Rediscover the Healing Wisdom of Seasonal Food

An intimate seasonal gathering with Vanessa Jean

There is something deeply comforting about winter. It invites us to slow down, gather a little closer, light a candle, put a pot of soup on the stove and remember that some of life’s greatest medicine has always been found around a table.

For as long as I can remember, feeding people has been one of the ways I’ve expressed love. Some of my happiest memories have been created in the kitchen, preparing beautiful meals with fresh ingredients, sharing stories while chopping vegetables, stirring herbs into simmering broths and watching conversation unfold as naturally as the food itself.

Over the years I’ve come to realise that this has never really been about cooking.

It’s about nourishment. It’s about creating a space where people feel welcomed, where they can take a deep breath, where they don’t have to rush or perform or have all the answers. A place where they can simply arrive as they are and leave feeling more connected to themselves than when they walked through the door.

I wonder if this is something we’ve forgotten.

Our grandmothers understood that food was never just fuel. It was how they cared for one another. It was how they celebrated life’s joys, comforted one another through loss, marked the changing seasons and gathered their families together at the end of the day. They instinctively knew that the simple rituals of preparing and sharing real food nourished far more than the body.

In a world filled with complicated health advice, endless wellness trends and more information than we could ever possibly absorb, I find myself returning to what has always felt true.

Nature has quietly been showing us the way all along.

This gathering is an invitation to come back to those simple foundations.

Together we’ll prepare beautiful seasonal recipes using organic, locally sourced and homegrown ingredients. We’ll explore warming winter foods, herbal elixirs, mineral-rich broths and the timeless wisdom of eating with the seasons. I’ll also share the thoughtful ways I use pure essential oils to gently enhance flavour, aroma and wellbeing, along with simple everyday rituals that have become part of my own kitchen over more than thirty years of working with food, herbs and nature.

Together, we will gather around the table, share stories, ideas and laughter. Because that is what women do. There will be time to ask questions, to connect and to rediscover that looking after ourselves doesn’t have to be complicated.

I don’t want you to leave with a folder full of recipes you’ll never make. I want you to leave with confidence & a desire to create again.

If your heart has been longing for an afternoon of beautiful food, meaningful conversation and the simple joy of gathering around the table, I would love to welcome you.

Come on your own and leave with new friends.

Bring your mum, your daughter, your sister. Simply, bring someone you love.

Because good food has always tasted better when it’s shared.

There is a place waiting for you at the table.

With love,

Vanessa Jean

Sunday 19 July

1.00 pm – 4.00 pm
Cottesloe; address given with registration.

$35 per person
Bring a friend and you’ll both receive the special price of $25 each.

Places are intentionally limited to keep this gathering intimate, relaxed and welcoming.

Reserve your place and join us around the table.

Contact the host of Winter Nourishment