LESLIE BRENNER is the author of Fear of Wine and The Art of the Cocktail Party as well as the co-author of Essential Flavors. Recipient of a 1996 James Beard Foundation Journalism Award for Magazine Feature Writing, she has pursued a lifelong interest in food and wine. A member of Culinary Historians of New York, Leslie is also a lecturer in Culinary History at The New School in New York City. She has written on a wide variety of subjects; in addition to gastronomy, she has published articles on politics, immigration, psychology, literature, sexuality, medicine, business, and women's issues for publications including Harper's and The New York Times. In 1998 Leslie published a novel in France; she is presently at work on her next epicurean book project, forthcoming from Avon Books.
