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We are so excited to have this new & unique offering in our private gardens and very soon our Yoga and meditation pavilion! Wake up or set into the sun with a private or group Yoga session with Erin Dunphy, The Lavender Inn’s very special Yoga teacher and practitioner. Erin has been practicing Yoga for 5 years and has studied at the Yoga Works in Westlake, under Nona Chiang & Lainie Devina, along with many other guest Yogies and teachers. Trained in the various forms of Yoga, including Ashtanga, Iyengar, Prenatal and more, Erin’s focus is on Hatha Yoga, which is geared towards breath work, mental clarity & balance. Although this may be the focus, she is versed in many practices and is able to accommodate any personal pursuits.
Hourly private classes are $15 per hour, per person. Group Classes of 5 or more are $10 per person.
To schedule a class please contact The Lavender Inn @ 805.646.6635 or email attn: Erin Innkeeper@LavenderInn.com
Thai with Cindy Liu
Sunday July 29 @ 1 pm
We are thrilled to present this exciting class with Cindy Liu, founder of LooHoo’s Asian Comfort Food! Cindy’s approach to Pan Asian food is to source local, organic & seasonal ingredients and create unique Asian Comfort Foods that accessible to everyone. LooHoo’s facebook page will give a great sense of the unique things she has in store for this class!
The Menu Includes: ”Limon-grass” summer Spritzer, Kaffir Lime and Coconut Rice, Hot and Sour Noodle Salad, Red Curry paste, Panang Beef Curry, Stir fried Seafood with Thai Chili paste
This class is limited to 12 participants. $65 per person
Kitchen Basics & Techniques with Chef Dave
Sunday August 12 @ 1 pm 
Join us for this very hands-on class, as Chef Dave demonstrates fundamentals of timing course dinners, basic knife skills, safety & sanitation, kitchen equipment use, dessert assembly & presentation and much more… This class will have everyone participating and in the end enjoying the fruits of their labor!
The Menu Includes: Asian Style Napa Cabbage Slaw with toasted Almonds, Stir Fry with Orange Katsu Chicken, Rice Noodles with Peanut sauce, Barley Minestrone, Fresh Berry Tart
This class is limited to 12 participants. $60 per person
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Upcoming classes… Menus coming soon
Aug 25 Light Italian Fair with fresh pressed Regalo Olive Oil Sept 9 Fresh From Farmer’s Market with Suzanne Landry Sept 26 Sushi Sashimi & Tempura with Chef Dave Nov 11 Step up your Holiday meal. Brine, Roast & Fry Turkey Chef Dave Dec. 1 Holiday Entertaining & Presentation with Chef Dave
Also look forward to Mexican Cuisine with Sandy, Pastries & Baking and Parents on the go…. Dates & menus will be updated soon |
Father’s Day Grilling with Chef Dave Sunday June 17 @ 1 pm
Join us for this very special Father’s Day Class as Chef Dave demonstrates in detail Grill Cooking, Barbecue and other outdoor cooking techniques, including Grill care and preparation, utensils & Tools, Dry Rubs, Marinades, Seasonings, Cedar Plank & Wood chip Preparation and use, Low-n-Slow, classic BBQ, Steak Grilling, Hot & Fast and perfect grilled Vegetables. If you’re serious about outdoor cooking, then this is a class you won’t want to miss. This is the perfect Sunday after the Ojai Certified Organic Farmers’ Market for Dad!
The Menu Includes: Cedar Plank Salmon with Honey Balsamic Glaze, Chipotle Grilled Tri Tip or Flank Steak with Avocado and Tomato, Cilantro Lime Chicken with Jicama Slaw, Grilled Vegetables, Salsas and Accompaniments
Bring your appetite! Everything else is provided!
This class is limited to 12 participants. $75 per person . Call The Lavender Inn for your spot! 805.646.6635
Ojai Valley has a tremendous amount to offer for everyone… it’s a piece of heaven.
Cooking Fresh from The Farmer’s Market
with Suzanne Landry, Organic Chef, author of THE PASSIONATE VEGETABLE
Sunday April 22 @ 12 pm
What new treasures will be harvested this spring? We are so excited to have Suzanne Landry teach another healthy choice class! First you will meet us at the Lavender Inn then walk a few doors down to the Ojai Farmers’ Market where Suzanne tours and shares her depth of knowledge of vegetables, herbs, and other healthy foods. Afterwards you will return to the kitchen where Suzanne will demonstrate and prepare bounty from the seasonal foods.
