A professional nomad and aspiring world traveler, Niki Santisteven first attended and graduated from UC Davis in 2006, studying Spanish and spending time abroad in Spain. Next, she moved on to culinary school, graduating Valedictorian from Le Cordon Bleu here in California. During her decade working in the restaurant industry full time, Niki was put through her paces working in restaurants in Sacramento, Napa, the East Bay, and San Francisco. Finding a love for pastry and the artistry of decorating, Niki worked in bakeries and on restaurant pastry lines, including a two year stint as the Executive Pastry Chef at The Firehouse in Sacramento, and Pastry Sous Chef at Citizen Cake in San Francisco. In 2015 Niki returned to school in the evenings to earn her Teaching Credential and Master's in Teaching, taking her cooking skills to the high school classroom. Moving to San Luis Obispo in the summer of 2023, she is now teaching Culinary at Cuesta College and loving it!