"The Wise Beautiful Woman"

In the new fall/winter 2025–2026 season, the series of culinary art therapy workshops “The Wise Beautiful Woman” begins – a joint project of the Culinary School Menu and the Psychotherapeutic Space Prosto Fokus – Kitchen for the Soul. Each session combines the preparation of delicious and inspiring dishes with psychotherapeutic work in a group.

 

With chef Ivelina Ivanova, we will learn culinary techniques and create beauty on a plate. And with the psychologist and psychotherapist under supervision Verzhiniya Petkova – we will explore topics such as:

 

- What does food mean for the soul

 

- Food and cooking as a connection to ancestral memory

 

- Food and cooking as a bridge between cultures

 

- Transgenerational burdens

 

- Women today – privileges and challenges

 

- The female covenants that we follow and pass on

 

- Female archetypes – getting to know and integration

 

- Paths to harmonious femininity

 

- The inner man in the female soul

 

In addition to the above topics, traditionally, we will talk about the symbols of different foods, about dreams and fantasies with food, about how cooking makes us be “here and now” and copes with the chatter of the mind and anxious thoughts, how the way we eat reflects our longings and anxieties, and the way we “digest” them, and other topics

 

All this – in a protected, warm and inspiring environment, where taste and symbolism intertwine.

 

This course is a joint project of “Prosto Focus – Kitchen for the Soul” – www.prostofocus.com and Culinary School “Menu”.

 

What is culinary art therapy?

 

Culinary art therapy combines cooking and psychology in a natural, healing way. It is a meeting between food and the inner world – a creative process that not only nourishes, but also heals. When we cook with attention and desire, we connect with ourselves, calm the mind and find support in the present moment. This way we can express feelings, longings and dreams that often remain without words. By preparing and sharing food, we build a connection – with ourselves, with others and with ancestral memory. Cooking becomes a living ritual that helps us create new, useful habits and enjoy the joy of what is created.

 

Here are some of the categorical benefits of culinary art therapy:

 

- Acquisition and development of social skills;

 

- Gaining knowledge about healthy food and its role in overall development;

 

- Overcoming stress;

 

- Increasing self-esteem

 

- Unlocking spontaneity, releasing otherwise suppressed thoughts and feelings, which can help overcome traumatic experiences

 

- Developing the ability to connect with the unconscious, self-reflection and symbolic thinking, which are important for personal growth and awareness;

 

During the course, everyone will prepare and take home a masterpiece cake:

 

An incredibly delicious and beautiful 18 cm diameter cake with a base of baked potatoes, caramelized muscovado sugar and pecans with an exciting layer of honey pistachio tahini with mascarpone cream with strained milk and miso paste with a fresh topping of raspberry/mango coulis with agar-agar with a natural and infinitely beautiful decoration of fresh and dried flowers, French macarons, seasonal fruits, nuts and chocolate

 

And lunch will be: super salad with broccoli, goji berries and walnuts Thai-style vegetable curry with fluffy jasmine rice a glass or two of good wine for splendor.

 

Lecturers:

 

1. Chef Ivelina Ivanova - is the creator of the Culinary School "Menu". Author of 14 cookbooks, with encyclopedic knowledge of cooking, she will immerse you with passion and dedication in the incredible world of art for preparing delicious, healthy and beautiful food in all its forms.

 

2. Verzhiniya Petkova – psychologist and Jungian psychotherapist under supervision, with 15 years of experience in researching various psychological directions and schools.

 

Important: The event will be held with a minimum number of 5 participants. If it is impossible to hold the event, all amounts will be fully refunded within 1 month after the announced date of the event.