The Menu Includes: Blood Orange Salad with Fennel and Olives; Spicy Fried Cauliflower with Yogurt Aioli Sauce; Arugula Salad with Sundried Tomatoes and Organic Golden Balsamic Vinaigrette; Fresh Garden Quinoa Salad; Farmer’s Market Surprise Fruit Dessert
This class is limited to 12 participants. $65 per person
Contact The Ojai Culinary School at 805.646.6635
* We would like to extend a very special thank you to Suzanne for participating & volunteering her time in this year’s InnCourage Retreat for Women with Cancer. She took special care in demonstrating how the right foods can heal & provide energy as well as beauty. The ladies of the retreat thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated your care!
Lavender Inn is in March Sunset as the place to stay in Ojai!!! Their letter to the us: We showcase the West’s best…
…garden desings, its most exciting travel destinations….That’s why we’re proud to include your business in the latest issue of Sunset. You’re hard work and creativity deserve to be recognized by people all over the West.” http://www.sunset.com/travel/outdoor-adventure/spring-getaways-00418000070786/page6.html
…garden desings, its most exciting travel destinations….That’s why we’re proud to include your business in the latest issue of Sunset. You’re hard work and creativity deserve to be recognized by people all over the West.” http://www.sunset.com/travel/outdoor-adventure/spring-getaways-00418000070786/page6.html
The Lavender Inn and Ojai Culinary School are welcoming Susan Landry to once again tour the Ojai Certified Organic Farmer’s Market and teach this very seasonal and unique culinary class! Join us Nov. 13, Noon-3:30pm
Ojai Let’s tour farmer’s market together to see what mother earth has to offer this time of year. Sweet winter vegetables, fall fruits and fresh herbs is the start of something wonderful. Join us for a belly warming meal and a surprise dessert!!
The class menu includes: * Wild Mushroom Barley Soup with Fresh Dill * Cranberry Glazed Yam Casserole * Stuffed Delicata Squash with Chicken Apple Sausage * Spring Greens with Cranberries, Candied Walnuts and Raspberry Vinaigrette * Roasted Root Vegetables (pictured below) and more!
Class limited to 12 participants, $65. To reserve, please contact Ojai Culinary School at The Lavender Inn at 805-646-6635.
Follow Suzanne on her YouTube Channel!
Sunday August 28 at 1:00 pm
Join Aparna, The Mistress of Spice as she shows you Ayurvedic methods of preparing Cooling Vegetable dishes. This is the perfect way to keep cool in the heat of August! The Menu for this class is eccentric, but Aparna has a way to show you how easy it is to prepare these unique dishes.
The Menu Includes, Cooling and Rejuvenating Jamaica Hibiscus Drink, South Indian Cucumber Salad with coconut, lime and cilantro, Avial- South Indian Coconut and Vegetable Curry, Fresh Fennel and Orange Salad, Delicious Mango Mousse.
This class is limited to 12 participants. $55 per person
To sign up contact the Ojai Culinary School at The Lavender Inn
805.646.6635 210 east Matilija Street, Ojai
We’ve got some great Culinary Classes coming up and we’d like to share them with you!
First on the menu is Ellen Sherwood‘s class Aromas From An Italian Terrace Sun. July 17 1pm, right after the Farmer’s Market next door. Although this class is full, a stand-by list has been started, and if enough individuals sign up, we will be hosting another class Sat. July 6th 1pm
Ellen‘s philosophy is that the most satisfying food is the simplest… Perfect for entertaining! Imagine yourself on a terrace enjoying perfect bites of sensual food from Italy surrounded by family, friends, and guests… Ellen leads magical classes guiding you to create Italian cuisines and flavoring the class with the language and culture of Italy in a way that you will be comfortable doing it yourself! Andiamo!
The Menu Includes : Spicy Shrimp with Garlic & Parsley, Grilled Seasoned Skirt Steak Topped with Arugula, Tomato, Lemon Salad, Pizza featuring Ricotta, Summer Squash, Zucchini and Tomatoes, Joey’s Olive Oil Cake with Mascarpone Cream & Pistachios, Vanilla Gelato topped with Balsamic Sauce garnished with frozen Black Grapes
And coming this late Summer & Fall, we’re excited to have some more exciting classes.
