Cade's 2026
Elemental Cooking Immersion

Words by Cade McConnell

Photography by Andrea Tamayo

instagram @andreayea___

In February, I was in Baja California Sur, Mexico hosting my first international cooking immersion - 'Retreat To Simplicity'.

 

We were held in the arms of the dOMe hOMe, an incredible venue hand-built over 15 years by Rysh, the father of Savannah who I co-facilitated with.

 

The venue was inspiring in so many ways. It is an art project made from the Earth dug from the site, visioned by Rysh. It holds underground tunnels and dome dwellings. Each speck of the home is considered, intentional, purposeful. There is a pumping vegetable garden and a vast orchard to pick from. The days were quiet and peaceful - no traffic noise, just the musical clunking of bells from the wandering cows in the nearby properties.

The mornings began with tea ceremony, tucked in the shade behind the outside dome walls. The sun held an intensity. Though being inside was cooling, due to the natural insulation of the earthen home. We were blessed with only days of sunshine, clear star-filled skies, deep restful sleeps and magical clear waters at the nearby canyon / hot springs.

On the first full day, we ventured to a nearby organic farm where we were able to pick our own herbs and vegetables. It's not often you're able to go to a farm and harvest yourself. This was a special experience. We picked produce that we'd use in the cooking workshop that afternoon and for the workshops on the days ahead.

We dove into cooking recipes from my cookbook 'Plants, Clay & Fire - Bring The Earth Into Your Kitchen' within the walls of our Quiet Earth Village Pots. We cut bamboo from the garden and made cooking vessels with it, cooked in our clay pots over gas and fire, processed and cooked with banana flowers, stems and gathered the medicinal banana stem water and so much more. There's a rightness about gathering as a group and harvesting, preparing and cooking food together and then eating it with our hands around the fire. It feels as old as time.

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We acknowledge the Arakwal, Widjabal and Minjungbal people of the Bundjalung Nation, where we work and live. We honour their innate connection to the land and waters.

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