud to work for Quo Vadis, as it was opened in 1926 by fellow Italian Pepino Leoni and, prior to that, was home to one of Europe’s greatest philosophers and revolutionary socialists, Karl Marx.

Naomi Reynolds danced in the Royal Ballet before becoming a yoga teacher and occasional actress. She opened her own studio, Yoga on the Lane, in Dalston, in March 2012. She likes drinking coffee, riding her bike in the sun and wearing jumpsuits.