John DeMers was born in New Orleans with a desire to do two things – to travel and to write. He added eating and drinking much later on, though with New Orleans in his blood, they came naturally. He decided, when the time came, to major in journalism in college and then take off for Europe, falling in love with Spain, the South of France, Italy and Greece, filling in later with Croatia, Israel, Egypt and Morocco. He discovered that, while each country is passionate about its own history, culture, music, language and cuisine, each is also a melting pot in its own way. This changed how John looked at the world. Taught from childhood that his America was the globe’s unique melting pot, he came to understand that cultural mixing is the inevitable result of world history. And for him, when properly understood, food and drink tell the story best.

John has spent the past half-century (such a short time on the Mediterranean clock) writing 59 published books, along with numberless magazine articles and newspaper stories. Most of these books are cookbooks, though several are mystery novels. All are available on Amazon and elsewhere. Along the way, John served as Food Editor of United Press International (UPI) and the Houston Chronicle, and hosted a weekly radio show about food and wine for 26 years in New Orleans, Houston, Dallas, Austin and San Antonio. With Fischer & Wieser Specialty Foods, he helped establish the Culinary Adventure Cooking School in the Texas Hill Country. He is now a high school teacher in northern Virginia outside Washington, D.C.