Inaugural pachavega kitchen experience
Holistic
Raw Food Chef
Residency Program
Raw Food Chef Certification Program & Holistic Healing Retreat
Nov 7th - Dec 12th, 2027
Ometepe Island. Nicaragua
The Inaugural Pachavega Kitchen Experience
Holistic Raw Food Chef
Residency Program
Raw Food Chef Certification
& Holistic Healing Retreat
November 7th - December 12th, 2027
La Vida Bonita | Plant-based wellness sanctuary
Ometepe Island, Nicaragua
WHERE FOOD BECOMES YOUR MEDICINE
A five-week certification and lifestyle immersion that blends raw food nutrition, holistic healing, and mindful living to help you find balance in body, mind, and spirit.
This is the first-ever residency inside the new Pachavega Kitchen at La Vida Bonita – built from the ground up as a space for transformation. Designed for those ready to live, eat, and create in alignment with a more conscious way of being.
Healing isn’t always straight-forward. It can be messy, emotional, and wildly beautiful. Here, you’ll be held through it all — nourished, supported, and guided as you come home to yourself.
Over five immersive weeks, you’ll train to become a Certified Raw Food Chef while experiencing personal growth, deep rest, and nervous system restoration.
Located on the volcanic island of Ometepe, Nicaragua, this one-of-a-kind program blends hands-on culinary mastery with nutritional science, detoxification, and holistic lifestyle practices. It’s a journey back to wholeness, one recipe, one breath, one transformation at a time.
What This Really Is
Most people walk around disconnected from what feeds them. This is about recalibrating what’s off – pulling you back to center — through real food, honest conversations, and a pace that allows your system to reset.
The kitchen becomes the classroom, the mirror, the medicine.
Every lesson is practical. Every day is a chance to rebuild trust — in your gut, your instincts, and your capacity to thrive.
A five-week, full-immersion experience that brings you back to what’s real — food, breath, body, and community.
You’ll learn to work with whole, vibrant ingredients.
You’ll remember that how you eat affects how you think, move, and show up.
You’ll find a pace that makes sense for a human being, not a machine.
Two weeks of focused training, one week to breathe, and two more weeks to go deeper. It’s not about perfection — it’s about integration.
It’s real work. Honest food. Steady energy. A grounded path back to balance.
This isn’t another retreat — it’s a return.
To what matters. To what’s alive. To what’s yours to reclaim.
Reserve Your Spot
November 7 – December 12, 2027 | Ometepe Island, Nicaragua
The Raw Food Chef Residency & Holistic Healing Retreat unfolds over five transformative weeks — two weeks of immersive training, one integration week to rest, explore, and absorb what you’ve learned, followed by two final weeks to deepen your skills and certification. The third week is self-led — your time to integrate, journal, connect with nature, and practice what you’ve learned so far. I’ll also be taking that week to rest and recharge before we move into Level Two together.
What You Will Learn
- Foundation Staple Foods
- Nutrient Dense Plant-Based Nutrition
- Knife Skills
- Flavor Balancing
- How to Stock your Kitchen
- Soaking and Sprouting
- Cultured and Fermented Foods, Kimchi and Kraut
- Sustainability and Ethical Choices
- Nut-Free Cuisine and Food Sensitivities
- Detoxification and Your pH
- Healthy Digestion and your Gut Microbiome
- Foods the Promote Digestion
- Tips and Tricks for Healthy Detoxification
- Healing Spices from Around the World
- Gourmet Raw Vegan Meals
- Healing Foods for Fertility, Pregnancy and All Life Stages
- Healing Herbal Soups and Adaptogens
- Raw Desserts and Superfoods
- Raw Food and Essential Oils that Heal
- Dehydrated Foods
- Gourmet Cultured Foods
- Medicinal Mushrooms
- Vegan Cheese Making
- Plating Presentation and Food Photography
The Pachavega Philosophy: Six Pillars of Holistic Healing
These six pillars shape everything inside the residency — lived daily, not just taught. Each anchors how we cook, move, rest, and connect.
Nutrient-Rich Nourishment
Each morning begins in the kitchen — rinsing sprouts, checking the dehydrator, and tasting ferments.
You’ll work with whole, vibrant foods to restore gut health, strengthen digestion, and build steady energy.
From smoothies to sauces, you’ll experience food as medicine and understand how daily habits rebuild vitality from the inside out.
