Very few areas in the world offer more diversity than the San Francisco Bay Area, a place that is without a doubt, “foodie central.” One reason for the major influx of the finest chefs and their restaurants here is perhaps twofold. First, the resident foodies love to eat out, not to mention the 16 million tourists that also visit here with food at the top of their to-do list. The second reason is perhaps the fact that the Bay Area offers chefs an incomparable proximity to fresh, local, and organic ingredients with which to cook, which anyone who cooks can tell you make all of the difference in the end result. With recipes for the home cook from over 50 of the area's most celebrated eateries and showcasing over 200 full-color photos featuring mouth-watering dishes, famous chefs, and lots of local flavor, San Francisco Chef's Table is the ultimate gift and keepsake cookbook for both tourists and locals alike.

Carolyn Jung is an award-winning food and wine writer based in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is the recipient of a James Beard Award for feature writing about restaurants/chefs, a Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism award of excellence for diversity writing, an award from the American Association of Sunday and Features Editors, and numerous first-place honors from the Association of Food Journalists, and the Peninsula Press Club. She has judged a bevy of food contests, including the biggie of them all, the Pillsbury Bake-Off. For 11 years, she was the food writer/editor for the San Jose Mercury News. Currently, she is a freelance food writer for the San Francisco Chronicle, Food Arts, Wine Spectator, Every Day with Rachael Ray, Via, Oakland magazine, Alameda magazine, Edible Silicon Valley and other publications, including the online site, Tasting Table San Francisco. A native San Franciscan, she created FoodGal.com in 2008, a food and wine blog that features interviews with celebrated chefs, reviews of intriguing cookbooks and products, the scoop on new restaurants, irresistible recipes, and her singular take on how food touches every aspect of our lives. In 2009, her blog was awarded second place for “Best Food Blog” in the nation by the Association of Food Journalists.