Some cookbooks are about dinner. Others are about the experience of sitting down to dinner. Retreat: Recipes & Stories to Nourish the Creative Soul by Canadian artist and retreat host Laura Harris belongs firmly in the second category.
Harris has spent more than 15 years creating art retreats where painting is only part of the experience. Food, friendship, beautiful surroundings, music, travel and the simple pleasure of gathering around a table are equally important. Retreat brings those elements together in a gorgeous, generous book that feels less like a conventional cookbook and more like an invitation to slow down and stay awhile.
And, as a foodie, that invitation is particularly tempting.
The recipes grew out of the meals Harris and her team have prepared and shared at retreats in places including British Columbia, Italy and beyond. There is a wonderfully relaxed, Mediterranean sensibility running through the collection, with plenty of lemons, feta, olive oil, herbs and other ingredients that make food taste fresh, abundant and unfussy. There are also Italian-inspired favourites, Mexican and Canadian influences, and clever variations on familiar dishes. A lentil soup gets a curry-infused lift, meatballs become more interesting with raisins, and a Vancouver Island take on Niçoise salad swaps the traditional tuna for salmon.
What makes these recipes especially appealing is that they don’t seem designed to intimidate. Harris isn’t presenting herself as a chef dispensing culinary commandments. Instead, she is sharing the food that has helped make her retreats memorable. With the entertaining season ahead of us, you’ll want to try delectable appetizers like the Goat Cheese Toasts found in our Recipe section. The emphasis is on delicious ingredients, conviviality and pleasure—the kind of cooking that encourages people to linger at the table rather than rush back to their busy lives.
That philosophy is at the heart of Harris’s retreats. Her Beautifully Imperfect Painting Retreats deliberately combine creative play with nourishing meals, laughter, music and time to breathe. In her Victoria retreats, for example, guests paint, share meals prepared by friends and gather around beautifully set tables. Past destinations have included Puglia, Lucca, Sicily and the Scottish Highlands, where food becomes part of the cultural adventure as much as the sustenance.
That makes Retreat particularly successful as a foodie book. The recipes aren’t isolated from their surroundings. They carry memories of people and places with them. A dish becomes connected to a sunlit studio, an Italian table, a garden, a conversation or an evening shared with friends.
The result is a cookbook that makes you want to cook—and then invite people over.
Beautifully photographed and filled with stories, artwork and travel inspiration, Retreat captures something increasingly precious: the pleasure of taking time. Harris understands that nourishment isn’t simply about what’s on the plate. It’s also about who is sitting beside you, where you are, and whether you’re allowing yourself enough time to savour the moment. Purchase the book at RETREAT the Book by Laura Harris | Recipes and stories to nourish the creative soul — Laura Harris or win a signed copy in our Giveaway section.
For anyone who believes the best meals are measured not just in courses but in conversation, laughter and lingering, Retreat offers plenty to feast on.
Contents and images reproduced with permission from RETREAT: Recipes & Stories to Nourish the Creative Soul by Laura Harris. © 2026 Laura Harris. All rights reserved. Laura Harris