“How can we bring the Five flavours to our plates?”

Learn to cook according to 3000 years of Chinese wisdom

Innovative thinking that can be applied to our modern Western lives.

Find out why aubergines refresh the body and fennel warms up the digestive system. Understanding why cabbage helps to prevent serious illness and treat pain is useful in everyday life.

After the initial surprise of discovering the unknown and the ‘exotic’ side of a way of thinking that is different from our own, we realize that human beings have the same needs in China, Europe, Austria or America: to feel one with their environment to live a life full of vitality and energy. All while preserving the living world around us.

The Petit Ventre Heureux Chinese wisdom workshops allow you to discover the nature and flavors of food according to the 5 Chinese Elements. The nature of a food corresponds to the way it heats or cools the body. The flavor corresponds to the way it makes energy circulate in our body. The salty flavor, for example, guides vital energy towards the depths of our bodies, towards the Kidneys.

Chinese philosophy is universal.

If we look at human needs around the world, we realize that our physical and emotional well-being is the result of the connection we make with the world around us. We are a product of our surroundings. Like the vine that draws its strength from its soil and adapts to the seasons and climates.

These universal principles taught by Chinese wisdom are simple, but not simplistic. It considers that human health and well-being are based on a global vision of things. Our bodies are intimately linked to nature. In fact, we have to recognize that human beings are part of nature. Every time we breathe in, we invite Nature into us, every time we eat, we digest Nature which finally becomes one with us.

We can choose what we eat, when and how we eat it. The cuisine of the Five Elements follows the seasons and nature. Submitting to the laws of nature is not a weakness, but a sign of common sense and wisdom. Waiting until the season to enjoy strawberries is neither backward-looking nor synonymous with deprivation. They’ll not only have a red tip, but also a heart full of vitality and will tantalize your taste buds. A real treat. So be patient…

Cooking with the Five Elements.

The Five Elements cooking allows us to align ourselves with the moment (season) and the place of living. It nourishes body and spirit, with colors, flavors, textures, and aromas as the main ingredients. It offers health through pleasure. This notion is very important: before food is our first remedy, it opens a door to deep satisfaction.

We can then cook according to the Five Elements out of a sense of adventure, a desire to do ourselves good, a search for harmony and well-being.

There are times in life when health is fragile, and an imbalance requires us to take extra care when we need to find our way back to health. It’s in these circumstances that the cooking of the Five Elements comes to us with vehemence.

Food becomes part of us, part of our bodies and our minds. Even more reason to understand, respect and love it. All food is, or should be, both a supplier of vital energy and a remedy

Are we cooks or doctors in our kitchens?