August 7 Farmer’s Market to Table , which includes a tour of the Ojai Certified Organic Market next door to the Inn & cooking class with Suzanne Landry, who will be demonstrating what you can cook with fresh seasonal foods.
August 28 Aparna, The Mistress of Spice will be teaching “Cooling Vegetarian Foods”, and it couldn’t come at a better time. Her menu will include, Cooling and Rejuvenating Jamaica — a hibiscus drink, South Indian Cucumber Salad with coconut, lime and cilantro, Avial– South Indian Coconut and Vegetable Curry, Fresh Fennel and Orange Salad , Delicious Mango Mousse. Did you ever notice that the countries nearest the Equator have the Spiciest foods? As it turns out, that’s the way you can stay cool. Can’t wait to see why?
September 11 Korean BBQ made with locally sourced ingredients with Cindy Liu LooHoo’s . So excited to have Cindy teach her first class with us. “LooHoo’s® Inc, is based in Ventura County, California and is committed to supporting the local economy, and engaging in sustainable and scalable business practices.” This should prove to be a very exciting class!
October 9, Look forward to another amazing Tuscan Dinner hosted by Ellen Sherwood. These dinners have been a huge success and although 60 seats are available. They go fast!!! so sign up soon. The menu for this dinner is not yet set but you can take a look at the last Tuscan dinner we had to get some idea about how grand it is!!
Classes are limited to 12 participants so be sure to sign up soon. If you can’t, make one of our scheduled public classes, then you might consider an intimate, private class designed by you! Contact us for details, or visit our site.
Create your own Private Class! Let us cook up a celebration for you – whether it’s a birthday, a bridal shower, or just a group getting together. We can tailor your class to your group’s cooking skill level and type of desired menu. Chefs will work side by side with your group to create a memorable meal. See below for more on private classes.
So many more great classes coming up… stay tuned, or sign up for our newsletter to get a once a month announcement by clicking on the the “join our email“ section on the bottom left of our site.
Hope to see you there!
To Watch a short Video of Ellen doing a demonstration for HGTV, visit our Facebook page!
In October of last year, we discovered a little kitten next to our front porch, keeping dry from the rain. We tried to grab it to bring it inside to keep warm, but he ran off. For the next several days, we kept food out to see if it would return, but didn’t. It was the next week when we saw a whole litter running towards the neighbors house, but we couldn’t see exactly where they went.
Beth decided to go to Noah’s Apothecary to buy some cat food and find out if there was any way to save them and find a safe home for them. While she was there, she ran into a good samaritan that, as a hobby, would gather stray kittens & cats, nurse them to health and find homes for them. Sure enough this good samaritan, found the kittens and their mom, took them to vet and cared for them until she found them all a home.
Several days after the kittens and mother were taken away for care, we noticed a mature black & white cat roaming around the area we found the kittens. He would return daily and when he’d see us would run to Inn’s garden. We were convinced that he was the father and felt terrible that we might have separated him from his family. We couldn’t tell for certain and by then it was too late. All of the kittens found a safe home.
One day in November, we finally saw where the cat was hiding. Underneath the outside staircase in our garden. We started to leave food out for him and made him a little bed, but we never saw him. Finally, Beth set out his food one morning and she sat next to it calling out for the cat. It took a while, but sure enough, the cat came out from underneath the building and slowly went to eat his food. Beth did this for days, until he gained enough trust and let her pet him. She couldn’t have been happier. At that point he was officially the “Lavender Inn Cat”.
Although he was no longer afraid to come out and eat, he never let us get too close. In January we had our annual INNCourage Retreat for Women with Cancer. One afternoon while all the ladies were lounging in the garden, the cat came out of nowhere, approached one of the Ladies and sat right on her lap. Her name was Hope. You can see the picture above with Hope. So Beth and Kathy finally gave him a name, Mr Hope.
It was at that moment that Mr Hope’s life was forever changed. Mr Hope greets all the guests in the garden, sits with them for breakfast & demands to be pet. There’s only one type of guest that he doesn’t like… the dogs.
We’re thrilled that he’s made his home at the Inn and we wanted to share his story.
