Aida is a food and travel expert, author, chef, Food Network personality, founder of the travel services company, Salt & Wind Travel, and partner at the creative agency and educational platform, Border Free Media. She has made her career in food travel media and hospitality and has crisscrossed the globe to search out the best food destinations.
After graduating from the Cornell Hotel School and Le Cordon Bleu Paris, she joined CHOW Magazine where she ran the test kitchen and worked as Food Editor. Aida then moved to television, hosting the Food Network show, Ask Aida, FoodCrafters on the Cooking Channel, In The Pantry on Yahoo!, and the TasteMade series, Off Menu. Her cookbook, Keys To The Kitchen, is a go-to for home cooks who want to become more adventurous cooks and the Travel Guides For Food Lovers series she has co-authored are beloved among food travelers.
Through Border Free Media, Aida shares the lessons she’s learned as an entrepreneur with other creative businesses. From teaching our Cooking Club classes to cohosting our group trips, in all that she does Aida aims to help discerning travelers taste the world.
My favorite factoid of Califorinia culinary culture? That we have a native BBQ style and it's so worth exploring! Here is everything you need to know to appreciate Santa Maria barbecue when you vis...
When the weather hits the triple digits, we've got necessities: coconut water, a legit hat, sunnies -- we pretty much can't bear it without them. But then there are the not-so-necess...
There is nothing that transports me to Italy faster than a really well done pasta alla checca. At its most simple, it's just marinated tomatoes tossed with fresh pasta but I've learned ho...
On my first trip to Italy, I'd religiously finish the day with a cone of straciatella gelato while the adults would sip on ice-cold Limoncello. Though I didn't ever try more than an eyedr...
A delicious twist on steamed clams topped with a sauce inspired by corn chowder made by mixing crisp bacon, sweet corn kernels, a cream corn reduction, and tons of fresh parsley.
When it's too hot to cook, it's time to make gazpacho. Marinating the tomatoes before you blend them together the cucumbers, peppers, bread, and vinegar, makes for a healthy summery soup that has t...
One of our all-time favorite summer dishes? This summery vegetarian pasta that's by no means traditional but by all means delicious and loaded with all the best seasonal produce from corn to zucchi...
