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Eat & Thrive · Cooking Retreat

RETREATS / Eat & Thrive · Cooking Retreat

Eat & Thrive · Cooking Retreat

PLANT-BASED COOKING course

RESERVE MY PLACE —

DATES

  • 12 - 15 NOV 2026
  • 22 - 25 APR 2027

THE INVITATION

Cook, eat, thrive, and repeat

You already know how to feed yourself. Most people do. But there is a difference between edible and actually good, and the gap between them is not talent or time, it is attention.

Over four days in the Cederberg, you’ll cook with two chefs who take food seriously without making it precious.

The kitchen sits at the edge of the pool, looking over the river. The fire does a significant amount of the work. What you eat depends on what is in season, which means the menu gets written four days before you arrive.

No clean eating. No superfoods. No one will ask you to journal about your relationship with bread.

This is for you if

  • — You cook to survive, not to eat well. You've had enough of surviving.
  • — You want to understand heat, acid, salt, timing, not just follow a recipe.
  • — You eat three times a day and think it could be considerably better than this.
  • — You need more vegetables in your life.
  • — You need a few days of good food, good company.
Baby carrots cooking in a cast iron pan during an outdoor cooking class at Bliss and Stars retreat

THE CRAFT

Cooking in Cederberg

Simplicity is the secret.

Outdoor kitchen bench laid with fresh vegetables overlooking the Cederberg Mountains, Bliss and Stars retreat

kitchen

Hold your knives

The outdoor kitchen sits at the edge of the pool, overlooking the river.  Knife skills, fermentation, open-flame cooking, preserving. The curriculum is practical. 

Garden harvest basket with sunflower, leafy greens and herbs at Bliss and Stars, Cederberg

Produce

Seasonal and local

The soil here is dry and ancient, and the vegetables that grow in it taste like it. Ingredients are sourced from our farm and local farms. What is on your plate depends entirely on what is in season. The menu is written four days before you arrive.

THE APPROACH

What we do, if we had to name it

Two chefs. Four days. One kitchen.

1

Technique

Knife skills. Heat control. How to season by taste rather than by recipe. The foundations that most home cooks never properly learn.

2

Flavour

Acid, salt, fat, time. Understanding why something works means you can adjust it when it doesn’t, and improve it when it does. 

3

Mindful eating

You eat what you cook. Mindfully. Every day, with the group, at a table that overlooks the valley. The meal is not the end of the class. It is the class.

WHAT A DAY LOOKS LIKE

Relaxed days. Mindful meals.

  • Somatic Movement
  • Brunch
  • Guided Hike
  • Afternoon snack
  • Rest
  • Astrophotography Workshop
  • Dinner
  • Stargazing | Telescope time
  • Astrophotography Session

MORNING

  • Mindful Flow
  • Brunch
  • Cooking Class

AFTERNOON

  • Rest
  • Afternoon Snack
  • Cooking Class

EVENING

  • Mindful Walk
  • Dinner
  • Stargazing

AT A GLANCE

We serve vegetarian / vegan food. Most of our produce comes from our gardens or from local farmers. The meals are served at the communal table. We do not serve coffee or alcohol, which is mostly about sleep. Mornings are cacao, rooibos infusions.

Dietary requirements are accommodated. Tell us when you book.

DURATION

4 days

Thursday to Sunday

LOCATION

Cederberg

Western Cape

FOOD

Plant-based

No Coffee · No alcohol

Two chefs preparing plant-based dishes in the Bliss & Stars kitchen, Cederberg

YOUR GUIDES

Chef Aphelele and Chef Allan

CHEFS · GARDENERS

“Most people season at the end. That’s already too late.”

Between the two of them, they cover most of what a kitchen actually requires: technical precision, instinct built from repetition, and the patience to let things take the time they take. Allan’s work is plant-based and quietly inventive. Aphelele brings rigour to preservation, fermentation, and creation of unexpected flavours. Together they run a kitchen that takes the food seriously without taking itself seriously.

READ MORE ABOUT THE CHEFS —

WHAT GUESTS SAY

"The food prepared by Aphelele and Allan was an experience. I was honestly blown away — not only was it beautiful and full of flavour, the whole approach completely changed how I thought about what was on my plate. I felt so good during and after the retreat."
Maxime

WHAT DOES IT COST

Accommodation options

All prices include accommodation, all meals, all practices, and guided stargazing. No hidden charges. Never more than ten guests, often fewer.

tented chalet interior at bliss and stars

CANVAS AND TIMBER​

Tented Chalets

Built from canvas and timber, which means the valley comes through the walls. Wind, water, first light. The simplest of the three, and the closest you can sleep to the land.

3 NIGHTS

Solo

R19,500

Double

R29,400

Includes: Accommodation, all meals, practices and activities
view of chalets at bliss and stars, cederberg

WOOD AND GLASS

Chalets

Built from wood and glass, set between the rocks. Floor-to-ceiling windows put the valley in the room with you. The one most people picture when they imagine the place.

3 NIGHTS

Solo

R26,100

Double

R35,400

Includes: Accommodation, all meals, practices and activities
Aerial view of Weaver's Nest villa built from Cederberg rock at Bliss and Stars off-grid retreat

CEDERBERG ROCK

Villa

Built from Cederberg rock, set closest to the river. A separate bedroom, its own lounge, and a large outdoor space that is yours alone. The most private of the three.

3 NIGHTS

Solo

R28,200

Double

R40,800

Includes: Accommodation, all meals, practices and activities

RESERVE MY PLACE

A 50% deposit confirms your place. You can pay upfront or in instalments. 

If you are not committed to making a reservation yet and have some questions, contact us here.