Sawako Okochi is co-chef and co-owner of Shalom Japan in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband, Aaron Israel. Sawa's vibrant culinary background is rooted in her upbringing in Hiroshima, Japan. She has worked at some of the finest restaurants in New York City, including Chanterelle, Annisa, and The Good Fork. She also produced the Otakara Supper Club, which was featured in the New York Times, and appears in Women Chefs of New York and The Jewish Cookbook.

Aaron Israel discovered his passion for cooking while earning his BFA at Maryland Institute College of Art. After graduating, he worked at August in the West Village with chef Tony Liu. He later cooked with chef Andrew Carmellini and helped open Torrisi Italian Specialties. He has co-owned and operated Shalom Japan in Brooklyn with his wife, Sawako Okochi, since 2013.

Gabriella Gershenson is a James Beard Award-nominated food writer and editor based in New York City. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, Saveur, the Wall Street Journal, and many other publications. She was an editor of The 100 Most Jewish Foods and On the Hummus Route. She is currently on staff at Wirecutter.