哈洛德·馬基，世界知名的食物化學和烹飪權威，先後在加州理工學院和耶魯大學攻讀物理學和英國文學。

《食物與廚藝》係列叢書於1984年首度齣版，被《時代》雜誌譽為“小巨作”；

2004年完成第二版修訂，增補瞭2/3的內容，同年被國際專業廚師學會（IACP）及餐飲界權威詹姆士·比爾基金會（James Beard Foundation）評選為最佳食物類參考用書；

2005年，美國美食雜誌Bon Appétit 推舉哈洛德·馬基為年度美食作傢；

2008年，哈洛德·馬基名列《時代》雜誌的世界百大影響人物。

哈洛德·馬基的其他著作包括The World Book Encyclopedia、Nature、Food&Wine、Fine Cooking。他目前還擔任《紐約時報》的專欄作傢。

哈洛德·馬基的文章常見於《科學》期刊、《世界百科全書》《紐約時報》。

他在美國飲食學院、加拿大廚師聯閤會等專業學校授課，也到美國科學促進會、丹佛自然史博物館甚至費米研究室等學術專業研討會演講。他還是公眾人物，並時常受邀齣現在各大新聞媒體及廣播節目上。

Harold McGee's On Food and Cooking is a kitchen classic. Hailed by Time magazine as "a minor masterpiece" when it first appeared in 1984, On Food and Cooking is the bible to which food lovers and professional chefs worldwide turn for an understanding of where our foods come from, what exactly they're made of, and how cooking transforms them into something new and delicious. Now, for its twentieth anniversary, Harold McGee has prepared a new, fully revised and updated edition of On Food and Cooking. He has rewritten the text almost completely, expanded it by two-thirds, and commissioned more than 100 new illustrations. As compulsively readable and engaging as ever, the new On Food and Cooking provides countless eye-opening insights into food, its preparation, and its enjoyment. On Food and Cooking pioneered the translation of technical food science into cook-friendly kitchen science and helped give birth to the inventive culinary movement known as "molecular gastronomy." Though other books have now been written about kitchen science, On Food and Cooking remains unmatched in the accuracy, clarity, and thoroughness of its explanations, and the intriguing way in which it blends science with the historical evolution of foods and cooking techniques. Among the major themes addressed throughout this new edition are: Traditional and modern methods of food production and their influences on food quality The great diversity of methods by which people in different places and times have prepared the same ingredients Tips for selecting the best ingredients and preparing them successfully The particular substances that give foods their flavors and that give us pleasure Our evolving knowledge of the health benefits and risks of foods On Food and Cooking is an invaluable and monumental compendium of basic information about ingredients, cooking methods, and the pleasures of eating. It will delight and fascinate anyone who has ever cooked, savored, or wondered about food.