Maria Speck is the award-winning author of Ancient Grains for Modern Meals (Ten Speed Press), her first cookbook. It received the coveted Julia Child Award and the Health and Special Diet award from the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP), as well as a Gourmand Award. The cookbook contains 100 Mediterranean-inspired whole grain recipes—from amaranth to wheat berries.

Both the New York Times and the Washington Post selected Ancient Grains as one of the top cookbooks of 2011, and Cooking Light magazine named it one of 100 best cookbooks of the past 25 years. Maria is currently working on her next cookbook, tentatively titled Simply Ancient Grains, out in spring 2015 (Ten Speed Press).

She was recognized with an honorable mention as a Food Hero in her hometown of Cambridge, MA. Raised in Greece and Germany, Maria has a lifelong passion for whole grains. She is a veteran journalist and food writer, and has contributed to Gourmet, Saveur, and Gastronomica. She also blogs at www.MariaSpeck.com/blog.