Bliss Belly Kitchen

Bliss Belly Kitchen offers a combination of yoga, breathing, meditation, games, and hands-on cooking where kids practice knife skills and culinary fundamentals. Campers make dishes such as Boba Making 101, Ice Cream Making 101, Chocolate Making 101, Farm to Table 101, and Breakfast for Lunch 101, and also take part in arts and crafts, free play, and chocolate making, including a Halloween-themed chocolate alternative. The program incorporates Ayurveda and yoga and breath work into its cooking activities, and campers take home a T-shirt and a cookbook after a week of camp.

• Ages: 5–12 years old
• Schedule: Summer 2026 camp sessions run June–August 2026, 9am–3pm, with a sample day including morning games, yoga, mindfulness, a culinary lesson and cooking before lunch, followed by clean up, arts and crafts, and free play in the afternoon
• Price: Discounts available: Sibling, Multi-session, EarlyBird

Bliss Belly Kitchen describes itself as a health-conscious, soul-conscious, and planet-conscious school of cooking, yoga, and breathing for children, with a core philosophy of “Anadata Sukhi Bava” (“Let the farmer be happy, let the cook be happy, let the person eating be happy”). The program uses all-organic, locally sourced, seasonal ingredients from local farmers, offers planet-friendly vegetarian menus with a low carbon footprint, and teaches the fundamentals of a healthy Ayurvedic approach to cooking and eating. Classes incorporate yoga, breathing, and meditation into all cooking sessions, and chocolate making classes offer a gluten-free, vegan, refined-sugar-free alternative to commercially processed Halloween candy.

Chef Neelam founded Bliss Belly Kitchen in 2016 after studying yoga, meditation, Ayurvedic living, and a specialized style of cooking in meditation centers in India, Canada, and the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. Chef Sara has taught culinary skills and food justice in San Francisco and managed a regenerative farm in Davis. In 2022, Chef Neelam was awarded TIME Magazine Teacher of the Year for work empowering children to enact climate change solutions, mainly through planting Miyawaki forests at several Berkeley schools.

One 12-year-old camper reported that the camp improved knife skills, made it easier to bake independently, and increased confidence and curiosity in the kitchen. A 9-year-old camper shared that the camp helped with learning how to cook and that they really liked the yoga. A parent, KP, noted an emphasis on fresh, whole, organic ingredients and eliminating refined white sugar, and observed that their elementary-aged child stayed engaged through the camp day, felt pleased with increasing skills and kitchen autonomy, and wanted to keep cooking for the family regularly.

Last updated March 20, 2026.