Culinary Retreats for Return
Imagine this: a beautiful kitchen in a place that makes your shoulders drop. The scent of something warm in the oven. A table set with intention. No rushing. No performing. Just space—space to eat, to exhale, to remember, to feel like yourself again.
Savoring Sojourns are Roots & Returns retreats where food becomes ritual and travel becomes a soft reset. We gather to cook and bake, yes—but also to rest, reflect, and reconnect to what life has been asking from us quietly.
This is for the ones who hold everybody.
Come be held.
Join the Retreat Waitlist
(first access to dates, locations, and early-bird pricing)
ABOUT THE RETREAT
Healing, Connection, and Self-Discovery
This isn’t a cooking vacation.
It’s a return.
A Savoring Sojourn is a guided experience in Joy-Centered Culinary Healing™—a grief-aware, culturally rooted approach that uses food, memory, and sensory practice to support emotional resilience.
You’ll learn techniques. You’ll taste incredible things. You’ll explore local culture.
And you’ll also practice something deeper: coming back to your body and your life with steadiness and tenderness.
We move gently. We laugh often. We eat beautifully.
And we make room for what’s true—without turning it into a performance.
What you’ll leave with
Not just photos. Not just recipes. A felt shift.
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A softer nervous system (the kind that doesn’t brace all day)
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A new relationship to grief, stress, and overwhelm
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Rituals you can take home and use in real life
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Connection that feels safe—without pressure
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Food memories you’ll carry for years
What you’ll experience
Culinary + culture (the “ooh”)
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Hands-on cooking and baking sessions in stunning kitchens
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Market mornings: local ingredients, stories, and flavor education
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Farm-to-table moments and chef-led tastings
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Pairings (wine / tea / zero-proof options) that honor pleasure and pacing
Cultural excursions chosen for beauty, history, and sensory richness
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Ritual + restoration (the Roots & Returns difference)
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Daily “Return” practices (5–10 minutes): breath, grounding, sensory anchoring
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Kitchen altar moments: intention-setting before we cook
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Gentle reflection prompts woven into meals and making
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Witnessing circles (opt-in sharing, no fixing, no pressure)
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Spacious rest built into the schedule—because we’re not doing hustle wellness
Intimacy by design
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Small group size (depth and dignity over crowds)
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A container that welcomes quiet participants and the strong ones
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Clear boundaries: you won’t be pushed to share more than you want
A SAMPLE DAY(so you can feel it)
Slow morning: wake without alarms + tea/coffee + a 5-minute return practice
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Market + story: ingredients, local makers, sensory learning
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Midday kitchen: cook together—technique + tradition + meaning
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Afternoon space: rest, journal, swim, nap, wander, breathe
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Golden hour: tasting/pairing or cultural excursion
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Evening table: shared meal + soft witnessing circle
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Close: a 2-minute ritual to carry back to your room
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You will not be scheduled into exhaustion. The point is to feel like yourself again.
Where We Gather
Our locations change by season and are chosen for three things:
beauty, safety, and soul.
Think: places where the air feels different, the food is alive, and your body naturally slows down—coastal, countryside, heritage-rich destinations.
Past inspiration includes Italy, Costa Rica, France, South Africa, and more. Final locations and dates are shared first with the waitlist.
WHO IS THIS FOR
You’ll love Savoring Sojourns if you’re:
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grieving (a person, a season, a self, a life you expected)
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burnt out from being the capable one
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craving joy that doesn’t require permission
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hungry for culture, tenderness, and real connection
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ready to be nourished without being “worked on”
Not ideal if you need clinical or emergency support right now—we’ll always encourage the right care.
WHAT MAKES THIS DIFFERENT
Most retreats promise transformation by packing your days full.
We do the opposite.
We create a container where your body can soften—and where food becomes a safe way to feel, remember, and reconnect.
This is Roots & Returns:
compassion, connection, celebration—served warm.
MY GIFT TO YOU
Get The Free Workbook
This workbook has been crafted to guide you through the complex emotions of grief, using the power of cooking as a pathway to healing. I invite you into my kitchen as you reclaim love on your grief journey.
