Culinary Arts

As the pioneers of wholefood and macrobiotic cooking in the UK, the Institute continues to be a major resource for individuals seeking to transform their health and take more responsibility for their well-being by learning the art of wholefood cooking. With the culinary arts, we create an alchemical bridge one could say between the natural world of plants and animals and the world of humans who gain their sustenance from those worlds. It is in the kitchen that we harness the elements of fire, pressure, water, and time, along with human creativity, to transform those raw ingredients into life-giving nourishment. It was the discovery and harnessing of fire, in particular, in our evolutionary history that provided the spark perhaps whereby humans awoke and transformed themselves into an aware and “thinking species”. This moment of evolutionary time was no less significant than the time we stood erect on our hind legs, becoming the intermediaries between heaven and earth. The curriculum of study offered by our culinary school is varied according to individual needs and skill levels of its students. For beginners, seeking an introduction to wholefood cooking, there is a weekend introductory course - 'The Wholefoods Primer'. For more advanced students, there are six-day seasonal intensive programmes and weekend workshops focusing on specific aspects of wholefood cooking such as pressure-cooking, deep frying, soup preparations, one-pot creations, desserts and fermented foods. We refer to the term Macrobiotics as defined at the International Macrobiotic Conference 2017*, as: Macrobiotics, noun, (used with a singular verb) 1. a way of life that guides one's choices in nutrition, activity, and lifestyle. 2. a system of principles and practices of harmony to benefit the body, mind, and planet. Macrobiotic, adj., such as macrobiotic philosophy or macrobiotic diet. Origin: from Ancient Greek: Macro (large or long) and Bios (life or way of living). *Definition agreed upon by the International Macrobiotic Conference 2017 in Berlin, with 45 macrobiotic teachers, along with GOMF, SHI, Macrobiotic Association, IMP, IME, Chi Energy, IMS, and other schools, institutes, and organizations