Culinary Ecology: A Hands-On Cooking Experience

Take part in an immersive 4-hands culinary retreat grounded in traditional ecological knowledge and climate-resilient foodways. Co-led by Jaroslav Guzanic and the Ristolab team, this workshop blends Mediterranean and Central European preservation techniques — such as fermentation, drying, and salting — with culinary storytelling and scientific reflection. The experience aims to celebrate food as a tool for regeneration, heritage, and zero-waste innovation.

The workshop will offer a sensory and historical voyage travelling through diverse landscapes and historical events influenced by transalpine cuisine and practices of early Central European and Mediterranean farmers and indigenous peoples, exploring traditional knowledge (cooking and preservation techniques, strategic ingredients, food pairings), contemporary practices and their role within a global culinary and sustainable map.

Goals

• Explore low-impact, climate-friendly cooking techniques: fermentation, salt-curing, sun-drying, and ancestral storage practices

• Create a closed-loop kitchen experience, emphasising full ingredient use and waste minimisation