The Ojai Valley Lavender Festival is right around the corner. On June 25th from 10 am – 5 pm, Libbey Bowl and downtown Ojai will be filled with people from all over the world enjoying the sights, aromas, colors and textures of Lavender. Ojai has seen this festival grow for eight years to a festival that boasts over 5,000 visitors a year and growing!
This is a festival for every age! Bring your family & friends to enjoy Art, Craft, Food and Music!
As always, The Lavender Inn has a booth at the festival and will be doing a raffle for a One Night Weekday Stay at the Lavender Inn, which includes a Room with balcony for two, Wine & Cheese in the evening & a Full Breakfast in the morning.
Come to our booth and sign up for the raffle or visit the Inn (just one block away) and go for a tour of the Inn. You’ll be happy you did. The gardens are beautiful!
The mission of the Ojai Valley Lavender Festival is to demonstrate and promote the many uses of lavender, to broaden public awareness and to educate potential growers/farmers about the benefits of plants that celebrate the Ojai Valley’s Mediterranean climate, and to promote Ojai as a unique and welcoming destination. Hope to see you there!
The Lavender Inn is happy, once again, to be hosting The Women’s Business Social on June 8th from 6-8 PM. Women from Ventura, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles and some times San Diego County, come to socialize, network and make new connections.
This event should prove to be yummy! Since Ellen Sherwood will be serving up a delicious menu to go along with the cocktails! The Menu includes: San Miguel Mediterranean Pizza, Fresh Arugula Salad with cherry tomatoes and signature lemon dressing, Vanilla Gelato with black grapes & balsamic sauce. If you miss out on her delicious food at the social, consider coming for one of her amazing classes, as she will be teaching a class at the Ojai Culinary School on July 17th.
“No More Nylons is sponsoring the Women’s Business Socials to promote vibrant, worthwhile conversations between women in business.
The Socials create a free, professional network, to bring the AMAZING women together to talk, connect and promote the work they love doing. That’s what No More Nylons is all about. Doing the work you love… and being who you are. If you’re new to town or even visiting, this is a great way to soak up the local flavor and get to know the women that make this town purr…”
Hope to see you there!
Every once in a while we receive calls from parents or families organizing a reunion or grandparents having a get away with their grandchildren, asking whether we are kid or baby friendly. We’re happy to say that not only are we child friendly, but we embrace it! We love having families with children stay with us.
The Lavender Inn is like being at home. Our large fenced garden is safe and perfect place for kids. We have a pond with frogs, a beautiful lawn, a hammock, and outdoor games. If that’s not enough, we are one block from Libbey Park with a huge children’s area, one block from the new skate park, five blocks from the kids club and Rec center, four blocks from the bike rentals and bike path, and walking distance to hiking overlooking the Valley. What more could you ask for?
To top it all off, we’re always ready for a special breakfast and evening snack for the little ones. Just let us know what you need.
It always surprises us to hear that we are the only ones to allow newborns at the Inn. Bring your Pack & Play and we’ll make room for you and your precious one!
When you book with us, let us know your children’s ages are so that we can best suggest the appropriate room or rooms.
Hope to see you and your family soon!
The long awaited Opening Gala of the NEW Libbey Bowl June 4th. The evening consists of dinner and a concert. Ojai is going to be starting the Summer in style! For more information on the history and long path to the restoration of the bowl, visit the official website.
If that weren’t enough, the following week is the classic 65th Ojai Music Festival. June 9th-12th, Ojai Valley will be filled with sounds of amazing music. For more information on the 2011 program, visit the Music festival website.
The events in Ojai, on the first week of June are a perfect way to start the summer in the Valley. If you can’t make those, consider the Lavender Festival, Art in park, Ojai Film Festival, Ojai Wine Festival and everything in between. For more listings visit Ojai Events and check out our Calendar.
… and what better place than the Lavender Inn to book your stay! We’re at the center of it all and walking distance to most of the festival events, hiking, restaurants, shopping and more. Come for a tour.
See you soon!
The Lavender Inn has been getting a lot press in recent years and we’d like to share with you what people are saying. Visit our Press Page for some of the publications. Here’s a recent article by Sue Richter in Examiner.com . You might also enjoy seeing what our guests are saying by visiting our Trip advisor site.
Hope these inspire you to visit!
