Mary Heffernan and her husband, Brian, left behind the busy life they'd built in Silicon Valley to become cattle ranchers with their four young daughters-all named Mary. Together they own and operate Five Marys Farms, an 1,800-acre ranch in the mountains of Northern California where they live, work, and raise all-natural beef, pork, and lamb.

Mary and Brian sell and ship directly from the farm to families all over the US through their Farm Store in Fort Jones. They share their meats with local customers and visitors from far and wide at their popular restaurant and bar, Five Marys Burgerhouse. Five Marys was awarded Best Farm in America by Paleo magazine and has been featured in Oprah magazine, Real Simple, Sunset, and other national publications.

Mary has a fiercely loyal following on social media and hosts popular summer farm dinners and weekend retreats at the ranch with cooking, cocktails, and butchery classes. She and Brian believe in raising meat naturally and that great cooking starts with well-raised ingredients.

Kim Laidlaw is a cookbook editor, food writer, and baker who has been in the kitchen covered in flour since she was big enough to stir the biscuit dough.

She has worked in the cookbook world for over nine years and was the first blogger on KQED’s popular Bay Area Bites blog, which launched in 2005. Kim previously worked as a professional baker at La Farine French Bakery in Oakland, CA.