Nutrition specialist, chef, author, and practicing physician John La Puma lives and works on an organic farm in Santa Barbara, California, where he grows avocados and rare citrus, makes wine from local grapes, and harvests honey. After training in internal medicine and clinical medical ethics, he attended culinary school in Chicago (part of Cordon Bleu), became the first physician to teach cooking and culinary medicine at a US medical school, and cooked professionally at Topolobampo, a Chicago-area restaurant.