A cookbook is a kitchen reference publication that typically contains a collection of recipes. Modern versions may also include colorful illustrations and advice on purchasing quality ingredients or making substitutions. Cookbooks can also cover a wide variety topics, including cooking techniques for the home, recipes and commentary from famous chefs, institutional kitchen manuals, and cultural commentary.

The earliest cookbooks on record seem to be mainly lists of recipes for what would now be called haute cuisine, and were often written primarily to either provide a record of the author's favorite dishes or to train professional cooks for banquets and upper-class, private homes. Many of these cookbooks, therefore, provide only limited sociological or culinary value, as they leave out significant sections of ancient cuisine such as peasant food, breads, and preparations such as vegetable dishes too simple to warrant a recipe.

The earliest collection of recipes that has survived in Europe is De re coquinaria, written in Latin. An early version was first compiled sometime in the 1st century and has often been attributed to the Roman gourmet Marcus Gavius Apicius, though this has been cast in doubt by modern research. An Apicius came to designate a book of recipes. The current text appears to have been compiled in the late 4th or early 5th century; the first print edition is from 1483. It records a mix of ancient Greek and Roman cuisine, but with few details on preparation and cooking. An abbreviated epitome entitled Apici Excerpta a Vinidario, a "pocket Apicius" by Vinidarius, "an illustrious man", was made in the Carolingian era. In spite of its late date it represents the last manifestation of the cuisine of Antiquity.

Greg Plitt is an American fitness model and actor.

Greg Plitt has modeled for Under Armour, Old Navy Jeans, Calvin Klein, Modell's and Skimpies, among others, and has done covers and/or editorials for Maxim, AXL, American Health & Fitness, Flaunt, Men's Fitness, Muscle & Fitness, Men's Health, FitnessRx for Men, Instinct Magazine, and Men's Exercise, among others.

Plitt is a global spokesperson/model for Thierry Mugler's Angel Men and ICE*Men men's fragrances. He has done TV commercials for Old Spice Body Wash, ESPN's Great Outdoor Games, Under Armour, MTV, Zoli Sinks, Gold's Gym Power Flex, Bowflex and has lately taken acting roles. Images of his body were used to create Dr. Manhattan's muscular physique in the 2009 film Watchmen.

He has also appeared in several movies and television shows (see below).

Plitt comes from a family of four, and has an older sister who attended the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis. Plitt is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, Class of 2000, and is both Airborne and Ranger qualified.

Tauheed Epps (born September 12, 1976), better known by his stage name 2 Chainz, formerly known as Tity Boi, is an American rapper from College Park, Georgia. He was previously signed to Ludacris' record label Disturbing tha Peace with Dolla Boy as Playaz Circle.

2 Chainz was born Tauheed Epps on September 12, 1976. He was originally known under the name "Tity Boi", a name given to him by his mother, as Epps was an only child and thus the only one his mother would breastfeed. Further research and investigation showed that he had one brother named Dimatri who was 9 months younger than him and adopted by a couple in Birmingham, Alabama. His brother has one daughter named Sakia and one son named Dimatri Jr. nicknamed, DJ. His niece, Sakia is 13 (2011) and his nephew, DJ is 2 (2011). His niece is very proud of her uncle and talks to him alot on the phone. She also loves to visit him on her breaks.

His graduating record in college was a 4.0

Epps formed the hip hop duo Playaz Circle (the word "Playaz" being an acronym of Preparing Legal Assets for Years from A to Z) in College Park, Georgia in 1997 with his high school friend Earl Conyers, who became known under his recording name Dolla Boy. Following the release on an independent album titled United We Stand, United We Fall, the duo were introduced to fellow rapper Ludacris when he moved into their College Park apartment complex whilst he was acting as a disc jockey: after he took an interest in Playaz Circle, he began to record several songs with the group, playing some of them on his radio station.

Randy Weston (born April 6, 1926 in Brooklyn, New York), is an American jazz pianist and composer, of Jamaican parentage.

Randy Weston's piano style owes much to Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk (he has paid direct tribute to both on the "portraits" albums), but it is highly distinctive in its qualities: percussive, highly rhythmic, capable of producing a wide variety of moods.

Weston was raised in Brooklyn, where his father owned a restaurant. Weston studied classical piano as a child. He graduated from Boys High School in Bedford-Stuyvesant. His father chose for him to attend there because it had a reputation of high standards. He took piano lessons from a teacher named Professor Atwell.

After serving in the U.S. Army during World War II, he ran a restaurant that was frequented by many of the leading bebop musicians. Among his piano heroes are numbered Count Basie, Nat King Cole, Art Tatum and Duke Ellington (and Wynton Kelly was a cousin), but it was Thelonious Monk who had the greatest impact.

Melissa Arnette "Missy" Elliott (born July 1, 1971) is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, record producer, dancer and actress. A five-time Grammy Award winner, Elliott, with record sales of over seven million in the United States, is the only female rapper to have six albums certified platinum by the RIAA, including one double platinum for her 2002 album Under Construction. Elliott is known for a series of hits and diverse music videos, including "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)", "Hot Boyz", "Get Ur Freak On", "One Minute Man", "4 My People", "Work It", "Pass That Dutch", and "Lose Control". In addition, she has worked extensively as a songwriter and producer for other artists, both alone and with her fellow producer and childhood friend Timbaland, with whom she received her first production credit on R&B singer Ginuwine's 1996's album Ginuwine...the Bachelor.

Elliott was born on July 1, 1971, in Portsmouth, Virginia. She is the only child of mother Patricia, a power-company coordinator, and father Ronnie, a Marine. At the age of four in 1975, she wanted to be a performer, though she knew no one took her seriously, as she was always the class clown. While her father was a Marine, the family lived in Jacksonville, North Carolina, in a mobile home. Elliott enjoyed school for the friendships she formed and had little interest in school work, though an IQ test classified her above average and she was able to jump two years ahead of her class. This made her feel increasingly isolated, so she purposely failed all her classes, eventually returning to her age-appropriate class. When her father returned from the Marines, they moved back to Virginia, where they lived in a vermin-infested shack.