Under the mottled shine of sunlight filtering through the trees, at about 10,000 feet above sea level, live the fragrant, suede-green marjoram leaves. Their sweet perfume mixes with the glacial wind as you crush them between your fingers.

Marjoram in Pakistan? Yes. Along with wild thyme, juniper, rosehip and sea buckthorn.

We know so little about our country and the array of seasonal produce that is available – most ingredients remain on the fringes of the food chain. To learn about this, I set myself a goal. To organise culinary retreats and learn about the ingredients in Pakistan and, as a result, learn about the correlation of seasonality and geography. When this idea was just a seed in my mind, I often asked myself: Where do I start?

I often shared my vision with like-minded people at dinner tables. This one time, I got lucky and spoke to a young aspiring entrepreneur, Sobia, who had just begun operating a lodge in Gulmit, in upper Hunza. We decided to give it a go. A classic case of ‘let’s mess around and find out’.

Hunza was this elusive place in my mind, primarily because I had not been there before. I had only seen striking images and heard ample stories of wonder. I felt the excitement building up.

So in August 2023, I packed up and commenced my journey from down south below the sea level to the north.

I had visited other mountain regions in Pakistan before: Swat, Mansehra and even Chitral (upper Chitral too), so I was under the preconception that I had seen mountains in Pakistan. Boy, was I wrong.

The gargantuan scale of the Karakoram range hits you at every meandering turn of the highway. There are moments of your day when you are standing by the river and the enormity of the place strikes you. It’s a humbling experience to feel like a speck in real-time.

So, what happens at the culinary retreat? The idea is to understand a specific terrain, examine what ingredients are available, use that information and distil it to form a menu. This allows me, as a cook, along with the guests, to be locked into the here and now. You are signing up to experience the culinary prowess of nature in northern Pakistan expressed through the hands of a cook. Nature is the greatest artist; we are merely vessels piecing the puzzle together.

The retreats span five days, with activities planned around getting together by the table and nourishing ourselves. We visit farms, orchards, lakes and local artisans. There is even a cooking class on one of the days!

Currently, I am in Karachi. Sitting under the faded March sun, reflecting on the fleeting experience, which I am grateful to have curated four times since it all began.

What does a day in my life organising these retreats look like?

Well, I go a few days in advance so I can start preparation. I meet farmers and scout orchards to optimise the experience for my guests. The idea is to get a feel for the season before I start any planning. It’s a primordial soup of ideas cooking up in my mind until I sit down and start writing the menus, purchase lists and prep lists.

I usually make a trip down to the market in Aliabad to secure all my grocery essentials. I stock up, feed my sourdough starter and brainstorm recipe ideas. Most of the good ideas come at the last minute when I least expect them. I also go down the river at the lodge to meditate and check the temperature of the river water to plan potential cold plunge activities. I don’t want to bore you with all the mundane details, but I would like to mention snapshots from the different seasons.

Post Spring: Imagine walking in an orchard and seeing plump red cherry clusters dangling under the soft sun. I felt a childlike wonder; they looked like polished rubies hanging from the tree.

We picked up several cherries in our tote bags and took them back to the kitchen. After removing the seeds, I used the cherries to make a bright compote. Here is the recipe.

Pitted cherries: 500 grams. Sugar: 100 grams. Cornstarch: 30 grams. Mix all the ingredients above in a cold saucepan and bring up the heat gradually. Add the ingredients below after the cornstarch has thickened. Lemon/fruit vinegar: one to two tablespoons and a pinch of salt. The cherry compote can be used for breakfast, cakes, pastries and other desserts.

I used the compote to make a cake inspired by the cherry orchard. I let the cherry compote ferment slightly so it had a deeper character and funk. I soaked a chocolate sponge with some bitter coffee and layered it with the fermented cherry compote and whipped cream. I gave it a rough finish and dotted beautiful cherries on top. You can see her in the picture above.

Summer: Picture sunburst red plums and juicy orange-blushed apricots growing sweet on trees in the summer heat. They taste like nothing I have tasted before. There is something magical about plucking fresh fruit, sinking your teeth in and letting the juice drip down your chin – savouring every bite. I used those apricots and plums to make cakes, crepes and even a sauce to accompany yak steaks.

One of my favourites from this season was the apricot and sea buckthorn tart. I used a buttery tart shell, blind-baked it until crisp and golden, piped in a vanilla bean custard and topped it with apricots macerated with sugar and sea buckthorn. The sugar gave the apricots a light glaze. It was the perfect summer dessert.

Fall: Hunza in October feels like a warm hug. The leaves start to change colour and the sunlight has a tangerine tinge. It feels like you are living inside a Hayao Miyazaki film. Crisp apples ripen on trees as far as the eye can see. Big, bright and orange pumpkins also rest gently on soft earth.

I made many fall-inspired dishes, which included pumpkin focaccia, pumpkin soup with kuruth (dried mountain cheese), apple pie and tarte tatin. The culinary retreat is a wholesome experience and I have barely scratched the surface on what goes down. You just gotta be there to truly know.

This is just a snapshot.

Dear reader, I hope you can join in someday and witness the magic.

Asad Monga is a chef, forager and videographer.