The BIG Birthday Getaway :: Santa Barbara, pt.1

Janice Nieder could be the love child of Indiana Jones and Julia Child. She was a specialty food consultant for 12 years in New York, with a client list that included Tavern on the Green, Dean & Deluca and Sign of the Dove. After being bitten by the travel bug, her culinary adventures took her to over 65 countries, where she shared a smoked monkey dinner with a generous Shuar Indian family deep in the Amazon Jungle; helped Ethiopian tribal woman bake injera bread on hot stones in 108 degree heat; and crashed a wedding feast in Pakistan, where she was wined and dined by over 200 men - and no women. Last year, she mistakenly bought camouflage clothes to participate in a week-long truffle hunting safari in Marche, Italy, never tiring of the decadently delicious fungi feasts.

To keep things in balance, Janice also enjoys writing about spas, fitness, local crafts and culture. Her articles have appeared in International Travel News, Runner's World, San Francisco Journal for Physicians, Slow Food USA, San Francisco Professional Food Society News, Business Women's Journal, Norway Post, Airline magazines and numerous websites. But her real passion is working with underdeveloped countries to protect their cultural identity by preserving their traditional foods and cooking methods. To this end, Janice has written numerous articles about her culinary discoveries, assisted local producers with bringing their products to market, and consulted with tourism and business leaders on developing and promoting local farmers markets, cooking classes, and culinary tours.

Janice has received San Francisco's Community Leadership Award of Excellence for her on-going work as the Volunteer Coordinator for C.H.E.F.S. ( Conquering Homelessness Through Employment in Food Service) a program she helped develop that provides culinary and job skill training for the homeless. She is also a leading member of the San Francisco Professional Food Society, Bay Area Travel Writers, and Slow Food.