I catch up with friend and female foodie Anne Marie Duperouzel founder of the Ibiza Kitchen, healthy eating guru and entrepreneur. This October she is launching EAT Retreat designed for food lovers – an amazing one of a kind cookery retreat at luxury villa Can Verru Ibiza. Guests will receive a week of daily cookery lessons, wine tasting and cocktail making…what’s not to love? Two celebrity chefs will run lessons at the retreat, Natasha Corrett of Honestly Healthy and Jordan Bourke of Our Korean Kitchen. There will be other guest chefs filling the week with lessons in all types of cuisine, from sushi to Korean, bread making to cocktail making. The chefs will work alongside Anne Marie and Jac Forte of The Ibiza Kitchen who already manage and run the catering for luxury retreats across the island. Lucky guests will be able to partake in art classes, foraging walks and tours around the food markets alongside a full range of wellness classes from yoga and Pilates, meditation and HIIT training. Optional extras include beach horse riding, diving and polo lessons. Anne Marie explains that unlike other retreats nothing is mandatory…everything is optional, this is cookery holiday with a 5 star experience with plans for future retreats around the world from Bali to Morocco…

Eat Retreat is a genius idea…what inspired you to create this brand?

The idea came from me working in retreats, I have worked behind the scenes, providing the food and cooking workshops for other retreats for years. I have co run a few in the past and felt it was time to do one of my own. It came to me that Ibiza had 100’s of retreats but none of them food related which I thought was bonkers. I spent my time over winter thinking of how the concept could work here, I have made it very Ibiza. It will include some brilliant celeb chefs from the UK but also lessons from lots of Ibiza folks, wine tasting, cocktail making, foraging walks, creative art lessons. I have made it so the whole week is a taste of the real Ibiza.

What’s the response been like?

Great! We’ve sold half the tickets, we’ve got 6 more left. The response we’ve had from food lovers and retreat goers is wonderful. I am very excited for the future of EAT.

You’re a huge advocate of a healthy lifestyle – tell us something about that?

Honestly, I didn’t always have a healthy life, I wasn’t always thinking of what’s best for me, and it took me a few years to learn by mistakes. I have learned how wonderful it can be to be on top of your game, feeling good every day has a dramatic positive effect on every aspect of your life. Since I started to take care of myself and live a healthy lifestyle all things turned good, really good!

Would you agree that Ibiza is on the cusp of a food revolution?

A very interesting question. I think it’s changing dramatically. I can’t decide whether it’s for the good or the bad. I know that my clients are changing, I can see the future will be towards the wealthier and the more affluent in Ibiza. I know that the old Ibiza vibe is very different to the summer scene now. I love change, I love to embrace change, and I just hope we can keep some of the old with the new.

Do you think people are as interested in food/eating out as going clubbing in Ibiza now? Why?

I think clubbing is the heart of this island, it always will be. The clubbers however as I mentioned are a little more affluent, so apart from spending 100’s of euros in clubs, they can also dine in the restaurants, the food scene is very exciting here now. There’ s some pretty awesome eateries, from the shacks on the beaches to the tapas bars and even Michelin star restaurants. Such a transformation from 10 years ago.

What is to you, the true taste of Ibiza?

Ibiza is the taste of simplicity. A few ingredients on a plate with a big impact. Salted locally grown tomatoes on freshly baked local olive bread and a good red wine. My idea of heaven.

What’s the most remarkable thing you’ve discovered while doing your retreat work?

Retreats bring in people from all over the globe. You see the raw version of people on retreats, I have seen a few things which surprise me. None of which I can ever talk about! Ha-ha!

You are planning to take your brand Eat Retreat to other countries…what exciting guest chefs will be on board?

We want to make EAT a worldwide destination, Ibiza is our home, the heart and essence of EAT is Ibiza. We want to spread that worldwide. The chefs we have secured for a few destinations, we will try and include the local chefs for the area, they know the area and it’s ingredients better than anyone it adds the level of authenticity to the experience.

The Clean Eating / Raw food movement originated in America and Californian doctor Steve Bratman has voiced concerns about the new eating disorder – Orthorexia, where people are taking healthy eating to extremes casing detrimental health problems and malnutrition. What are your thoughts on this?

I think it’s certainly a thing. The problem with this is, people who have taken it to extremes, they don’t think it’s extreme! They believe such strict dieting is normal. I believe in a healthy balance, as a chef I wouldn’t condone crazy diets, crazy cutting of anything. Food should be enjoyed. Yes I cook healthy but indulgent. Nothing is off limits all of the time. Life’s too short! I have had clients with very strict diets for a lot of reasons, but then it’s their lives, their decisions, their bodies. It’s my job to make sure they get what they want and not judge.

What would you recommend as the best retox food you could eat before a big night out?

Before a night out I would recommend anything high protein and high in natural fat with a little healthy carb, because lets face it if it’s a night out here, it’s going on for hours. Basically the longer you have food in the stomach, the slower alcohol hits the blood stream, have you ever gone out on an empty stomach and got trollied after a few drinks! That’s why. The fats help slow down the digestion of the food to make your stomach fuller for longer. The carbs keep you going for hours – so avocado, salmon and sweet potato would be perfect.

What are the 4 main things you would like to educate people about healthy eating?

1) Being healthy isn’t just about what you eat. It’s about a healthy mind. Obsessiveness with dieting or the way you look, that’s not healthy. Healthy eating is about giving your body what it needs to function at it’s optimum. Healthy eating isn’t’ about how you look. It’s how you feel.

2) Healthy eating is NOT dieting. It’s eating good stuff every day. Nice produce, good quality eating. Indulging now and again.

3) Healthy eating isn’t expensive. It’s quite easy to live a very healthy life without hitting those expensive health food shops.

4) Healthy is simple. Take away the convenience boom of the last 40 years and we had brilliant health. Shop local, simple and unprocessed. Take away the commercial foods, packaging and processing and you have some good food and a healthy diet.

Details of the retreat can be found on the website www.eat-retreat.com. Or email [email protected]

Prices start from 1140 Euros on a room share basis