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Mindful cooking & eating retreat: Moments to Savour - 4 nights in Sharpham House
Learn conscious cookery & mindful eating with Sharpham House cook Sybille Pouzet
Summary
Duration: 4 nights - run annually
For those with any meditation experience - or none
Single occupancy
Silence nightly until morning & on 1 whole day
Max. Spaces: 20
Overview
Our Mindful cooking & eating retreat is a 4-night stay in our Sharpham House retreat venue in beautiful South Devon, offering a delicious way to combine the ingredients of meditation, mindfulness and nourishment.
You will explore how bringing awareness to harvesting, cooking and eating can deepen your sense of connection with yourself, with others and with the natural world.
Through simple mindfulness practices, gentle movement, time in the garden and kitchen and shared meals, you'll discover how everyday activities with food can become opportunities for presence and nourishment of mind, body and soul.
This retreat offers an opportunity to slow down, rest and (re)discover mindful cooking and eating practices, exploring how these can help you notice taste, texture, the body’s response to food and your relationship with cooking and food through mindfulness and shared experience.
You do not need previous experience of mindfulness or cooking. The emphasis is not on technical cooking skills, but on bringing attention and curiosity to the process and joy of preparing and savouring food.
You might also like our 4-night Mindful Gardening retreat at The Coach House
This retreat is for you if you:
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are in need of rest, nourishment and renewal
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would like to learn new recipes and ideas to enhance your vegetarian and vegan cooking
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enjoy seasonal food and spending time in gardens and in nature
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appreciate learning in a supportive group setting
What you'll experience on this retreat:
- the chance to harvest fresh seasonal produce from our walled gardens, discovering the connection between soil, season and nourishment
- cooking together with awareness and savouring the experience of eating together
- mindful cooking and eating practices, exploring how slowing down can help us notice taste, texture and the body’s response to food.
- embodied awareness, gentle movement and body awareness practices that support a deeper connection with how food affects energy, mood and wellbeing
- guided meditations, relaxation sessions and periods of silence and quiet contemplation, with time in nature
- a chance to learn about & witness our efforts to re-wild the Sharpham Estate and the seasonal rhythms of the land
- full-board accommodation in a Grade II-listed Georgian Coach House set within Capability Brownian parkland, with Grade II*-listed gardens designed by Percy Cane in a designated National Landscape amid breath-taking scenery on the banks of the River Dart
- a single-occupancy room and your own space in which to rejuvenate, with free time to deeply rest and reconnect with yourself, far from the busy-ness of daily life
- shared tasks and group sharings that nurture a sense of community
- 24-hour access to teas, herbal infusions, and comforting refreshments
What you'll need to know:
If you decide to stay with us, we’ll send you a list of what you need to bring for this retreat in your Welcome Letter that we send out after you've booked.
You can also find out more about staying with us on our Frequently Asked Questions page, including:
- accessibility information
- why we encourage you to come on your own and not with partners or friends
- what the difference is between our retreats
Schedule
If you're coming to stay with us on retreat, it is important to make a commitment to arrive in time for the first group meeting and to attend all the days.
This ensures you experience the retreat programme from start to finish and helps your group of participants to gel.
Silence
All our retreats include periods of silence as a way of deepening into mindful awareness.
If you are new to spending time in silence in the company of other people, it can feel awkward to begin with. But we encourage you to explore the silent periods with a spirit of openness and curiosity - people usually find it to be a positive experience.
The retreats typically move into silence each evening from 9pm - 9.50am the following day
Typical retreat schedule
Day 1: Arrive between 3-5pm for welcoming talk and settling in
| Mornings | Afternoons |
|---|---|
| 7.00am - wake up | 12.30pm - meditation |
| 7.30am – morning movement | 1.00pm - lunch |
| 8.00am - morning meditation | 3.30pm-5pm – Home groups and afternoon cookery session/exploration of the theme |
| 8.30am – breakfast and tasks - including harvesting | 5.30pm - meditation |
| 10.30am - morning cookery session | 6.00pm – supper and tasks |
| 8.00pm - Evening mindfulness session | |
| 9.00pm – House moves into silence until 9.50am the next day |
Final day: There is a closing circle at 10.30am and depart at 12 noon. The retreat will move into silence each evening from 9pm – 9.50am, and till 2.30pm on day 3.
Sharpham House on The Sharpham Estate
Sharpham House is the perfect place to experience a mindfulness retreat: a Grade I-listed Georgian mansion at the centre of the stunning Sharpham Estate, where you're nurtured with delicious vegetarian and vegan food (much of it grown organically in our Walled Garden).
The House is set in beautiful gardens within 18th century parkland thought to have been designed by Capability Brown, offering calming views over the River Dart, in a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Get Directions View Venue
By Car
By Train
By Taxi
On foot or cycle from Totnes
By CoachLeaders
Ollie Frame
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Sybille Pouzet
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Costs
Rooms & rates
All rooms are comfortable single occupancy, giving you your own space in which to relax.
Rooms are either ensuite or have the use of a shared bathroom.
They are allocated randomly and are bookable on a first-come, first-served basis, unless you have a medical need for an ensuite - please let us know on your booking form.
Click here for more information on our types of bedrooms and facilities
Meals, bedding, and towels are included.
Select from the following rates:
| Standard room | Premium room | Heritage room | ||||
| Up to December 2026 | £555 | £595 | £695 | |||
| From January 2027 | £555 | £615 | £715 | |||
Bursary places for those on low incomes
We are committed to making Sharpham Trust retreats accessible to everyone, no matter their income, and we have a variety of bursary schemes.
See our Bursary Places page here to explore ways in which you can come on a heavily-discounted retreat.
Bursary Fund donations
If you’d like to support even more people beyond your own retreat, you can donate to our Bursary Fund. Every gift helps make retreats accessible to those who might otherwise miss out.
If you’d like to help another person go on retreat with us through our bursary scheme, you can give online quickly and easily by clicking here
Terms & Conditions
See our booking and cancellations policy here
Available dates
2026
28
Nov
Sharpham House: Moments to Savour (4 nights)
With Ollie Frame & Sybille Pouzet
2027
15
May
Sharpham House: Moments to Savour (4 nights)
With Ollie Frame & Sybille Pouzet
2027
28
Sep
Sharpham House: Moments to Savour (4 nights)
With Tasha Bassingthwaighte & Sybille Pouzet
At the heart of the Sharpham Trust ethos is our desire to build a more mindful, compassionate and environmentally sustainable world.
We connect people with nature and foster mindfulness and well-being through our programme of retreats, mindfulness courses, outdoor learning and the arts.
© 2026 Sharpham Trust | The Sharpham Trust Sharpham House, Ashprington, Totnes, Devon, UK TQ9 7UTUseful Links
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