Around the World in 80 Dinners

Join Cheryl and Bill Jamison, James Beard Award winners of The Big Book of Outdoor Cooking and Entertaining, on a gastronomic tour around the world

After years of writing award-winning cookbooks, renowned culinary experts Cheryl and Bill Jamison were ready to take a break. So in the fall of 2005 they packed their bags, locked up their house in Santa Fe, and set off on a three-month-long visit to ten countries—all on frequent-flier miles.

Among their stops were:

Bali
Where they celebrated a second honeymoon in Ubud and encountered a rogue monkey

Australia
Where they found the world's best breakfast sandwich and visited family-owned wineries

Thailand
Where they took a wild ride on an elephant in an enormous forest reserve

India
Where they found themselves in the midst of Diwali, the Festival of Lights

China
Where they attended a banquet of local Chiu Chow cuisine that required hours of preparation by the "Emeril of Chaozhou" and forty cooks

South Africa
Where they went on a safari among rhinos, giraffes, and very hungry lions

Brazil
Where they soaked in the sun and Creole flavors of the coastal town of Salvador