Celebration of the re-print of Gaia’s Kitchen

Gaia's Kitchen

In 2001 Gaia’s Kitchen, by Schumacher College Chef, Julia Ponsonby won the Gourmand World Cookbook Award for best vegetarian cookbook. For those of who have been waiting for a copy, you have a treat in store – the book is currently being prepared for reprint. Due to the book’s rarity, the price on the Internet for a second hand copy is currently nearly three times the original price of £12.99.

Participants often cite the food and their experiences in the kitchen as one of the highlights of their experience here. The kitchen is a real focus for the ideals of transformative learning. You learn by doing and you are both the master and apprentice at the same time. The cookbook therefore is much more than an aide memoire for those that have been at the College and want to recreate their favourite recipe.

When I first received my copy of Gaia’s kitchen it was like a very special guest had joined my family dinner. The dishes are a wonderful mix of creative cooking and manageability; they can be employed for serving a family meal, perhaps a modest dinner party – and even a celebration of 40 plus people. The publication itself is like a well-planned recipe, as the pictures, ingredients, cooks-tips and stories all make both reading and using the book a very pleasant experience.

Catering Manager Wayne Schroeder and his very able assistant Sarah Bayley, carry-on engaging participants and staff in the kitchen processes at Schumacher College with Julia coordinating Thursdays and Fridays. The hub and flow of activity continues and new recipes and techniques have long been used mixing in with the familiar Gaia’s Kitchen recipes many of which have been favourites since the college opened in 1991. Until the production of a brand new cookbook to embody all these change– this much-awaited reprint will wet our appetites once again.

Schumacher College is part of the Dartington Hall Trust, a company limited by guarantee, registered in England and as a charity (company no. 1485560, charity no. 279756). Registered office: The Elmhirst Centre, Dartington Hall, Totnes, Devon TQ9 6EL, UK.