NINA MUKERJEE FURSTENAU has developed a passion for how cultures entwine over food through Peace Corps and lifelong travels. She has written two books, Biting through the Skin: An Indian Kitchen in America’s Heartland and Savor Missouri, as well as numerous essays and articles, and she received a Kansas Notable Book award, the M. F. K. Fisher Award, and Les Dames d’Escoffier
International’s Grand Prize for Excellence in Culinary Writing.