My Year at Aro-Ha

It all started in September 2023 when I volunteered at Moa Alm in Austria and realized I loved working at wellness retreats. I went looking for the best Plant-Based wellness retreat in the world and found Aro-Ha as one of the top ones. I decided to send them an open application, and after about 2 months of interviews and trying to figure out the logistics, I flew to New Zealand and started my job as a Wellness chef at Aro-Ha.

During my year at Aro-Ha, I have learned so much. The first 6 months of me being there it was all about getting to know the kitchen and the flow of the kitchen. I remember that I was amazed and challenged by all the different gluten free breads we made. All the different nuts and seeds that needed soaking and blending and getting the right consistency to make it prove. This was something I didn’t have any knowledge of yet.

For me this was the first kitchen I worked at with more than two people. That was one of the main reasons I wanted to work at a retreat and not for myself for a year. Learning from your colleagues what their style of cooking is, how to manage service and stress with a whole team and to get into creative mode and add to each other.

After 6 months I started giving my own cooking demo’s once a week. This was something I felt very nervous about as I wasn’t sure how much value I could share as I don’t have a nutrition background. So I decided to create a cooking class that matched me and my passion for cooking. I called it “The Joy of Cooking”. For an hour long I would take the guests through a process of tasting and understanding their flavor profiles and then letting them play around with flavors and make their own canapés. Besides that, we also went in on chocolate making as this is something I learned during my culinary studies and absolutely loved! We would talk about the benefits of chocolate and temper dark chocolate on the countertop to make bark out of it.

My biggest takeaways/learnings from Aro-Ha:

Working at Aro-ha has taught me so much. It has pushed me past my own comfort zone when it comes to being seen and connecting with the guests. I didn’t feel comfortable with connecting with guests in the beginning but because i wanted to give a cooking class, I had to step out of my comfort zone and go for it. The feedback I got was overwhelmingly positive!

Besides that, I learned so much from my head chef Marika, about the health aspect of our cooking and how to cook balanced. It made me realize how I have a passion for healthy food but also how we can make it realistic for our day-to-day lives. How can we cook as healthy and nourishing as we can while still quick, easy and satisfying.

As well as all my other colleagues. Seeing how other people cook and operate in a kitchen and the passion they have is inspiring. Plus, being able to work on flavors of dishes with multiple people creates a whole new level of cuisine. Everyone has a different pallet, so hearing each others opinion on the food makes you grow as a cook.

Last but not least, the vibes of the kitchen where my favorite part. The amount of dance parties had and DJing sessions was amazing. As well as an occasional food fight on departure day or all the delicious birthday cakes we baked for staff. Plus the creation week we had during the winter break was incredible. We had room to create whatever new ideas we had and all taste it and build upon each other to make new food for the retreats.

I am so thankful for my time at Aro-Ha and all the amazing and incredible people who work there, not just in the kitchen but everyone. It is a transformative place that has taught me so much in cooking and in life. So the biggest thank you to all of Aro-Ha!

Much Love