Enjoy seasonal, locally grown, organic, and delicious meals with the monks and nuns of the internationally renowned mindfulness practice center Plum Village in France With more than 108 recipes, Together with the recipes selected by the nuns and monks of Plum Village, the book offers practices for mindful cooking, eating, and even washing the dishes to bring peace, calm, and joy to your everyday table.

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Thich Nhat Hanh and the Plum Village Community

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**Over 100 delicious, lusciously photographed vegan recipes for mindful living from the internationally renowned retreat center Plum Village in France

"The Plum Village Cookbook offers something increasingly rare in contemporary food culture: an invitation to slow down. The recipes are simple, nourishing, and deeply appealing."—bryant terry, James Beard Award–winning author of Vegetable Kingdom**

Offering a unique blend of mindfulness and culinary creativity inspired by the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh and the serene lifestyle of Plum Village, this is a great companion for those who seek harmony in both food and life.

The Plum Village Cookbook gives aspiring mindful chefs all they need to recreate the mouthwatering, nourishing dishes from the famed French retreat center, where 40,000 people go annually to learn how to meditate and live mindfully. Beginning with wholesome breakfasts and presenting all the highlights of a retreat day, the collection spans: 

• Colorful dishes from around the world selected by the monks and nuns of Plum Village, reflecting the rich cultural diversity of this international tradition

• Vegan Vietnamese favorites: pho, incredible soups, tofu "charcuterie," spring rolls, summer rolls, banh xeo crepes, and more

• Plant-based recipes from France and other European countries: buckwheat pancakes, pommes de terre sarladaise, and divine pizzaBursting with veggies, the recipes in the book are easy to prepare and perfect for busy people wishing to slow down and savor their food mindfully.

The book also offers contemplative practices and meditations for mindful cooking, eating, and even washing the dishes to bring peace, calm, and joy to your everyday table.

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***A NOTE from the EDITORS

The food culture of the monasteries of Plum Village France is unique, connecting Zen Master Thích Nhất Hạnh’s mindful approach to living and Vietnamese Buddhist recipes with the seasonal, local, and organic principles of the European slow food movement—all enlivened by a cheerful improvisational approach that makes best use of whatever ingredients are at hand.

The French countryside of the surrounding Périgord region grounds the menu in local ingredients, but the recipes and techniques draw from the nourishing traditions of Plum Village’s diverse international monastic and lay Sangha (community). The monastic cooks at Plum Village hail from many countries in Europe and Asia as well as Africa, Australia, and the Americas. The result is a cuisine that begins in Vietnam, grows in French soil, and evolves through many hands.

At its heart, the food remains Vietnamese, with rice as a staple in many meals; broths layered with ginger and aromatic herbs; fresh greens served generously; balance across the Five Tastes (see page 9); and attentiveness to color, texture, and digestibility. Yet the French landscape offers leeks, lettuces, endive, chickpeas, Puy lentils, artichokes, and abundant seasonal produce; the climate favors plums, apples, hazelnuts, walnuts, and lettuce rather than tropical papaya or banana blossom. The cuisine adapts according to the ingredients and is constantly evolving as new members of the community bring with them their beloved recipes to add to the table.

Cooking and eating the Plum Village way is a meditative practice that heals our minds and bodies and the earth itself. Many of the vegetables and fruits served at Plum Village France are grown and harvested hyperlocally on the organic Happy Farms at each of the three hamlets: Upper Hamlet in Thénac in the Dordogne, Lower Hamlet in Loubès-Bernac in Lot-et-Garonne, and New Hamlet in the Gironde. Each hamlet has its own landscape and character.

We often think of “monastic cuisine” as being austere, but the meals at Plum Village burst with delicious flavors, textures, and colors that bring all our senses to life. In Plum Village, we fully enjoy the beauty of the material aspects of our lives without developing craving, knowing that all is
impermanent. People who visit Plum Village France on retreats aspiring to gain more peace of mind find the regular routine of preparing and enjoying simple, delicious monastery meals to be one of the most healing and transformative elements of their stay. Surely this has to do with the mindfulness and care with which the food is served, a loving approach to everyday life that retreatants can take home with them and practice long after their retreat is over.

Monks and nuns from countries all over the world work together in the kitchen, learning not only how to cook but also how to live together. Just as we would on a retreat, in this book we'll learn how to practice mindfulness and cultivate joy as a source of nourishment for ourselves and others, all while preparing delicious, nourishing vegan dishes from the monastery.

To express our love and care for Mother Earth and our fellow beings, the eleven (and growing) practice centers in the Plum Village tradition around the world follow a vegan or vegetarian diet. Zen Master Thích Nhất Hạnh was ahead of his time. Long before we had the widespread awareness of the climate crisis and that eating plant-based foods is one of the most effective things an individual can do to cut carbon emissions, in October 2007, he wrote a letter to the international community to make mindful changes to the food they consume, to move from a meat-based to a vegetarian diet and from a vegetarian diet to a vegan diet. This would help heal Mother Earth and contribute to a sustainable and peaceful future for our planet. “Anyone,” he said, could “be courageous and give rise to the commitment to be vegetarian, at least fifteen days each month.… If we can do that, we will feel a sense of well-being. We will have peace, joy, and happiness right from the moment we make this vow and commitment.”

We gathered the recipes in this book in response to the requests of friends who have taken retreats at Plum Village and enjoyed the meals there so much that they were inspired to become vegetarian and vegan upon returning home. We focused on popular Plum Village dishes that are easy to prepare at home. We hope The Plum Village Cookbook responds to the needs of our time for a way of cooking and eating that is wholesome, kind to the earth and all beings, and delicious! We offer deep bows of gratitude to all the monastic chefs who shared their recipes, the earth, the sky, and all the causes and conditions that have led to this book. Bon appétit!

**MINDFUL EATING: CULTIVATING REVERENCE for LIFE
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Mindful eating is an important part of our meditation practice—from chopping vegetables, to eating with awareness, to cleaning up. With mindfulness we can see that many elements—the rain, sunshine, earth, and the labor of the farmers, drivers, food sellers, and cook—have all come together to form each wonderful meal. When we eat in mindfulness, we can see that the entire universe is supporting our existence.

Having the opportunity to sit and enjoy a wonderful meal is something precious, something not everyone has. Many people in the world are hungry. When I hold a bowl of rice or a piece of bread, I know that I am fortunate, and I feel compassion for all those who have no food …