Melanie Haupt earned her PhD in English at the University of Texas at Austin. She is a blogger and freelance writer focusing on food criticism, up and coming dining culture and historic Austin foodways. Haupt is a frequent contributor to the Chronicle and a member of the Austin Food Bloggers Alliance and Foodways Texas. Dena Childs is an e-commerce marketing manager for a yarn retailer. She spends her downtime knitting, watching movies and running. Living in Austin, Texas with her husband and two kids, she enjoys her latest passion of photography.