Neil Ridley is an award-winning writer, broadcaster and consultant in the world of food and drink. He has co-written six books about spirits, cocktails and drinks culture including Distilled, The World Atlas Of Gin, The World Of Whisky and Straight Up and 60-Second Cocktails. Alongside drinks, he has had a life-long passion for electronic music (previously working as an record executive for Warner Bros Records) and the culture of hot sauce, which led him to a great friendship with his writing partner, Dean Honer.

Dean Honer is a musician and record producer (a member of the bands: I Monster / All Seeing I / The Moonlandingz). He has spent the last 25 years touring the globe and recording dozens of albums. An eventful night supporting Iggy Pop in Austin, Texas, turned him into a hot sauce devotee and the rest of the US tour was spent exploring the taco trucks, boutique sauce shops and farmers markets, in search of the perfect hot sauce and the hottest chilis.