SAHTEIN
Workshops
Sahtein workshops bring people together through cooking, shared meals and gentle guided conversation.
Each session blends cultural food traditions, grounding practices and supportive connection.
Participants can engage in ways that feel comfortable — speaking, listening, cooking, or simply being present.
The aim is not performance or therapy, but a safe shared experience that builds belonging and emotional ease.
What happens in a session
Participants move through the workshop at a calm, predictable pace. While we prepare dishes together, SAHTEIN is not primarily a cooking class. The food is simply the medium. The heart of the workshop is connection — to culture, to memory, to each other, and to the parts of ourselves that make us human.
Cook Together
Food preparation happens side-by-side. Hands stay busy, attention softens, and people settle naturally into the space.
Shared meal
The table becomes a place for memory, culture and connection. People may share — or simply listen.
Gentle identity-affirming dialogue
Optional conversations invite reflection on belonging, identity and community in a respectful environment.
Regulation and reflection
Small grounding pauses and reflective moments help participants leave with practical tools they can use beyond the workshop.
Workshops Packages
SAHTEIN offers three workshop options designed to meet the needs of community organisations, practitioners, and private groups.
Each session is guided gently, with clear expectations so participants feel grounded and prepared.
Two workshop themes can be combined into a full day workshop experience. Please enquire for tailored pricing and package options.
Primarily based in NAARM (Melbourne). Please enquire for Interstate workshops.
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Funded by the organisation. Free for participants.
Pricing • $1,000 for a single 3‑hour session • $2,800 for a series of three
About the workshop These sessions are gentle, culturally grounded, and designed for minority communities and groups who benefit from safe, relational spaces. Sessions are affirming and structured within the natural limits of a single workshop.
Before the workshop, A meeting is held with the organisation to understand group demographics, access needs, and any relevant risk considerations.
Group size • Up to 6 participants • Plus 1 organisational co‑facilitator (required for community clients) • Maximum of 8 people in the room
Important note While we cook and prepare dishes together, SAHTEIN is not primarily a cooking class. The food is simply the medium — a way to connect to ourselves and each other.
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For staff and practitioners in not‑for‑profits and community services.
Pricing • Same as above • Free for practitioners — funded by the organisation
Purpose These sessions acknowledge the emotional labour of community work. They offer grounding, connection, and a space to slow down — a gentle offering to those that are consistently at risk of burnout.
Location Delivered in your organisation’s space, provided there is:
• a kitchen area
• a gathering space connected to it
Important note Although food is prepared together, this is not a cooking class. The cooking provides a gentle rhythm that supports presence, reflection, and shared humanity.
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For small groups wanting a meaningful, uplifting gathering.
Pricing • $1,000 for up to 6 people
• at your kitchen and gathering space.
About the workshop These sessions are shaped around what the group is gathering for — birthdays, weddings, social groups, celebrating a loved one, Grief gatherings in remembrance of a loved one.
The workshops are relational, cultural, and centred on connection.
For any needs, and any relevant risk considerations please send in your email enquiry.
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With intentional respect and gratitude for living and working on Aboriginal land, First Nations–led organisations and First Nations participants are invited to access SAHTEIN workshops at a reduced rate of $600.
SAHTEIN also holds a long‑term commitment to offering free monthly workshops for First Nations and SWANA community members as the program grows.
This is a small way of honouring the deep cultural traditions of gathering, sharing food, community care, continuity, resilience, and lasting belonging that have existed on this land for thousands of years.
What We’ll Cook Together
Each workshop focuses on preparing one shared dish together. This keeps the pace gentle, the sensory load low, and the experience centred on connection rather than performance. SAHTEIN workshops are not cooking classes — the food is simply the medium that supports conversation, grounding, and shared presence.
In Lebanese culture, it’s the act of preparing, sharing, and offering hospitality that makes our food loved by so many — not just the flavour, but the warmth and generosity behind it.
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Bright, fresh, grounding dishes that wake up the senses.
Fattoush — a crisp, tangy salad with toasted bread and bright herbs, refreshing and lively.
Tabouleh — a parsley‑forward salad that tastes green, clean, and full of life.
Village Salad — a simple, juicy and crunchy salad that feels like home.
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Comforting textures and familiar flavours that soothe and invite.
Hommous — smooth, creamy chickpeas blended with tahini, grounding and gentle.
Mutabal — smoky roasted eggplant whipped into a soft, velvety dip.
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Comforting, slow, warm dishes and drinks that feel like a warm hug
Fatteh’d Hommous — warm chickpeas layered with yoghurt, toasted bread; spices and toasted nuts,a mix of warm and cool that feels deeply soothing.
Lubye — a green bean and tomato stew, soft, simple, and quietly comforting.
Sahlab — a warm, mild custard‑like bowl that can also be served in a mug, silky sweet, and fragrant, perfect for grounding the senses.
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Fragrant blends that invite touch, smell, and cultural connection.
Za’atar — a tangy, earthy mix of thyme, sesame, sumac and special herbs and ingredients served with olive oil.
Lebanese 7 Spice — a warm aromatic blend used across Lebanese cooking, gentle and fragrant.
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Coming soon:
Seasonal Olive pickling classes.
How SAHTEIN Workshops Work
Delivered at your venue or community kitchen
Ingredients and materials provided
Gentle, paced facilitation to support comfort and connection
Programs adapted for accessibility needs, cohort size, and scheduling
Collaborative planning with organisations to ensure cultural safety and emotional wellbeing
SAHTEIN honours the intersections of culture, queerness, and neurodivergence — creating spaces where people can show up fully, without needing to translate or shrink themselves.
If funding is limited, please reach out — SAHTEIN is committed to collaboration and can discuss flexible options.
Who these workshops support
SAHTEIN workshops create space for people navigating:
neurodivergence and neuroqueer experience
LGBTQIA+ and CALD rainbow communities
people navigating cultural displacement.
community members experiencing financial hardship.
seniors seeking connection, or gentle social spaces and a good yarn.
those experiencing Isolation or disconnection
people exploring identity
community rebuilding after hardship
Each workshop is a gentle invitation to reconnect — with self, culture, and community.
Notes for organisations
SAHTEIN works in partnership with organisations to ensure cultural safety, accessibility, and emotional wellbeing for participants.
Workshops are designed collaboratively, with space to discuss group needs, access considerations, and any relevant risk or support requirements.
Let’s Work TogetherIf you are unsure which format suits your group, we can discuss together.
