Kitchen Therapy with Charlotte Hastings

About this episode

What if the most healing room in your home isn’t the one with the couch, but the one with the stove? We sit down with Charlotte Hastings, the pioneering force behind Kitchen Therapy, to explore how simple, hands-on cooking can lower anxiety, unlock conversation, and guide people back to trust and connection. From a childhood marked by trauma to eight years of sobriety, Charlotte shares how food became a safe third space—where a wooden spoon can reflect a life story, and a cheese sauce can invite truth without pressure.

We trace her path from teaching to psychodynamic counseling to a practice that uses recipes as living maps. Instead of rigid measurements, she leans into play and adaptation: swap ingredients to fit your needs, taste as you go, and let intuition lead. Together we unpack why repetitive kitchen tasks soothe the nervous system, how teens open up when eye contact is optional, and why a finished loaf can be the proof someone needs to believe they can finish hard things. Charlotte’s book frames cooking as a life-seasoned journey, with feminist tarot imagery, family illustrations, and recipes designed to evolve with you.

We also look beyond the countertop. Charlotte’s community interest company builds groups that cook outdoors around a fire, restoring a sense of belonging and shared purpose. In a fast, AI-driven world, this is our first technology—flame, food, and fellowship—bringing people back into their bodies and back to each other. If you’re curious about alternative therapy, mental health tools you can touch, and ways to turn small kitchen wins into bigger life changes, you’ll feel right at home here.

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