Denis Kelly

A teacher, writer, food and wine consultant, and activist, Denis Kelly grew up in Los Angeles and received his B.A. from St. Mary's College in Moraga, California, where he was introduced to the study of wine by the Christian Brothers. A Woodrow Wilson fellow, Kelly received his M.A. from Indiana University and did further graduate work at the Sorbonne in Paris, studying classics, language, comparative literature, and philosophy. Returning to California to teach, he cooked in a Cajun restaurant near Berkeley and helped launch Friends of the Vineyards to protect area wineries from developers. Since 1978, when he founded his own public relations firm, he has acted as a consultant to wineries and restaurants in the Bay Area. Kelly teaches classes on food and wine in the extension program of the University of California and humanities at St. Mary's College. In addition to the four cookbooks co-authored with Bruce Aidells, Kelly has also written Creole and Cajun Cooking and has published many articles on food and wine in such magazines as Gourmet and Wine & Spirits. A poet and storyteller, Kelly gives readings in the Oakland area. He and his wife, Kathryn, live and garden in Oakland and at their farm in the hills of Sonoma County.