Mario Batali

Owner, Babbo Ristorante e Enotecca, Manhattan, and partner in several others, Food Network star, cookbook author.

Most fabulous dining experience? At a place called the Flower Drum, a Cantonese temple in Melbourne, Australia. It started with magnums of Krug champagne and celebrated whole things: whole abalone, whole quail, whole ducks, a whole baby pig, and finished with Cháteau d' Yquem.

Favorite ingredient? This week. persimmon.

Food trend that's over? Foam and bizarre modernist cooking for art's sake.

What's comfort food for you? Something that does not challenge me. risotto and lasagna, but also tortilla chips and salsa.

Personality in the kitchen? Focused and uncompromising, convivial and hysterically funny.

Take on the phenomenon of the celebrity chef? I think it's funny that 30 years ago a cook was what you became if you could not hack the military. I hope that young cooks get into the business for their love of good food and the creative components of the art and not to be a TV star.

What would you be today if you weren't a chef? A pool boy in Malibu.

Josie Le Balch

Chef, Josie Restaurant, Los Angeles,

california-raised, second-generation french chef trained with Wolfgang puck and others.

Favorite ingredient? Great butter. I use one from Brittany that I like, a salted one that's indigenous to that area.

What's always in your refrigerator? Butter and champagne.

Chef you'd most like to cook for you? Auguste Escoffier [1846-1935].

What's your favorite cookbook? Vincent Price's Treasury of Great Recipes.

Guilty food pleasure? Good French fries. I can't waste the calories on bad ones.

Coming food trend? People pay millions of dollars to know that! But there's a lot coming out of Spain that's interesting now.

You're known for cooking game-what's the appeal? It's one of the healthiest ways to eat. People who hunt or raise their own livestock know exactly where their food comes from.

Do you do either? No, I can't eat anyone I've known.

Daniel Boulud

DANIEL, MANHATTAN, AND CAFÉ BOULUD, AWARDED FOUR STARS BY NEW YORK TIMES, BON APPETIT CHEF OF THE YEAR.

What's the next big trend? I try to avoid trends. They come and go before I know they existed. I am interested in the raw food movement but wouldn't want to eat raw food all the time. For me good food is always in style, and balance is what counts most.

What's a favorite ingredient of yours? Potatoes, all kinds, all ways.

What do you always have at home in your fridge? Caviar-a luxury but also a great convenience food. No transformation is required. The only thing you need to enjoy it is a nice little pearl spoon.

Do you have a favorite cookbook or foodie movie? Mastering the Art of French Cooking (Volumes one and two) by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle and Simone Beck. The definitive cookbook on French cuisine, adapted by masters who really understand the Amer-ican home cook.It is truly timeless and authentic.

What's the other career path you almost chose, or the one you'd choose if you left the field now?

From the age of 14, I knew I would be a chef. I chose my mentors carefully. I'm not ready to leave the kitchen just yet. I think I still have plenty of cooking in me.

Andrea Immer

One of 10 female master sommeliers in the world, author of Great Wine Made Simple.

The challenge of being a woman in this field? I see more opportunities than challenges. The business is so traditional that most people respond positively to a fresh approach.

Your most memorable food and wine pairing? Krug champagne served with a black truffle baked into puff pastry.

The first principle of food and wine pairing? Don't worry too much about it-most wine goes at least OK with most foods.

What is one of your best wine finds? Dr. Konstantin Frank Riesling from the Finger Lakes in New York. I've never had a customer not order a second glass of that wine!

Is there an American wine region that's still undiscovered? Insiders know about Monterey, Calif., but that region is still not on the tip of the average customer's tongue.

What talents should a sommelier have? An acute sense of smell, an ability to make a connection with all different sorts of personalities and an ability to inspire others and to lead by example.

William Harlan

Vintner, Harlan Estate, Napa Valley.

Explain the phenomenon of cult wines: The name "cult" is something I've never identified with. Cults come and go, are rarely permanent and have something of a bad connotation. Our goal has been to create a "first-growth" wine estate in California. This may take a generation to become stabilized, another to become established.

Favorite varietal? Cabernet sauvignon.

You talk about the importance of working with the earth-what does that mean? As a kid, I loved to garden. I love things as simple as the smell of water on the dirt. I can spend days or even years walking the land, dreaming where and how to design different elements of the estate.

What creates an extraordinary grape? The right piece of land planted with the varietal, root stock, clones, architecture and support system that most naturally expresses the character of that specific site.

What skills must a vintner have? Similar to those of any other great artist. Natural instinct and God-given talent. Clarity of vision, discipline to stay the course and a passion for winemaking and commitment to excellence.

Most elusive bottle of wine in your dream

cellar? The one we haven't made yet.

David Myers

Sona Restaurant, Los Angeles, one of Food & Wine's Best New Chefs of 2003, married to pastry chef and Sona co-owner Michelle Myers.

Most fabulous dining experience? At El Rocco de Can Fabes in St. Celoni, Spain, where Chef Santi Santimaria cooked for us. The most amazing course was tiny octopus served in their ink and olive oil. Nothing else.

Gadget you can't live without? Bamix burr mixer. Great to aerate soups and emulsions.

Guilty culinary pleasure? Gummi bears and Dots.

Philosophy in the kitchen? Spontaneous cooking. Change is good! Forget the menu.

What's the next big trend? [Spanish "culinary conceptualist"] Ferran Adria's movement really has chefs pushing the envelope, and that will continue as chefs develop their own personal styles.

What would you be doing if you weren't a chef? There is nothing I want to do more than what I am doing now with my wife, Michelle.

Chef you'd most like to cook for you? What would be exciting for me would be to do a dinner with Charlie Trotter, Daniel Boulud, Pierre Gagniere, Norman Van Aken and Tetsuya [Wakuda] where we just put on some jazz and work off each other.