Nicole Ploumen Hvidsten is the Star Tribune's senior editor for the Taste section, spearheading coverage of the state's vibrant food and drink scene as well as home cooking. In past journalistic lives she was a reporter, copy editor and designer — sometimes all at once — and has yet to find a cookbook she doesn't like.

Hvidsten grew up in Minnesota and knew that journalism was her calling way back in middle school, when the Star Tribune published two of her essays. She graduated from Minnesota State University Moorhead with a degree in mass communications and a love for all things journalism and politics. Hvidsten worked at newspapers across the country for several years before finally returning to where it all started.

Food and dining editor Stephanie March works around the clock covering the local dining scene. Stephanie oversees Mpls.St.Paul Magazine’s monthly coverage and guides multiple cover stories annually in the areas of dining and beverage trends. When not out searching for the perfect bite or best Sazerac, she can be found on her weekend radio show, Weekly Dish on myTalk 107.1, her Friday morning Fox 9 segment, and on other local and national channels. Stephanie is also very visible at Mpls.St.Paul Magazine events and other food-related events around the Twin Cities as a host, judge, or panelist.

Jon Wipfli is the Chef/Owner of Animales Barbeque Co., which serves exceptional barbecue out of a food truck at Bauhaus Brew Labs in Northeast Minneapolis. Jon is a Midwest native dedicated to cooking with local and sustainable ingredients. As graduate of the French Culinary Institute of New York, he has traveled the country developing an extensive cooking repertoire. Jon has worked in the kitchens of restaurants such as Marlow and Sons, Cookshop, and as sous chef at James Beard Award–nominated The Bachelor Farmer. After a decade of cooking in restaurants, he moved on to form The Minnesota Spoon, through which he offers personal chef and catering services as well as technique-based cooking lessons for all ages. He is the author of two books, Venison: The Slay to Gourmet Field to Kitchen Cookbook, and Fish: Recipes and Techniques for Freshwater Fish.