WORKSHOP:
Seasonal Cooking Arts
SUMMER: Sunday August 17th to Saturday the 30th, 2025
FALL: Sunday October 19th to Saturday November 1st, 2025
Read below and then apply here. We will start reviewing applications and confirming participation the week of June 8th.
Two weeks of sensory immersion prioritizing conscious relationships with land, gardens, and food. Through cooking and life with the land, we cultivate presence, intention, creativity, and pleasure in daily acts of living in deep resonance with place.
Food, Seasons, Land
Through the SCF food program SLUGS (Succulent Luscious Unctuous Gastronomies in Season), Gerardo Gonzalez has developed a seasonal, plant-forward kitchen that emphasizes zero waste, preservation, and foraging—nourishing both residents and guests with meals that are intimate, ephemeral, and deeply connected to place. Much like movement, cooking becomes a ritual of attention: to the body, the environment, and the shared moment.
In this workshop, Gerardo will guide participants in a collaborative cooking process grounded in seasonal ingredients and site-specificity. Together, we will explore food as a daily practice of care, presence, and creativity—challenging the boundaries between chef and guest, nourishment and expression, kitchen and landscape.
Special guests TBA, you never know who will be at SCF!
FALL SESSION (Oct 19–Nov 1, 2025):
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FALL: Sunday October 19th to Saturday November 1st, 2025
Read below and then apply here. We will start reviewing applications and confirming participation the week of June 8th.
Two weeks of sensory immersion prioritizing conscious relationships with land, gardens, and food. Through cooking and life with the land, we cultivate presence, intention, creativity, and pleasure in daily acts of living in deep resonance with place.
Food, Seasons, Land
Through the SCF food program SLUGS (Succulent Luscious Unctuous Gastronomies in Season), Gerardo Gonzalez has developed a seasonal, plant-forward kitchen that emphasizes zero waste, preservation, and foraging—nourishing both residents and guests with meals that are intimate, ephemeral, and deeply connected to place. Much like movement, cooking becomes a ritual of attention: to the body, the environment, and the shared moment.
In this workshop, Gerardo will guide participants in a collaborative cooking process grounded in seasonal ingredients and site-specificity. Together, we will explore food as a daily practice of care, presence, and creativity—challenging the boundaries between chef and guest, nourishment and expression, kitchen and landscape.
Teachers
Gerardo Gonzalez is a chef, creative director, and founder of the SLUGS food program at Salmon Creek Farm, a regeneratively stewarded artist commune nestled in the redwood forests of the Northern California coast. Inspired by communal traditions, the ecology of the forest, and the rhythms of the land, Gerardo’s cooking practice explores food as a sensory, creative, and relational act.
Gerardo Gonzalez is a chef, creative director, and founder of the SLUGS food program at Salmon Creek Farm, a regeneratively stewarded artist commune nestled in the redwood forests of the Northern California coast. Inspired by communal traditions, the ecology of the forest, and the rhythms of the land, Gerardo’s cooking practice explores food as a sensory, creative, and relational act.
Special guests TBA, you never know who will be at SCF!
Seasonal Focus
SUMMER SESSION (Aug 17–30, 2025):- Stone fruit, berries, tomatoes, squash, and garden vegetables
- Wild foraging: seaweed, edible flowers, herbs
- Techniques in fermentation, quick pickling, dehydration, and cold preservation
- Celebrating peak abundance and coastal summer flavors
FALL SESSION (Oct 19–Nov 1, 2025):
- Apple harvest and cider pressing (leading into ACV production)
- Wild mushrooms, roots, hardy greens, and preserved summer produce
- Longer ferments, warm preserves, curing, and winter preparation
- Exploring transitional cooking and preservation into the dormant season
Daily Schedule
Each day is designed to weave together foundational techniques, collaborative cooking, and spaciousness for creativity, rest, and fun. Activities will rotate between garden harvests, kitchen projects, field trips with local orgs, and community events.
- Morning Session (9am–12pm): Harvesting, field trips, cooking skills, fermentation/preservation workshops
- Midday Session (1–3pm): Menu planning, group activities, volunteer systems, class time
- Afternoon Session (4:30–7pm): Dinner prep, morning meal setup, table setting, ambiance
- Dinner & Clean-up (7–9pm): Shared meal, communal clean-up
Each day is designed to weave together foundational techniques, collaborative cooking, and spaciousness for creativity, rest, and fun. Activities will rotate between garden harvests, kitchen projects, field trips with local orgs, and community events.
Culminating Project: A Shared Table
The final days of the course will center around the planning and execution of a large-format communal meal, held off-siteand open to the broader community. This culminating event will be the container for everything we’ve explored: seasonal cooking, intentional sourcing, team systems, and hospitality grounded in care.
Over the two weeks, participants will learn how to scale recipes, organize kitchen operations, and simplify while still creating impact—developing the skills to cook for and with others on a larger scale. We’ll explore what it means to create access to nourishing food through an economy of reciprocity, and how to host meals that are both sustainable and joyful.
The final days of the course will center around the planning and execution of a large-format communal meal, held off-siteand open to the broader community. This culminating event will be the container for everything we’ve explored: seasonal cooking, intentional sourcing, team systems, and hospitality grounded in care.
Over the two weeks, participants will learn how to scale recipes, organize kitchen operations, and simplify while still creating impact—developing the skills to cook for and with others on a larger scale. We’ll explore what it means to create access to nourishing food through an economy of reciprocity, and how to host meals that are both sustainable and joyful.
Fees
Workshop fee: $1250
Meals/food: $500
Accomodations, total for single, couple, or group:
︎ Solo at shared cabin, in 1 of 2 separate bedrooms at Dawn ($1500)
︎ Solo at Salmon ($1800)
︎ Solo or couple in 1 bed at Moonlight, Walden or River ($2000)
︎ Solo, couple, or two friends in 2 beds at Rainbow ($2800)
︎ Solo, couple, or two friends in 2 beds at Cedar ($3200)
- Couples/groups encouraged to apply, each applies separately and accepted as a couple/group.
- Read about Life with the Land at SCF before applying.
- We are not able to host pets.
- Our programs are offered as affordably as possible while we fundraise for a scholarship fund. In the mean time we invite those who can afford more to contribute towards discounts for applicants of historically marginalized communities (especially BIPOC).