What is a Culinary Retreat? (And Where to Experience One in Newfoundland)
- Lauralee Ledrew
- Mar 25
- 4 min read
Looking for a Different Kind of Travel Experience?
Many trips to Newfoundland are built around sightseeing, driving coastal roads, hiking Gros Morne, or spotting icebergs offshore. But for some travelers, the most meaningful moments happen around a table, over a fire, or walking slowly through the land gathering food with a local.
This is where culinary retreats come in; offering a more immersive and connected way to stay, taste and experience a place.
What is a Culinary Retreat?
A culinary retreat is more than dining out, it’s an experience where food becomes the way you connect to the land, culture, and people of a place.
Instead of simply being served a meal, you take part in the process:
learning where ingredients come from
gathering food from the land
preparing meals in traditional or hands-on ways
sharing stories that give meaning to what’s on your plate
It’s not just about eating well, it’s about understanding why the food tastes the way it does.
I always tell visitors that we don't just cook with flavours, we cook with passion and that’s what makes the food taste so great, like how nans cook with love, and their meals always taste better.
Why Newfoundland is Perfect for a Culinary Retreat
Newfoundland offers something rare, setting it apart from much of the modern, fast-paced world.
Here, food is still deeply connected to land, season, and tradition.
Wild ingredients like berries, mushrooms, and herbs grow just beyond the doorstep
hunting, fishing, preserving, and home cooking are still part of everyday life
Recipes are passed down through generations
Meals are shared slowly, often with storytelling and connection
This creates the perfect setting for a retreat centered around food, one that feels authentic, grounded, and personal.
What a Culinary Retreat Experience Can Look Like
While some retreats follow a fixed schedule, others take a more flexible approach, allowing you to shape your experience based on your interests, the season and your broader travel plans.
A flexible culinary retreat might include:
spending an afternoon walking through forest and field learning about edible plants
learning about farming techniques and then harvesting ingredients directly from the land
preparing food over open fire
enjoying meals prepared by locals while hearing stories of their parents and grandparents.
Evenings often slow down, perhaps with fire circles, storytelling, and simply good food.
It’s not rushed. It’s not formal.
It’s intentional. It's real.
Who is a Culinary Retreat For?
Culinary retreats tend to attract travelers who are looking for something beyond a typical vacation. Visitors who want to slow down and get off the beaten path.
You might enjoy this kind of experience if you:
consider yourself a foodie
prefer small, meaningful experiences over large tours
enjoy hands-on learning and storytelling
value connection, specifically to people, place, and culture
It’s not about luxury in the traditional sense — it’s about richness of experience.
Where to Experience a Culinary Retreat in Newfoundland
While Newfoundland’s food culture can be experienced in many ways, from local restaurants to seasonal festivals, true authentic and immersive culinary retreats are still relatively rare.
Some experiences focus on:
foraging and wild food traditions
farm-to-table dining
fire cooking and outdoor meals
the land and the people who prepare them
cultural storytelling through food
In Western Newfoundland, near Gros Morne National Park, there's a FarmStay B&B hosting experiences that offer a more flexible retreat model, where guests can build their stay around food, land, and shared experiences rather than following a fixed schedule.
A Flexible Way to Experience Newfoundland
A retreat doesn’t need to follow a strict itinerary and this unique destination has intimate experiences that allow your to design your very own one of a kind retreat.
Many travelers prefer a more flexible approach, allowing them to choose experiences that align with their interests and allowing space to explore the region at their own pace.
Instead of asking: “What should we see?” it becomes: “What do we want to experience?”
Food becomes more than something you order, more than something you eat, rather it becomes something you remember.
Build Your Own Culinary Retreat
Rather than offering only set retreat dates, there's a unique FarmStay that allows you to create your own culinary retreat experience. In Western Newfoundland, Upper Humber Settlement allows you to select your unique experiences, molding your days and blending in nearby attractions and communities to your stay.
At the FarmStay, Upper Humber Settlement, guests can build their stay with several unique signature experiences, such as:
farm-to-table storytelling dinner
guided foraging experiences
fire circle gatherings
seasonal food workshops
fire-to-table dinner
permacultural farm tours
wild tea parties and more
This flexible approach allows each visit to be personal, shaped by the season, the land, the people and what you’re most curious to experience. And if I am being honest with you, this is the part most people don’t expect, and end up loving it the most. Check our our reviews!
Explore and build your own culinary retreat here:
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