Our team

Post and Courier restaurant critic Deidre Schipani has spent a lifetime in the culinary arts, teaching and writing about food and world cuisines, directing a school of culinary arts, managing a test kitchen and serving as the restaurant critic for Minnesota Monthly Magazine.

She is a graduate of L'Academie de Cuisine in Bethesda, Md. She graduated with honors and received her diploma in Haute Cuisine Francais. She has served apprenticeships in both classical and contemporary French cooking.

She has a bachelor's degree in biology and a master's in education.

She has studied restaurant management at Howard Community College and earned the highest level of certification from the International Association of Culinary Professionals: Certified Culinary Professional.

She was a charter member and officer of the Minneapolis-St. Paul chapter of Les Dames d'Escoffier and has performed the same role for the Charleston chapter, presently serving as vice president, president-elect.

Ian Johnson is a proprietor of The Trusted Palate, a wine bar on King Street. He entered the wine business in the early 1990s, working in distribution for more than a decade. In 2004, he was accepted into the prestigious Institute of Masters of Wine program, which requires a vigorous prequalifying exam and a Master of Wine sponsor to enroll. He is a strong advocate of quality in wine versus branding.

Teresa Taylor has been food editor of The Post and Courier since 2003 and a member of the newspaper's staff since 1983, serving as business editor from 1991-2003. She won a national writing award from the Association of Food Journalists in 2005.

Ann Mitchell is the features editor for The Post and Courier. She was the newspaper's food editor from 1996 to 2002 and is the author of the cookbook "South Carolina: Always In Season" (McClanahan Publishing, 2002). Mitchell also was the food editor of Indigo Coast Magazine.

Rob Young is a features writer with The Post and Courier. He writes the weekly "Lunch Counter" reviews in the Preview section and is a regular contributor to the Food section. He has covered barbecue contests and exhibitions in Memphis and New York. His father owns the famous Da-Nite Lunch restaurant in Bethel, N.C. This year marks the restaurant's 70th anniversary.

Jack McCray, author of "Charleston Jazz," has covered arts, culture and entertainment as a reporter and news copy editor for The Post and Courier for more than 20 years. He is a native Charlestonian and a researcher mostly working as a principal in the Charleston Jazz Initiative project. McCray is founding president of the MOJA Arts Festival, and he has produced and hosted music programs for the SCETV Radio Network. McCray grew up favored by being nurtured on the finest of Lowcountry cuisine in homes and public places, a status he still works to maintain.

Kyle Stock has tested his tastebuds in a number of different hometowns. There were the Rocky Mountain oysters of Colorado Springs, Colo.; the soup dumplings and sushi of San Francisco; the deep-dish pizza and hot dogs of Chicago; and the moules frites of Brussels, where he worked for Bloomberg News. Stock started slurping up Lowcountry oysters when he joined the Post and Courier in 2003.

Some years ago, Post and Courier reporter Adam Parker had to choose between opening a restaurant and a career in journalism. Alas, he chose journalism. He compensates by eating a lot.

Bryce Donovan is a features reporter with The Post and Courier. During his six years with the paper, he has written several stories on the most romantic spots in Charleston as well as reviewed food products with fellow reporter Rob Young. He recently got engaged to the love of his life. He plans on telling her any day now.

Brenda Rindge has been a reporter at The Post and Courier for 20 years, the last 10 of which she has been writing stories and columns for the Family Life section. She also works with the newspaper's teen board as the editor of the weekly Ink section. A married mother of four, she has schlepped her children all over the Lowcountry — to restaurants, movies, concerts, etc. — all in the name of journalism.

Rodolfo Larios L¢pez has been a graphic designer for The Post and Courier since 2003. He won two feature page design awards from the Society for Newspage Design in an international contest in 2002. He also won a design award in 2006 from the South Carolina Press Association. Larios Lopez and colleague Jay Fletcher (below) designed The Post and Courier's 2005 Restaurant Guide, which won a first place award from the Association of Food Journalists in the category "Series, Special Sections and Special Projects" for newspapers with circulations up to 150,000.

Jay Fletcher has been a graphic artist for The Post and Courier since 2001. He graduated from The Columbus College of Art & Design in 2000 and has gone on to win numerous awards for his work, including selection as the official poster artist for the 2008 BB&T Charleston Food + Wine Festival, as well as having his work selected as the 29th annual book cover for The Society For News Design.