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Open-Fire Cooking
Step outside and gather around the fire for a hands-on experience in open-fire cooking, led by an instructor who lives what she teaches. In this unique class, you’ll learn the real-world skills of cooking over an open flame—from building and managing your fire efficiently to preparing simple, nourishing meals using local, seasonal ingredients. Along the way, your instructor will share insights into the healing properties of food as well as what it’s like to live off-grid and rely on this method of cooking. Take this class to observe and hone the practical skills of cooking and living simply outdoors.
Itinerary:
Early Afternoon: Gather at Cedar North and begin the day with some introductions. You’ll meet Heather, hear about her life off-grid in South Boardman, and the relationship that this lifestyle cultivates between her and the natural world. You’ll spend the day learning about the food that grows closest to us, and how to incorporate it into nourishing meals. As the day goes on, you’ll build a fire and start preparing the meal.
Late Afternoon: The second part of the class will center around cooking and enjoying the meal together. Bring your favorite camping plate/bowl, cup, and utensils! You’ll have the opportunity to experience the timeless tradition of gathering around a fire to eat with one another. Sharing stories, and memories, this class will leave you inspired to get out into the woods and cook a meal over the flame with your dearest friends and family members.
What you get from the class:
- Time and learning opportunities in community with an instructor that actively navigates off-grid living
- Practical fire-building skills
- An introduction to some local foraging and a guide to seasonal eating
- The opportunity to cook and enjoy a meal over an open-fire at Cedar North
Meet Your Instructor:
Heather
Heather has been a practicing forager, herbalist, and energy worker for 15 years now. She offers a range of classes focused around survivalist and homesteading lifestyles. She loves to teach people how to be self-reliant in all aspects of life. She has healed herself from debilitating Lyme Disease and Auto-Immune Disease using plant, mushroom, and frequency medicines. She now uses food as medicine to maintain her healthy and active lifestyle while living the past three years off-grid alone. Heather is building a survivalist learning center on her land tucked back into the woods called the Rest Stop For The Soul in South Boardman. She has devoted her life to sharing her knowledge and skills with her community. With Heather’s teaching style, students will leave feeling connected to the ways of old and Mother Earth. This remembering is an empowering experience that will carry on into every aspect of life, shaping families and communities into more resilient structures.
Skills for Survival:
In a world where convenience often replaces connection, opportunities to learn true survival skills are rare—and more important than ever. This class offers more than just a lesson in open-fire cooking; it’s a return to something essential. In our modern lives, we’ve lost touch with the simple, powerful act of preparing food with our own hands, over real flames, using ingredients from the land around us. Relearning these skills isn’t just practical—it’s deeply grounding. It reconnects us to the rhythms of nature, to our ancestors, and to ourselves. This is a special opportunity to slow down, step outside, and rediscover what it means to feed ourselves in a way that is nourishing, sustainable, and real.
Green Door classes are immersive and intentionally long. We find that over prolonged time together, students form deeper bonds with each other, the craft, and their instructor for an over all more impactful experience. Even if you are a Traverse City local, the intention is that these classes feel a bit like a retreat away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. If you are visiting from afar, the experience can be even deeper.
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Class Details:
Where is the class held?: This class will be held at the Cedar North Classroom, where you’ll have access to inspiring natural surroundings, and a collaborative space for learning.
Cost: $140 (includes all necessary tools and materials)
Date/Time: June 20th @ 12:00 am – 6:00 pm
Prerequisites/Skill Level/Age Requirements:
- No prior experience required.
- Ages 18+
Booking Information and Policies:
What happens after I book the class?: After you book, we will send you a confirmation email that you are IN! A week out from the class, we will send you an email with more details about our meeting locations and some housekeeping items.
Want to make sure you have all of the information before you dive in? Here’s our cancelation policy: We understand that plans change, and we do our best to accommodate while honoring the time, energy, and resources that go into preparing for each class.
Cancellations made more than 14 days before the class start date Receive a full refund, minus a $25 administrative fee. This fee helps cover the cost of filling your spot. Unfortunately, we are unable to offer refunds for cancellations made less than 14 calendar days before class begins.
At this time, we are not able to offer:
• Course credit
• Transfers to other courses
This policy allows us to keep class sizes small and intimate, while minimizing pressure to increase overall course costs.
If the class is canceled by the school: In the event of inclement weather or other disruptions, we will issue a full refund and do our best to offer a reschedule option.
Policies:
Go for it! If you’re an expert marshmallow roaster looking to take things to the next level, a lover of the outdoors, or are curious about how food can be a nourishing ritual, this is the class for you!