Spirit Camp: Return to Radiance

Return to Radiance: Feeding the Spirit in Mendocino

I’m still buzzing from the Spirit Camp retreat in Mendocino—like the flame of Hestia never stopped burning in that coastal forest.

Over the course of four days, I had the deep honor of cooking for a group of radiant souls gathered to reconnect with their bodies through movement, breath, and stillness. My role? To nourish them in a way that matched the depth of their internal work—food designed for where they were, who they were, and where they were going.

I served high-protein, plant-based cuisine that met the body in motion. Whether attendees had just come out of a grounding yoga session or a deeply cathartic breathwork journey, the food met them where they landed—flavorful, intentional, whole. No shortcuts. No bland tofu sadness. Every dish was a love letter to the healing process:

• Smoky lentil walnut loaf with tahini miso glaze

• Wild rice pilaf brightened with herbs and citrus

• A cashew-based Caesar that made people question everything they thought they knew about salad

• And breakfasts that held people like a warm hug before their feet even touched the yoga mat

By the third day, we decided to take it all to the shoreline. I broke down a makeshift kitchen on the beach—with one 17" camper grill, the scent of fire and saltwater mixing with roasted root vegetables and spiced Skirt steak. While I cooked, the portable sauna team set up nearby, and before long, everyone was

Spirit Camp: Return to Radiance 2025

rotating between dips in the cold Pacific, sweating in the cedar, and feasting on food cooked right there by the waves. It felt primal, sacred, and wildly alive.

Watching people eat with that kind of presence, to see them drop into their bodies and let the nourishment land—that’s why I do this. That’s why Hestia’s Table exists. Not just to feed, but to reconnect. To honor the body as temple and the table as altar.

To everyone who made Spirit Camp: Return to Radiance what it was—thank you. Your openness, your laughter, your trust... I carry that with me. I felt your hunger for something real, and I gave you what I had: my fire, my hands, my heart.

Until the next table is set.

With deep gratitude and flame,

Rossano