“There’s a common misconception that wellness food has to be boring or flavorless, but that’s really not the case anymore,” says Taylor-Jayne Shearman, executive chef at Joali Being, an ultra-luxe wellness retreat in the Maldives where villas start at $2,200 per night (and cost an additional $1,265 or more for a five-day well-being program). “Retreats are becoming more creative with wellness food nowadays. It is, in fact, entirely possible to take quality produce, and turn it into something nourishing, fulfilling, and, yes, tasty.”
So what will those increasingly creative wellness meals actually look like should you attend a luxe retreat in 2026? Chances are, they will skew local—a food ethos retreat nutritionists and chefs are embracing more and more with each passing year. And for good reason: A growing body of research suggests that eating locally may help you avoid diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, and more. After all, you’re not only giving your body key nutrients, you’re also sidestepping ingredients that could be harmful in high quantities, like high fructose corn syrup and refined sugar.
At Mii amo, for example—a celeb-favorite wellness retreat in the surreal Sedona desert that starts at $4,600 for a three-night “Journey” program and is beloved by Gwyneth Paltrow and Hailey Bieber—the restaurant sources its produce from its own chef’s garden, plus nearby farms, ranches, and orchards. And the same is true at Euphoria Retreat, a high-end wellness hotel tucked into the Peloponnese mountain range in Greece. “Our philosophy here is that local food is the healthiest of all,” says Androniki (Niki) Jarjalou, the lead nutritionist at Euphoria. “We know that many people come to Greece for the food. And so, rather than serving an international menu, we offer a mostly Greek menu.”
