Food is never just food.
What we eat shapes how we feel, how we digest our experiences, how deeply we rest, and how alive we can feel. This is especially important on retreats. The right ingredients and preperation can support clarity, lightness, groundedness and energy. The wrong ones can leave people heavy, foggy or hangry!
My work as a retreat chef is to make sure the food contributes to the transformation, and doesn’t hinder it.
I cook vegetarian, Ayurvedic-inspired, deeply nourishing meals that support the nervous system, digestion, and energy levels, so your guests feel nourished, clear and steadily energised throughout the retreat.
My kind of cooking isn’t over-complicated, it’s not austere and hyper “clean”. And it’s not trying to impress.
I try to be as authentic as possible, and cook the food that I cook for myself and the people I love because I care deeply about my health and know that the food I eat directly affects the quality of my consciousness.
My food is intelligently-planned but cooked in creative flow. Abundant, healthy and delicious (if I may say so myself).
My approach
My cooking is guided by a few simple principles:
Key ingredient is love and undivided attention. I’ve never been formally trained as a chef; maybe that’s why I find it so easy to get in flow, because I’m not in my head. It might sound cheesy, but I believe love and presence are the most important ingredients. Love of what you’re doing in the moment. Love of feeding and nourishing people.
Easy to digest, deeply nourishing so people feel light, clear and supported rather than heavy or sluggish
Supports energy and focus especially important for yoga, meditation, creative or inner work
Fresh, season appropriate, and thoughtfully balanced
Rooted in Ayurvedic principles but expressed in a modern, accessible way
Made with care, and a sensitivity to the group’s needs as a whole, as well as individual allergies or intolerances
“I’ve eaten at many retreats, but I’ve never been truly nourished like this.
From the very first meal, it felt like the food was giving me energy. Each dish was deeply comforting, vibrant, and somehow both grounding and uplifting at the same time. You could feel the intelligence behind it, not just in the Ayurvedic wisdom Aja was using to balance the dishes, but in the care and sensitivity that went into every plate. What stayed with me most was how light and alive I felt all week. No heaviness, no bloating, just this steady sense of being nourished energised. Meals became something we genuinely looked forward to, not just for the flavours (which were exquisite), but for the feeling they left us with, and Aja’s warmth as she explained the meal to us.
—Retreat Guest, North Wales, October 2025
How I work with retreat leaders
I see the food as part of your offering, not a separate department.
I’m happy to:
Design menus that that fit around your intention, schedule / daily rhythm, season and location of your retreat
Accommodate dietary requirements and sensitivities
Work quietly and smoothly in the background so you can focus on holding the space
Create meals that feel simple, friendly and supportive
I can take care of everything from menu creation, shopping lists, cooking and clearing up.
(Different price points depending on if I have a helper for clear up / washing up).