Fitness & Fresh Air
Movement and breath weave naturally into our days — morning yoga, neighborhood walks, hikes through the jungle, and spontaneous dance.
Ecstatic movement practices reconnect you to joy and embodiment.
Fresh air, sunlight, and flow remind your body how to move freely and feel alive again.
Sound Sleep
Evenings are calm and intentional — herbal teas, reflection, and digital rest.
You’ll see how the way you eat, breathe, and hydrate shapes the quality of your sleep, and how true rest fuels creativity, focus, and emotional stability.
Emotional Empowerment
Through daily check-ins, compassionate inquiry, breathwork, and voice activation, you’ll learn to meet your emotions with honesty and care.
The kitchen becomes a mirror for self-awareness — transforming tension into understanding, and reaction into response.
You’ll leave with tools to regulate your nervous system and move through life with grounded confidence.
Authentic Artistry
Creativity runs through everything — from how you plate a dish to how you move, speak, and express.
You’ll explore color, texture, and presentation, while rhythm, music, and drumming bring playfulness to the process.
Cooking becomes a full-body art form — where intuition guides creation and beauty amplifies nourishment.
Community Connection
Healing happens when we do it together.
This residency is intentionally small — a space for like-minded souls to share meals, witness each other’s process, and grow in empathy and compassion.
Power multiplies in community; this is where transformation deepens and lasting connection is born.
What's Included in Your Experience?
Complimentary Airport Transfer on arrivalÂ
5 weeks of immersive Raw Food Chef & Holistic Healing trainingÂ
4 weeks of professional instruction (Levels 1 & 2 + one week on your own)
Certification as a Pachavega Level 2 Raw Food Chef
All course materials, ingredients, and supplies
Daily movement, meditation, and breathwork rituals
Guest facilitators, island excursions, and cultural experiences
Early access to the new Pachavega Kitchen — before anyone else
Connection to a global community of holistic chefs and creators
All meals included — meticulously curated to support your culinary journeyÂ
Culinary Project Support for hands-on applicationÂ
Holistic Nutrition Classes to deepen your understanding of food as medicine
Instructional Plant Labs for practical, embodied learning
Chocolate Tour & Tasting — a sensory dive into cacao and craft
One-on-One Holistic Business Coaching for personalized guidance
Breathwork Experience for nervous system balance and holistic integration
This experience is for those who...
- Â Are ready to reset their health and lifestyle through awareness and action
- Believe food is a pathway to healing, creativity, and freedom
- Want to deepen their understanding of holistic living — from the kitchen to the nervous system
- Crave real connection and hands-on experience over theory
- Want to be part of something raw, new, and real — the beginning of the next era of Pachavega
- And for every archetype that walks through these doors:
- The Healer, who knows that food is medicine and wants to share it with others
- The Seeker, who feels called to rediscover themselves through nature, nourishment, and truth
- The Creative, who craves beauty in process — from color on the plate to rhythm in the breath
- The Nurturer, who longs to care for others while finally learning to care for themselves
- The Changemaker, who’s ready to take what they learn here and ripple it outward into the world
- The Explorer, who thrives in new experiences, new cultures, and the adventure of self-discovery
Whether you come to heal, to learn, to lead, or to remember — this is your place to return home to yourself
Investment
💰 Launch Price: $5,555 USD (limited to 5 people for the inaugural offer)
💰 Regular Tuition: $6,997 USD (after June 1, 2026)
Single payment only. No payment plans for this inaugural program.
Accommodation not included.
Your Tuition Builds the Kitchen
By enrolling, you’re not only investing in your health and education — you’re helping bring the Pachavega Kitchen to life.
Your tuition directly supports the construction and creation of the space where you’ll learn, cook, and connect.
This first group will be the reason the doors open — the residency that literally built the kitchen
Important Note About the Inaugural Residency
Because this first residency directly funds the construction of the Pachavega Kitchen, a few special policies apply to ensure transparency and integrity from the start.
If, for any reason, the kitchen is not ready to host by November 7, 2027, the training will be postponed to November 2028.
By registering, you acknowledge and accept this possibility. Should a postponement be required, you will receive at least six months’ notice and the choice to:
Retain your guaranteed inaugural pricing and reserved spot, or transfer your tuition to another Pachavega program of equal value.
Please note:
Single payment only — no payment plans available for this inaugural offer.
No refunds — your tuition directly funds the build of the Pachavega Kitchen.
Accommodation is separate and not included in tuition.
