When my good friend and yoga teacher, Vera Kesper, asked me to curate the nourishment for her Coming Home Yoga Retreat, I thought I was signing up to make a few cute meals in the woods. Turns out, I was stepping into my soft-launch era as a private retreat chef. And honestly? I liked it. A lot.
Cooking for a retreat is different. You’re not just feeding people, you’re fueling their nervous systems, their digestion, their reentry into themselves. There’s this rhythm to it: chopping in silence while someone’s deep in savasana, tasting soup as the fire crackles, plating something beautiful that actually makes people pause before they eat it.
It fits perfectly into what Well Theorem has always been about: wellness that starts in the kitchen. What you eat is skincare. It’s mood care. It’s the difference between showing up frazzled or feeling like a person again.
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The Menu (aka a love letter to clean eating)
Welcome Treats
Chai Masala Energy Balls with dates, nuts, seeds, cranberries, and honey. Basically, edible jewelry. And Fireball Shots with ACV, lemon, ginger, and cayenne.
Day 1 Dinner
Mixed Squash & Sage Soup with parsley crème and gluten-free rosemary croutons, plus a beet salad topped with vegan goat cheese.
Day 2 Breakfast
Golden Mylk Overnight Oats with chia, ginger, and turmeric.
Brunch
Spanish Tortilla with microgreens and parsley sauce, plus roasted za’atar zucchini.
Dinner
Creamy Mixed Mushroom Pasta with wilted spinach and a side arugula salad with homemade gluten-free bread.
Dessert
Fresh-Picked Apple Bake with dairy-free honey and cinnamon whipped ricotta. A sweet little impromptu mic drop.
Tea Ceremony
Rose & Hawthorn Pu’erh Tea with homemade chocolate bars. Grounding and heart-opening in the same sip.
Day 3 Breakfast
Golden Mylk Overnight Oats, round two, because some rituals are worth repeating.
Departure Brunch
A Buddha Bowl Station: quinoa, roasted sage squash, lemon broccoli, hot honey carrots, smoked paprika bell peppers, crispy za’atar chickpeas, lemon tahini, and parsley dressing. It was the kind of meal that made people linger before heading back to reality.
By the end of the weekend, I realized this wasn’t just a one-off. It was integration. Everything I talk about in Well Theorem — nourishment, ritual, presence, and pleasure, all plated and served family-style.
So, yeah. I think I’ll do more of these. And if you’re hosting a retreat or wellness event that needs food that heals and occasionally flirts with decadence, I might just be your girl.