Annabeth has loved cooking for as long as she can remember. She writes: I have photos on the kitchen wall of me 'playing garden kitchen' and making picnics for the fairies as a child to remind me that creating meals for people has always been something that brought me joy. Even if it was imaginary in those days, I remember stirring mud and leaves in to buckets of pond water to make 'mixtries' with as much love as I now rub fat in to flour to craft cookies and cakes! You'll be pleased to know that the only mud involved these days is what I wash off Nik's home grown veggies.

​Aside from being the person who taught me to leave picnics for the fairies, it was my maternal grandmother who ignited my love of cooking and I always enjoyed being her sous chef!

​for many years, I was resistant to the oft-suggested idea of turning  my cooking hobby into a business but my time managing the kitchen at Taraoka Retreat Centre taught me that it's possible to cook professionally and still love it!

Nik finally persuaded me; we launched the Earth Heart Kitchen in August 2024 and I've delighted in every bake since then! In 2026, we began catering for our chanting workshop and sound journey days, bringing together two passions in a very joyful way. I love cooking with the beautiful, fresh produce Nik conjures from the garden, sharing that with people who have come to practice meditation and chanting with us is a gorgeous thing indeed!
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Everything that comes out of the Earth Heart Kitchen is vegan, though the chances are you'll only know because I've told you! I decided to become vegetarian when I was nine years old and began exploring vegan cooking at that time too, so I've had quite a bit of practice, though there were far fewer alternatives to dairy on the market in those days and the quality really wasn't up to much either! ​I made the move to full veganism nearly twenty five years ago and haven't looked back once!

I hope you'll enjoy the Earth Heart Kitchen offerings whether you're vegan, veggie, or omnivore and I aspire to be a part of normalising  small, every day choices that might be just a little kinder, a little more compassionate and a little more loving.
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