This agreement reflects the spirit of shared trust and creation — your commitment is part of what makes this dream possible.
Reserve Your Spot
November 7 – December 12, 2027 | Ometepe Island, Nicaragua
The Raw Food Chef Residency & Holistic Healing Retreat unfolds over five transformative weeks — two weeks of immersive training, one integration week to rest, explore, and absorb what you’ve learned, followed by two final weeks to deepen your skills and certification. The third week is self-led — your time to integrate, journal, connect with nature, and practice what you’ve learned so far. I’ll also be taking that week to rest and recharge before we move into Level Two together.
You will Make Simple as well as Gourmet Recipes
All of our recipes are made with gluten-free, plant-based ingredients that are designed by nature to build health
- Dive into the health benefits of the food that fuels us
- Train in valuable basic, intermediate, and advanced kitchen skills
- Master the art and intricacies of flavor balancing
- Discover how to creatively sauce, plate and present striking dishes
- Create nutritional powerhouse meals and culinary masterpieces that anyone from age 0 to 99 is bound to enjoy and benefit from
- Learn the art of effective menu construction and design
- Acquire a compassion-centered approach to nutrition that supports individual needs and goals
- Utilize your nutrition and culinary knowledge and skills as the foundation of a holistic wellness lifestyle
- Turn your newfound-insights and mastery into a revenue-generating venture
- Have an encouraging feedback and support system from Pachavega educators and students
Kind Words about our Courses
What our graduates are saying about us!
Introducing Your Teacher...
Danielle Arsenault, founder of Pachavega Living Foods Education, is a passionate Raw Food Chef and Plant Based Nutrition Educator. In 2011 a near-death rock climbing accident changed her relationship with the world and life as she knew it. It gave her the realization that we are truly blessed to be alive. After she healed her body with food, she made it her life’s purpose to educate the world about the healing power of plant-based whole foods and a healthy lifestyle rooted in compassion for the planet.Â
Danielle is a professional educator, internationally renowned chef, published author of 7 cookbooks and an award-winning vegan influencer. She is a best-selling co-author and has been on the TedX stage. She has also been featured in over 40 podcasts, 50+ magazine articles, several online summit series and catered over 50 retreats, including 30 in-person Raw Food Chef Certification Trainings.
Her professional career includes a stint as a college professor, a Raw Food Chef and Nutrition Consultant at a tropical wellness resort and designing and teaching over 350 students, online and in-person, through her Online Culinary Arts Institute and in-person Holistic Wellness Retreats. She lives on the island of Ometepe, Nicaragua and frequently donates her time and passion to teach healthy cooking skills within her local community.
As Seen In:
Location and Accommodation
Ometepe island. nicaragua
Nestled in the heart of Lake Nicaragua, Ometepe Island is a place where time slows down and nature still leads.
Twin volcanoes rise from the water, the air hums with life, and every sunrise feels like a beginning.
This island has been my home for 8 years — the soil where Pachavega has taken root.
And now, it’s where the dream becomes tangible:
La Vida Bonita, a living sanctuary built with intention, integrity, and love. We are still building, slowly and intentionally.
The Pachavega Kitchen will stand here — surrounded by fruit trees, medicinal herbs, and jungle paths.
It’s more than a building. It’s a space where creation meets consciousness —
where we cook, connect, and remember what real nourishment feels like.
Accommodation
Your stay on Ometepe is designed to feel simple, safe, and aligned with the rhythm of the island (until our sanctuary is complete – we are planning to build rooms for all our students). All accommodation is off-site, hand-selected and vetted for comfort, safety, and community connection.
Each option is located within a 5–20 minute walk of the Pachavega Kitchen, allowing you to rise with the sun,
walk to class beneath mango trees, and return each evening to rest in stillness.
Choose what fits your rhythm:
Rustic Shared Cabanas – from $300/month
For those who crave simplicity, connection, and the gentle hum of island life.
Comfortable Mid-Range Rooms – around $600/month
A balanced blend of comfort and calm — ideal for deep rest and reflection.
Private Casitas – up to $1,200/month
Spacious, quiet sanctuaries for those who prefer solitude and privacy.
These accommodations are not directly affiliated with Pachavega,
but you’ll receive a trusted, curated list of recommended stays upon registration —
each chosen for their cleanliness, safety, and harmony with the Pachavega experience.
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By following this link, You can also find our new E-book Tropical Treats & Savory Eats, it contains 3 days of nourishing raw vegan meals from the tropics.
