Coast, Cook and Slow Down Day
Designed by Bearmore
Inspired by Ben ShewryWhen did your days stop meaning you could get outside?
Come back unhurried and reconnected to where you are. Inspired by chef Ben Shewry: time in the water or just outdoors, one simple meal cooked from what's local and seasonal, eaten outside, then a quiet moment to appreciate where the food came from.
The runsheet
Sea, surf or swim
Shewry's favourite weekly ritual is driving down the coast to surf before he cooks. Surfing is his vibe; yours might be a swim, a walk along the sand, or just sitting where the water meets the land. The point is to be outside and in it.
45 min activityBearmore’s thoughts on doing being in nature before cooking (mindful)
There's a useful connection here because mindful cooking can carry forward any calm presence found from being outside, though the link is gentle.
Cook one local dish
Cook one simple dish from what's local and in season, the way Shewry built a post-surf meal in the back of his car. He treats cooking as presence, so keep it unfussy and let the place and the ingredients show you the way.
30 min activityBearmore’s thoughts on doing cooking (mindful) before eating (mindful)
This is an excellent pairing because eating what you've just cooked mindfully completes the full cycle from preparation to nourishment with intention.
Eat it in the open air
Eat it slowly, in the open, without your phone. This is the part most days skip. Shewry's coast meals are eaten where they're cooked, so stay put, taste it properly, and let the meal be the whole event.
20 min activityBearmore’s thoughts on doing eating (mindful) before gratitude
This is an excellent pairing because reflecting on gratitude after eating mindfully can deepen appreciation for the nourishment and all that made it possible.
Where the food came from
Sit a moment with where the food came from. Shewry writes with humility about ingredients like the bunya nut, cared for by First Nations peoples here for tens of thousands of years. A way to give thanks to the land and the people who came before you.
10 min activityTime well spent.
2h 9m that belonged to you — not the inbox, not anyone else.
The breakdown
Burst evaluation
Wellbeing focus
About this Burst
New Zealand-born chef-owner of Attica in Melbourne and author of Uses For Obsession (2024). His cooking and worldview are rooted in nature, the coastline and native ingredients, and he speaks openly about mental health, vulnerability and creative obsession. Ambassador for the Good Fish Project. Based on Bunurong Country; 163K on Instagram.