If I ruled the world

What three things would you do Kate Bouverie?

A chef’s kiss to Kate Bouverie

I’m Nahid, an Author and a Somatic Movement Educator. My clients call me the “nervous system whisperer”. I teach clients to rewire their brain through movement for better emotional health. I specialise in burnout, anxiety and trauma issues. I offer The Soothe Group Programme, an online 12-week course of self-paced sessions and live check-ins for powerful results. I am running the beta version of this course on a new platform at a third of the price. Let me know if you would like to start in June. I also offer a tailored course of one-to-one sessions called The Soothe Programme. Book an initial call to find out how we can work together.

If you are feeling anxious, frazzled and hopeless… The next Soothe Day Retreat is on Saturday, 14th September in Mayfair, London. Come and join us - More info here.

Once a month, to give you a break from my thoughts, and to hear from hopeful people, I invite a guest in to tell us what they would do, “If I were in charge.”

This month, please meet Kate Bouverie. I met her on a retreat at The Quaives and fell in love with her cooking ( and with her of course). She now cooks for me on my London day retreats and on the May weekend retreat, more details of that coming.

I like working with women chefs. The men who have cooked on retreat for me, always seem to be in a strop. They can’t take any feedback and seem to want to murder me or a client if I dare to suggest (very kindly I like to think) that something didn’t quite work. Which isn’t what you want on retreat! I am sure there are very nice male chefs out there, I haven’t managed to find one.

Here’s the lovely Kate…

Who are you?

I am Kate Bouverie, a retreat chef.

What’s your mission?

My mission is to nourish people, to be of service to others, to make a difference and to care for people through nurturing them with delicious food, which is healthy, beautiful and tasty. I believe that food should feed our bodies, minds and souls, and should connect us to the earth. I think that eating together is a creative way to bring people together, to connect; being in community and sharing food whilst sharing our lives.

How do you do it?

By creating food which I prepare with attention, with love, with consciousness. By working with people who embody the same values, making a difference in the world.

By using seasonal, locally-grown or locally-produced ingredients where possible, as well as also sourcing sustainable, ethically-produced ingredients.

I feed my own body with the same food that I cook for others. I enjoy eating healthily with the occasional indulgence of chocolate! I do also eat cake. I am a firm believer that all food is to be enjoyed, and that there are no ‘bad’ foods, when meals are created with love and using good ingredients.

How do you look after yourself?

I live in the countryside and really appreciate being able to walk out of my house and across fields. Time spent walking and running in nature is hugely beneficial and important to me. I do my best menu-planning when I am walking through the beautiful Kent countryside. I also meditate daily and practise yoga regularly. I have started a kettlebell class as I realise I need to do more strength work as I get older. I want to take care of my physical body so that it continues to allow me to do the work I love as I get older. I make sure that I get plenty of sleep. I am very grateful for my sleep and my health in general.

And I go on retreat myself so that I continue to learn how to be the best version of myself that I can be. And it nourishes me to spend time with good friends and with my three grown-up children.

I treasure the time spent in my garden tending my flowers or at my allotment growing vegetables. Gardening brings me huge joy and nourishment.

What three things would you do first, if you were in charge?

1. I would ensure that all children were educated about food and nutrition and taught to cook, from Primary-school-level onwards.

2. That every school had some land to cultivate and grow flowers and vegetables and that it was part of the timetable for all children to be involved in this gardening.

3. I would make it statutory that children were only permitted the use and owning of smartphones or similar devices once they were in year 8 and no sooner.

Please recommend a book, a podcast/radio and a film/TV programme:

1. Book - anything by Elif Shafak. A friend introduced me to this Turkish writer several years ago with a gift of The Forty Rules of Love. I loved it and I have since sought her out and read several of her other novels. I loved her Booker-nominated 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in this Strange World and The Island of Missing Trees. Shafak writes with compassion and wisdom and weaves wonderful tales in beautiful rich language, studded with fascinating and loveable characters. I will pounce on whatever she publishes next!

2. Radio - I really enjoy ‘This Cultural Life’ on Radio 4. As well as enjoying hearing the cultural influences of public figures I admire, it is equally interesting and inspiring to learn about people I am less familiar with. It is often a starting point for discovering and diving into more art, music, theatre, literature! And a lighthearted podcast that I enjoy on car journeys with my children is ‘Off Menu’ by James Acaster and Ed Gamble.

3. Film - I recently enjoyed the film ‘Perfect Days’, directed by Wim Wenders. It is a beautiful, gentle, contemplative film about the life of one Japanese man who lives a simple live in Tokyo, with consciousness. I highly recommend it, although not if action movies are your thing!

   

What must we know about what you do?

I mainly cook vegetarian and vegan food for retreats and more recently also for private events - celebration dinners, family parties and for a friend’s wedding. I enjoy the creative process of menu planning, ensuring that each menu is individually tailored to the client, the occasion and the season.

Cooking is something I love to do, so you will often find me happily pottering and creating in the kitchen, even on my days off.

Keep in touch with Kate via instagram.

The Soothe Retreats 24/25

1. I’ll be in London every other month - book your place on The Soothe Day Retreats to recover, recalibrate, restore, release and reset.

2. The Soothe Week in Lefkada next year in 2025 - is now taking bookings.

Soothe Day Retreat (thehumanmethod.co.uk)

Soothe, the book your nervous system has been longing for is available NOW!

For paid subscribers, I am dropping a lesson to soothe your brain using your eyes. Try it and let me know how you get on.

Thank you for reading.

Stay human,

Nahid x