Cook Schools at

The Veggie Tree

A perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon

Need some new ideas & inspiration for plant-based meals or how to make your vegetables more exciting? You are in the right place! The Veggie Tree Cook Schools are hands on, informative classes that cover a wide range of skills and cuisines along with foraging classes, plant medicine workshops and making your own non toxic home and self care products. The cook schools have been running here in Kaeo for ten years and have had over a thousand people attend. I am a trained chef and have been a vegetarian for 34 years, I draw on many years of eating, cooking and researching a plant-based diet to bring you these classes. Kids Classes are from Ages 4-12, the other classes are suitable for ages 12 and up. Contact Us on the menu bar to contact directly if you are interested in a private cooking class, for group bookings or travelling food tourist packages.

Asian Banquet with Onion Weed | Sunday October 4th 1-5pm

To celebrate the abundance and versatility of my favourite wild edible, onion weed we are going to create an Asian Banquet including my hot off the press recipe for Onion Weed Roti, along with Dan Dan Onion Weed Flowers, Tempura Onion Weed with Onion Weed Mayo with Crispy Tofu Sushi to carry them, Vietnamese Rice Rolls with Satay Sauce and we'll get you sent off with a jar of Super Salt to carry on the onion weed love and set you up with the tastiest flavour enhancer there is! Special Spring price of $88 per person which includes all food and drink, recipe file, foraging tips and identification

Eat a Rainbow Kids Foraging and Feast | Thursday 8th October 11-1pm

Setting your kids up for life with skills they'll use again and again. In this forage and feast class we'll be heading to the garden to collect wild edible weeds and flowers to make a weedy quesadillas and edible flower biscuits. $40 per child which includes eating what they have made, a take home recipe file and the class

Seaweed Forage and Feast Workshop | Sunday 18th October 12-5pm

I do a lot of my foraging around my property here at The Veggie Tree as we have taken a no mow, wild gardening approach, just letting the wild plants grow where they like. In this class we will forage for edible weeds here at The Veggie Tree HQ, and then we will venture out to my local beach to gather some seaweed treats and wild coastal plants, and depending on the weather we will make and enjoy our kai out at the beach. In this workshop we will learn about edible weeds and seaweeds, what they taste like and benefits they have for health. How to pick, dry, store and use seaweeds as well as making delicious nutritious food with all the wild plants we have collected. Together we'll make Kelp Chips, Pickled Neptunes Necklace and Onion Weed Bulbs, Foragers Broth, Weedolata and Weedy Fry Scones. Spring Special of $88 per person includes food and drink, recipe and information file, foraging tips and identification. Vegan and/or Gluten-free friendly, please let me know when booking.

Wild Mediterranean Mezze | Sunday 22nd November 1-5pm

The Mediterranean sea has a wonderful array of cuisine to draw inspiration from all woven together by this beautiful body of water. I love to eat mezze style, little delicious tastes of a variety of foods, it is perfect for sharing. We will be heading out to the garden to do a little foraging for ingredients including picking our own vine leaves to make dolmades from scratch, we will also weave our foraged finds into Falafel, Spanakopita, Flatbreads, Tabbouleh, Char Grilled Zucchini and Dukkah dressed Hummus and to finish the most delicious sweet treat Baklava. $100 per person includes food and drink, recipe file, chef hints and tips. Vegan and Gluten-free friendly, please let me know on booking whether you require either of these options

ONLINE Plant Based 101 | Sunday 29th November 2-5pm

Let me help you learn how to thrive on a plant based diet. Drawing on my 30+ years of experience, bringing up two healthy children and never lacking in any essential nutrient deficiencies, I practise what I preach and would love to share, the only way I know how with delicious nutritious food! We will be making a Deluxe Buddha Bowl, which is the perfect prep your lunch in advance dish. An enhanced Chia pudding with Cacao Crisp, which can be savoured at any time of the day, guilt free and nutrient dense. The online class might feel a bit weird and daunting, but let me assure you once we get ourselves set up it really is like being here with me at The Veggie Tree HQ but in the comfort of your own kitchen, we go through things step by step and there's plenty of time for questions and answers, on the spot guidance and trouble shooting, plus you get to eat everything you make! $66 includes the LIVE class, recipes, equipment list and information file via email. Naturally Vegan and Gluten free friendly

Christmas and Summer Celebration Class and Meal | Sunday 6th December 1-5pm

Come along and celebrate the end of the year with me here at The Veggie Tree HQ where together we will make some edible Christmasy treats and a summer selection of easy share dishes. Pohutukawa Fizzy, Dressed Sweetcorn, Nut Roast Wellington with Gravy, Strawberry Chocolate Desert Cake and Stained Glass Gingerbread Cookies. $100 per person which includes food and drink, recipe file, hints, tips and take homes. Vegan/and or Gluten free friendly please let me know when booking

Group Bookings | By Appointment

Whether you fancy a fun get together with friends, are celebrating a birthday or looking for a different team building experience with colleges, The Veggie Tree Themed cooking class and meal might be what you are looking for. Select from one of the options below and book in for an afternoon of fun learning new skills in the kitchen then sitting down together at the end to dine on what you have made, even dress up for the occasion! Indian Inspired Meal Greek Inspired Meal Middle Eastern Mezze Mediterranean Inspired Meal East Asian Inspired Meal Chinese Inspired Meal Japanese Inspired Meal Mexican Fiesta Eastern European Meal Otherwise alternative classes and workshops are as follows: Sourdough and Easy Cheese Workshop Sourdough and Plant Cheese Workshop Fermentation and Preservation Workshop Gluten free Staples Workshop Edible Flowers Forage and Feast Workshop Seaweeds and Edible Weeds Forage and Feast Workshop Wild Italian Forage and Feast Workshop Nature's Medicine Cabinet Workshop Natural Beauty Products Woman's Health Workshop Healthy Sweets Celebration Cakes Workshop Homemade Household Workshop Cost includes all food and drink, recipe file, chef hints and tips, Minimum 6 and Maximum 10 people, please contact me directly for bookings on the Contact Page.

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