Chef’s Table – July 2018

“The Supreme Meal is the whole of life.” Preparing food, eating together, and washing our dishes are how we nourish one another. At Bread Loaf Mountain Zen Community, the kitchen table, along with the zendo, is at the heart of practice. We are welcoming a young local person, Dakota Hallock, as our head chef for a night of good food and post-dinner movie watching. After our meal, we’ll watch a short and gorgeous film about Zen nun and head cook of her monastery, Jeong Kwon – an inspiration for the nourishing practice of mindful beauty. 

When Dakota showed up at Bread Loaf Mountain Zen Community, quite by surprise, with a plate of homemade Tibetan dumplings in hand, we were all delighted by his warm presence and his delicious treat. So we are inviting him back to cook a vegetarian meal for us. In this way we can all enjoy good food as we support one another and Dakota in his path and practice.

Please join us at 5:30 on July 21st at Bread Loaf Mountain Monastery for the community meal in our red barn and stay for the movie, which will begin at 7:00. We’ll finish up by 8:30.

So Dakota can plan his menu carefully, pre-registration for this event is essential.

Like all of our programs at Bread Loaf Mountain Zen Community, this is offered by donation. We ask that you be generous as we would like to offer Dakota a generous stipend for his hard and good work. However, everyone is invited regardless of being able to make an offering.

Come as you are.

Bio For Dakota:

Dakota Hallock is a 25 year old Vermonter who has grew up in Addison County. He currently cooks at Green Peppers restaurant in Middlebury, and in the past had the great fortune of cooking at a Tibetan Buddhist retreat center. Dakota surprised all of us one night when he came to a pot luck supper at Bread Loaf Mountain Monastery with a plate of vegetarian dumplings that were, well, a taste of nirvana. We are thrilled that he will get to practice his culinary skills with our Zen community. Besides being a wonderful cook, he is also a friendly, warm, and enjoyable person to spend time with.