show latest entry from different categories on top

I am not sure if this can be done by a certain theme or if it is possible with a wordpress function or plugin.

I have several people blogging on the same page. (about 25) They each have their own category with their name and their own author login. Some post recipies and other personal experiences. The people posting recipies post a lot and the others not so much, so the people posting personal experiences get a bit lost in between the other posts and are often only a very short time on the front page, so when you enter the page it looks like a recipe blog.

Is it possible to make only the latest post of each category or author appear on the front page or on top? So instead of have 5 posts from Ann, who posts recipes, you have only 1 post from Ann, 1 from George, 1 from Diane etc. so it would be for instance the last 5 posts on the front page, but they would have to be from different categories or authors.

Suggestions for plugins, themes or wordpress functions that could solve this?

[ Please do not bump, that’s not permitted here. ]