Home

Courses and prices

Accommodation

The Centre

About us

About Clare Island

Booking

Getting there

Helpers

Farm

Feedback

Photo gallery

Contacting us

Food on our retreats

The food on all our courses is strictly vegetarian.  We pay great attention to the quality of ingredients we use and have spent a lot of time sourcing suppliers. Most (over 90%) of the ingredients and fresh produce we use are organic or home grown. We also make a point of using local produce both from the island and Westport (including delicious farmhouse cheeses and 'real' butter available to us from an island farmer in the summer). We are growing more and more of the vegetables and soft fruits ourselves in our gardens and polytunnel.  We are a member of GM-free Ireland Network and as such never use GM products.  We are also members of the Slow food movement and as such we value good, clean and fair food and work to defend biodiversity in our food supply, spread taste education and support producers of excellent foods.
Brunch, with fruit and juices, freshly baked breads, porridge, home made muesli, yoghurt, homemade soya milk and Christophe's special ayurvedic teas, is served after the morning practice. The dinner menu is imaginative and delicious, and has received rave reviews from participants on previous courses (some of the recipes are on this site, click here).
Drinking water comes from a private spring near the house.
All our bread is home baked using organic flours (sometimes in our wood fired bread oven). We do sometimes cook with dairy and eggs (usually from our own flock of ducks), although not for every meal.
Fruit and a selection of herbs teas are available at all times.
If you have any special dietary requirements, please bring your own supplies, as they will probably be impossible to get on the island. We will do our best to accommodate vegans, although they won't be able to eat all of what we cook. If you are on any other type of special diet, it might be possible to use the kitchen in one of the houses to cook your own meal.  Email us before you book to discuss this.

This is an example of menu served on the last Chritmas course: Brunch: Freshly baked organic spelt bread Freshly baked organic wheat sourdough  Home made muesli Tonka bean flavoured oat and wheat porridge with  dates and hazelnuts Cinnamon flavoured quinoa and millet porridge with coconut and raisins Stewed fruit with cardamom Organic yoghurt Guacamole Selection of local cheeses Selection of organic spreads and jams Selection of organic herbal teas Dinner Homebrewed elderflower champagne Beetroot and coconut soup Home grown pumpkins stuffed with coucous, wild mushrooms and pistachio nuts Braised red cabbage with caraway seeds Home grown steamed vegetables Baba ganoush Apple and almond chocolate cake (dairy and wheat free) Mulled organic Elderberry punch

Brunch is ready!

A number of people who have attended our courses in the past suggested that we run yoga and vegetarian cooking courses and share some of our trade secrets :). We are now running short vegetarian cooking courses over some of the bank holiday weekends off season, and some longer courses in the summer. Check the Courses page for details.