Course curriculum

    1. About this class

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    1. What is mindfulness? What is meditation?

    1. How can fermentation help us cultivate mindfulness?

    2. On Intention

    3. Building a mindful practice: Kitchen ecologies, life ecologies

    4. Ritual, not just repetition

    5. Activity: My Ritual and Goals

    6. Preventing overwhelm: Making your practice sustainable and fun

    7. Capturing moments and building intentions

    8. Activity: Mindful questions to engage with your ferments

    9. Activity: A five minute practice (plus video)

    1. Introduction

    2. The Method of Loci

    3. Activity: build your own memory palace

    4. A memory palace for recall and play

    5. Activity: Building new connections

    6. Activity: Picture perfect ferment

    1. Walking the labyrinth

    2. Mindful eating and the mindful meal

    1. Tips and Resources

About this course

  • $35.00
  • 25 lessons
  • 0 hours of video content

This course includes:

  • written lessons

  • activities that range from visualizations and mindful eating to drawing or journal exercises

  • meditation resources

  • stunning illustrations and photos

  • fermentation tips and best practices

  • optional readings

  • printable course packet for learning away from the computer

Introduction

Fermentation is inherently a practice based in mindfulness: It is the opposite of 'fast food,' refusing to participate in cultures of immediate gratification or disconnected eating. Instead, fermented foods ask us to show up with all our senses ready to engage, to slow down, and to watch something magical take shape, whether a crock of sauerkraut or carboy of beer. While this class is all about ferments, the techniques we use can be applied elsewhere in your cooking practice as well. This text-based class is all about making your fermentation practice more intentional: Using our time spent preparing and consuming ferments as a time to cultivate presence, mindfulness, and a creative and curious sense of calm. You don't have to have any experience with meditation or mindfulness to take this class: Just a desire to learn and an open mind. This course offers a number of different approaches to cultivating a mindful kitchen practice, so you can pick and choose among those techniques that resonate with you to create a personalized culinary mindfulness practice. Our big emphasis is on sustainability: that is, creating a practice that feels approachable rather than overwhelming, and adds some gentle structure (as desired) and space for experimentation in ways that are easy to engage with each day, and flexible to the demands of life.
Two jars of fermented pepper paste

Meet Your Instuctor

Instructor Bio:

Dr. Julia Skinner is the founder an director of Root, Atlanta’s fermentation and food history company. She is also a food writer, who recently completed a book on the history of fermentation, Our Fermented Lives, due out in 2022. As a visual artist, she regularly works with natural elements in her paintings, drawings, and calligraphy. You can see more of Julia’s art at juliacskinner.com/art, learn more about Root at root-kitchens.com, and follow her on Instagram at @bookishjulia and @rootkitchens

Dr. Julia Skinner