Name: “Savor Life” – Mindful Cooking Retreat
Start: 2025-09-26
End: 2025-10-03

Eating well is an art. It doesn’t require fancy cooking, but it does require practice and concentration. Your body is not just yours. It is a gift and a responsibility.
Thich Nhat Hanh

Join us for a Vegan Mindful Cooking Retreat from 26 September to 3 October 2025 at Plum Village’s New Hamlet, France—a week-long journey of mindfulness, global community, and culinary creativity. Guided by Thich Nhat Hanh’s teachings, this retreat weaves vegan cooking with transformative Plum Village practices, cultivate peace, connection, and compassion through food, spiritual practice, and community living.

What to Expect

Daily Themed Cooking Workshops: Transform the New Hamlet meditation hall into a food haven as our sisters share the secrets of crafting wholesome main dishes, nourishing soups, and delightful desserts with joy, ease, and love. Then, it’s your turn! In small groups, practice mindful movements and breathing to create vegan recipes, guided by monastics from around the world, celebrating our global sangha’s diversity.
Plum Village Practices: Deepen your mindfulness with Sitting Meditation to center your heart, Walking Meditation to connect with the Earth, Total Relaxation to release tension, and Eating Meditation to savor each bite with gratitude, guided by the Five Contemplations. These practices enrich your cooking as a spiritual journey.
Community Living Synergy: Live and practice alongside our international sangha, where sharing meals, stories, and mindfulness creates a powerful synergy, nurturing compassion and connection in every moment.
Mindful Food Festival: Unite for a vibrant food festival, preparing and savoring a shared meal in silence, honoring the interconnectedness of our global community.
Sustainability & Global Connection: Cook with local, organic ingredients from Plum Village’s gardens, nurturing the Earth and celebrating our shared humanity across cultures.