Tantri Wija was born in Bali, Indonesia to a Balinese shadow puppeteer and a musician/US consular agent, later moving to Santa Fe, New Mexico as a child. She studied international relations at Wesleyan University and Boston University before moving back to New Mexico, where she attended film school and wrote about food for the Santa Fe New Mexican newspaper while making several short films. She then moved to Seattle and is currently a regular travel/lifestyle writer for The Seattle Times, and authored a cookbook called “500 Indonesian Meals” for Bright Press.

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