Erica J. Peters received her bachelor’s degree in history and literature from Harvard University and her doctorate in history from the University of Chicago. She has taught at Stanford University, Santa Clara University, and San Francisco State University, and the University of Maryland University College. She has published numerous articles on the history of food and drink and has presented at conferences across the United States and abroad.

Peters lives in Mountain View, California, with her husband and two children; she co-founded the Culinary Historians of Northern California and is an independent food historian.