Chef Thomas preparing a full lamb on the traditional iron cross.
A collaborative art experience · Southern California
Animal Intelligence
We enter the story of our food by connecting with the life and death of the animal, and confronting the same mortality that shapes us all.
We look forward and ask: what will we do with the life that we've been given?
We explore this question through shared acts of creation.
cow. lamb. pig. goat. chicken.Any animal, shared with intention.
Animal intelligence (n.), abbr. AI — Primal, instinctual, shared by every living being. Grown, not built, over billions of years of life organizing itself, from soil to plant to animal to person, and back again. A system where nothing is wasted, and nothing stands outside the circle.
In partnership with our friends:
01 — Our Ethos
The moment an animal becomes food is sacred.
Every meal begins with a life that ends. That life then becomes a part of ours. Giving us nourishment, energy, and one more day here on Earth.
It’s a gift, and it asks something of us: what will we do with the life we’ve been given?
Food may be the most universal way we create. It ties us to the earth and to each other, and lets us express who we are, together.
When we cook and share a meal, we turn that gift into something new. Strangers become neighbors, and differences shrink around a table.
That’s where the sacred lives. Not somewhere far off, but here, in the everyday act of breaking bread. The divine beauty of the world is only a meal away.
What do we want to do with the life we've been given?How can we create together?
Vegetarians, vegans, and people of every way of eating have been part of nearly every experience. Your perspective is valued for what it adds to our mutual understanding and connection.
From the studio wall
How we approach every experience
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01
Start with the people
What do they long for? What are they open to? What will move them?
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02
Choose the animal
What will we harvest? What food will accompany it?
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03
Create an open space for questions
Death gives rise to life, and life gives rise to creativity. What does that ask of us?
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04
Celebrate the creativity of life
We incorporate art, music, ceramics, and ceremony into every step of the experience.
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05
Create something new
We create a completely unique experience that can generate new habits, new relationships, new outlooks, new projects, and new work.
The three principles
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I.
Connection
To story, to land, to animal.
This is the starting point: recognizing the oneness between you and the food you will consume. Start by finding the pull that comes from within. What draws you, what moves you, what energizes you.
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II.
Conscientiousness
We get to choose the values and experiences that shape our lives. Choosing to enter the story of your food is an empowering act.
Our free will is our artistic and creative choice. It says: this is a bit of who I am, this is what I care about. When we exercise it in alignment with where we feel connected, we generate energy and life in the world.
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III.
Community
The people with whom we share experiences give life meaning. Every person who eats from this animal holds a place in that circle.
The power of a community of people who choose to care, who choose to connect deeply, who choose to be together, is endless. The creativity that flows from that shared energy can create more than one person could ever dream possible.
It can all start with sharing a meal.
Moments we love
Every experience is co-created.
- Long table farm dinners
- Animal shares
- Desert festivals
- Concerts and musical experiences
- Butchering workshops
- Pig roast rave
- Harvest experiences
- Private celebrations
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