Nature is a mirror.
The golden leaves in low sunlight.
Perfectly autumnal, although we have crossed the bridge into Winter now.

It is the beginning of a descent into alchemy.

In Chinese medicine and in our Celtic calendar Autumn is the time to let go.

Did you embrace this?
Are you still holding on to something?

Now the new journey begins to sow the seeds of what is to come. Now is the time to be still, peaceful.

If something lingers…
An old pattern,
Negative limiting beliefs,
Parental or ancestral traumas,
A memory of suffering you need to leave behind,
Release it.
Unburden.
Be light.
Trust.
Enjoy the darkness, for there are jewels to be found.

❤️ ...

Announcing an announcement‼️
Something got your considerations.
Share with someone who might benefit.
I am here ❤️ ...

Garden of dreams #altamontgardens ...

Hey, it’s been a while.
As my learning adventures continue I am deepening an appreciation for the job of the lymphatic system and the circulatory system. This has inspired me to return to a morning routine of gua sha, a quick lymphatic massage which also stimulates blood flow. We all need a why and I would prefer to clear all that cellular waste and toxicity from the jaw, jowls and face instead of looking at it!
No need for Botox around here.
It’s a quick easy routine and my recipe for the massage balm is in the comments.
💋 ...

Busy capturing the scents of nature for our event on JUNE 15th @ulsterfolkmuseum

We are very excited and honoured to welcome @kirstenkshockey and @zukemono to Ireland for their first ever trip here.

I couldn’t think of a better place to host an explorative workshop on cultures, culturing, and everything in between.

We are accepting natures offering and illustrating how transform it into great gifts.

Wild yeasts make exquisite drinks.
Autumn fruits make delightful vinegars which become thirst quenching summer shrubs.

We will be sharing cherry blossom shrub, mandarin & mango vinegar shrub, summer fruits & fig vinegar shrub, rhubarb & rose probiotic soda, elderflower probiotic soda and our own twist on aperol spritz with our ‘local as can be’ dandelion wine.

Between us we have 50 years of fermentation experience and after 10years of teaching @theculturedclub, this will be our last event.

Come celebrate summer with us.
Come appreciate a deep connection to nature.
Come and create a unique sense of place.
Come taste these super summery beverages.

The flowers blossom is fleeting and the fruits definitely a labour of love but the taste is a memory that can last forever 🌸

Check our ticket link in the bio 💗 ...

The sun is shining, the weather is sweet.
All the dandelions may have become wishes now but we have made some precious wine from their beautiful sunshine petals. ☀️

Were the Italian’s gave us the Aperol spritz, the ‘drink of the summer’ is sweet, with a subtle bitter finish making it a little too easy to drink.

Now over hundred years later we present our Cultural variation: Dandy wine. It is slightly bitter too with a dash of honey-like sweetness. It is frequently compared to mead in terms of flavor and it’s richness, bitterness, and sourness are just perfect to become a Spritz.

Come try this magic and powerful drink over Ice at the Ulster Folk Museum
A cocktail for the modern forager.

There is no limit on tickets to how many people can attend our event, there is however a limit on how much fermented drink we can serve up because it is a small artisanal batch. So book in to secure a glass, not just a seat.

Interesting side note:
To celebrate its 100th birthday four years ago, Aperol officially made it into the Oxford English Dictionary, Aperol is defined as: “A proprietary name for: an orange-coloured Italian aperitif flavoured with gentian, rhubarb, and a variety of herbs and roots.”

Gentian and dandelion are often used interchangeably when making bitters in herbal medicine. Perhaps Dandy Spritz will be our aperitif.

We can make history as we explore Culture, identity and a sense of place all through the Art of Fermentation.

Don’t miss this one-off event on June 15th.
I am a little hesitant to say it, but this will be our parting glass from the event arena as we embark on new adventures, studies and paths.

Come celebrate with us @theculturedclub as we welcome @zukemono and @kirstenkshockey as part of the symbiosis tour to @ulsterfolkmuseum

JUNE 15th
6 - 9pm

See you there 🥂 ...

I do feel a little giddy that this time next week we will be getting ready to host @kirstenshockey and Mara King @zukemono @ulsterfolkmuseum for an evening of culture, cultures and culturing.
I am studying up on all the many which ways this could taste. I have a store of all kinds of vinegars made in autumn 2022 from fig vinegar to strawberry, damson to grape. So today I started to play.
Shall we serve this mandarin shrub made with the mango vinegar OR a summer fruit cocktail of strawberry, kiwi, peach and some rose petals paired with the fig vinegar?

Maybe we’ll have it all and more.
You are welcome to join us for one night only.
This feels like a parting glass from me, as I also begin further studies. There’ll be more info on that soon. In the meantime, come along for an evening of alchemy and inspiration as three cultures meet to merge culture, identity, place and fermentation.
JUNE 15th
6-9pm

#ferments #fermentation #community #fermentcommunity #guthealth #thegutstuff #food #foodpreservation #veg #sauerkraut #koji #amazake #sake #oxymels #vinegar #beer #kvass #zerowaste #wildyeaststarters #womeninfermentation #microbes #gutmicrobiome #fermentedfoods #fermenteddrinks #belfast #belfastfoodie #uksterfolkmuseum #culture #cultured #theculturedclub ...

It’s been a mad two weeks.
So many boxes have been filled.
So much has been rehomed.
So much has been moved.
And now it is time to say farewell to my cultured HQ
at the Vault Studios, Tower street.

In a world were the message of growth and expansion in business is hammered into every decision, The Cultured Club is downsizing.

In fact as we begin to sort through the mountains of boxes that await me on the other side of this move, we will continue to declutter and cleanse.

I started The Cultured Club in 2012 with a vision to better not only my health, but others too if I could.

Somewhere along the way I was lured by the food into more culinary arts and the vision got blurred.
I wish to realign with my original mission and dive deeper into health & wellbeing.

Perhaps my tiny (but soon to be cute) kitchenette in our new city centre venue will be a little apothecary.

What it is next will become organically. On your city break to Belfast, what would you like it to be?.
We are hoping we can welcome you to events in the gallery space.

For now the graft is done.
I am going to lose myself in nature this long weekend and soak up the the magic of summer in blossoms and the expansion of growth to be witnessed in green, leaving the feng shui of our new home for another day.
🌼🌸🌻🌞🌿🦋 ...