World-Renowned
Gourmet Conscious Comfort Food
by Chef Pedro Pradhu
At Imiloa, we are a proudly conscious comfort food campus. That means we serve healthy, locally-sourced, gourmet vegan meals that are as artistically plated, scientifically nourishing and delightfully crafted for all of our retreat guests.
We believe in creating possibility. Our gut is the second “largest brain” and by nurturing it we believe we can help catalyze the transformation of the mind, body and soul. Thousands of guests have reported higher states of awareness, curiosity, creativity and completeness.
One of our core distinctions is food sustainability. Our Chef Pedro, alongside his amazing inter-generational team including his mother Lorena, uses locally sourced food from up to a dozen farmers and vendors within a 90 minute drive from Imiloa. Pedro is a living example of being transformed by the healing food we serve guests at Imiloa.
We hold the possibility of a menu that is conscious while also being (un)sinfully delightful. Conscious comfort food means you get to discover what’s possible when you try something new.
*Note to Vegans: You’ll think you’ve arrived in heaven at Imiloa. Gourmet plant based cuisine top quality is a real treat for those already plant based.
Through eating a high-vibration nutritionally balanced food, you get closer to being one with the Source energy. It allows you to connect deeper with nature and to the world around you in a more conscious way. It is a pathway to caring about yourself, others and the land around you.
We chose to make Imiloa fully plant-based because we believe in its power to change the world and everyone in it.
Pedro speaks about creating “magic” in the food he and the team prepare. Sure, we serve burgers and fries, jerk chicken and tilapia. Conscious comfort food means we have the highest standards, use the best ingredients, but aren’t doing soups and salads all day long.
We often hear sounds from the dining room on guest’s first night at Imiloa. Ecstasy, surprise, delight and joy. It may sound over-stated, but the Possibility Pedro creates, without the sacrifice of flavor, texture, nutrients or variety, is one of the most important parts of Imiloa. We begin the process of recognizing which foods feel good based on the moods we’re in and the needs we have.
Next, it’s ensuring that even the savviest of animal-product consumers don’t skip a beat and feel totally satisfied by the experience. And finally, it is in the sharing of the food and its depth and design with one another that we activate a sense of community in the experience.
Pedro’s story is a true Hero’s Journey. As in any Hero’s Journey, one embarks out into the abyss, learning to live life on life’s terms. And inevitably, if they make it back home alive, they bring a powerful offering from their journey to share with the community. Delicious nourishing food, and the delight and knowledge it creates, is Pedro’s perennial offering.
At 31, Pedro was diagnosed with a brain tumor. He began healing the tumor with ayurvedic medicine and plant-based nutrition, the same food he now serves our guests. Throughout his journey, Chef Pedro started to witness how powerful and healing foods — ‘alive foods’ — were allowing him a better quality, healthier life. He realized that your “normal” and “typical” food choices actually lack in nutritional value and vitality mirrored your high-paced, often easy, instant gratification lifestyles. A shift is needed for the planet.
Using a combination of his own plant-based recipes and traditional Ayurvedic treatments, Chef Pedro continues to heal himself and now all of the Imiloa guests. His story of overcoming dis-ease and living a life in direct contribution to human beings inspired the Imiloa co-founders. And Pedro and his food will deeply move you and your group.
Pedro believes that through food, we start to empower the collective human nature. That’s why Chef Pedro chooses to honor our guests at Imiloa by cooking delicious and beautiful plant-based cuisine with healing properties.
Adopting Ayurvedic principles at Imiloa, we use different types of Ayurvedic foods that work specifically with the body’s innate intelligence in order to promote natural self-healing. Ayurveda is said to address the whole person — your body, mind, and spirit. That also means that diet, stress management, sleep, use of herbs and/or supplements, and movement all come together to support overall health.
Chef Pedro’s passion to share his healing gifts with the world and to all of the Imiloa guests shines through the dishes that come out of our kitchen doors. He is a master in creating phenomenal dishes that leave you feeling full, satisfied, nourished, light, and often eagerly anticipating what delicious meals will be next.
Each time Chef Pedro and his team prepares a meal, they cook with purposeful intentions and love. Sage is burned in the kitchen in between meals, blessings and prayers over dishes as they’re being prepared, a friendly and teaching atmosphere often causes our kitchen team to express how grateful they feel for being able to be apart of this magic.
His first intention is to nourish, and the second to create an explosion of flavors.
Although we are plant based, we accommodate every dietary restriction, concern and are able to capture deliciousness in every plate, with precision, every time.
Every modification, desire and request during an event at Imiloa, handled during Kick Off Series, is included. Our passion for spectacular and nutritious food is why we’ve included a full-service vegan cafe that serves three meals daily.
Along with healthy snack options, we offer conscious smoothie bowls, including fresh tropical fruit, and jungle superfoods. Our Asian-inspired flavors include dishes such as plant-based pad thai, mango ginger salads, jackfruit tacos, summer rolls, and a delicious array of avocado & plantain sushi. Our gourmet vegan meals are so incredible, guests often forget they’re not eating meat.
Our passion for spectacular and nutritious food is why we’ve included a full-service vegan cafe that serves three meals daily. Along with healthy snack options, we offer conscious smoothie bowls, including fresh tropical fruit, and jungle superfoods.
Our Asian-inspired flavors include dishes such as plant-based pad thai, mango ginger salads, jackfruit tacos, summer rolls, and a delicious array of avocado & plantain sushi. Our gourmet vegan meals are so incredible, guests often forget they’re not eating meat.
“My type of cooking is about conscious eating. It’s about healing ourselves. This is why I love this place so much.
Why Imiloa? Because it empowers our human nature. It is an institute that develops our consciousness.”
We believe at Imiloa that when you change your diet, so will your inner vibrations and each cell of your body. Vibrational food is healing food which is why at Imiloa, we give your digestive system a restful paradise in the Costa Rican jungle, without sacrificing great taste.
Our vital energy begins to grow as we eat light, green, alkaline foods. So when we speak about healing foods, it’s not just some magic herb we’re talking about. What we mean is becoming aware of what we are eating and deciding to choose consciously what food is good for you.
If there’s one thing Chef Pedro has learned from his journey and what he shares with each of us, and if you’re lucky enough, each of the members of your group, it’s this: |There is only one chance to live right. And there’s only one chance to live a plentiful life and to do so with gratitude.
Come experience the food at Imiloa yourself. You’ll see the full potential of our high-vibrational and plant-based cuisine right before your eyes. Our innovative food is constantly evolving with vegan meals full of rich taste. It will not only prove that healing foods can be nutritious, but incredibly delicious.
Plant-based eating at Imiloa is a next-level experience and once you experience it, you’ll be joyfully craving more and more.
