Chef, journalist, and author Jamie Purviance earned degrees from Stanford University and the Culinary Institute of America (where he graduated at the top of his class, with high honors). His work has appeared in Bon Appétit, the Los Angeles Times Magazine, Sports Illustrated, and Town & Country. He is the author of Weber’s Art of the Grill™ and co-author of Weber’s Big Book of Grilling™ with Sandra S. McRae, both best-selling cookbooks. He is also the author of Weber’s Real Grilling™, which features a full-color photograph with each of its 200-plus recipes and an accompanying website (www.realgrilling.com) that provides step-by-step photos and audio instructions (voiced by Purviance) on essential grilling techniques.

Purviance has been a guest chef at the James Beard House in New York City, and he frequently travels the country to teach at renowned cooking schools such as Johnson & Wales University, Sur La Table, and Copia: the American Center for Wine, Food & the Arts. He has been certified by the Kansas City Barbeque Society, and he serves as a judge at major competitions such as the Jack Daniel’s World Championship Invitational. Purviance has been featured on many television shows—including NBC’s “Today,” CBS’s “Early Show,” “FOX & Friends” and “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” Bon Appétit also profiled him in the magazine’s most recent list of “Who’s Who in American Barbecue.” He also develops recipes and menu ideas for leading restaurants and food manufacturers. Currently he is writing Mastering Pork, one of the featured titles in the new Williams-Sonoma Mastering series. Purviance lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.