The Juggling Edge - Festival camping cookware kit list.

Orinoco - 9/25/2016 11:58 #

Festival camping cookware kit list. What's in yours?

In my early days of camping I used to take way too much kit. I've now reduced it down to the following:

Knife, fork, spoon - for eating with, also use the fork for juicing lemons (thanks LP)
Wooden spoon
Kuhn Rikon paring knife - the perfect knife, very sharp, brightly coloured so easy to see, fantastic sheath
Kuhn Rikon can opener (could possibly do away with this because most tins are ring pulls these days but the cheaper supermarkets, Aldi & Lidl often still have regular tins)
sponge & a couple of tea towels for washing up
13" * 9" plastic chopping board
9" square melanine salad bowl - indestructible (so far), I use it for eating out of, storing chopped foods before cooking, flat bottom is wide enough that it can function as a plate, big enough to use for washing up in too.
7.5" saucepan - a battered old thing I got for 50p at a boot fair
11" frying pan - also 50p at a boot fair
A 1 litreish metal water bottle - it's a cheap Sigg knock off that I also take with me into the practice halls. It has been battered into an interesting shape after being hit by various projectiles. For longer camping trips like Bungay I also have a larger 20L collapsible bottle.
BS100S portable gas cooker - bulkier than a lot of camping stoves (I sleep with my head on a pillow on top of the stove packed in its carry case), but it is impossible to knock over, sturdy case makes a good wind break, self lighting mechanism so no need to worry about matches or lighters, loads of other people use them so bartering for spare gas canisters is easy.

I use Tic-Tac cases for spices, a small 2" tall clip lock bottle of something from the Body shop for storing washing up liquid & a 300ml screw top M&S apple juice bottle for cooking oil. Reusing 'disposable' containers is a lot cheaper & often better than purpose built containers.

Nowadays I usually just drink water at festivals, but I do have a kettle for boiling water if I know there won't be a cafe where I can get a cup of tea when I need one.

I also used to have a really nice pewter tankard, but I've lost it somewhere :(

#camping

Daniel Simu - 9/25/2016 14:48 - Parent #

A spoon. It's nice for eating yoghurts, salads, soups, canned foods, can be used to slice up a lot of soft things.

On conventions I survive on a lot of fresh raw veggies (bell peppers, carrots, cucumbers, etc), canned veggies (haricots, red cabbage, kidneybeans, mushrooms) or canned meals (ravioli), ready made soup (drink from the carton/can), and a lot of sandwhiches with cheese and veggies mentioned above.
On top of that I like to be seduced by whatever is offered by caterers..

Who needs a portable kitchen if you can have a spoon?

Richard Loxley - 9/25/2016 15:22 - Parent #

I currently have a caravan, so my cooking equipment is way over the top!

But I'm thinking of down-sizing, and have been reading about this:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ridgemonkey-Sandwich-Toaster-Fishing-Camping/dp/B0138YET1A

It's a sandwich toaster than works over a camping stove. They also do an XL version that you can do fry-ups in as well as toasties.

It seems to get great reviews, so I'm very tempted to get one to use over one of those disposable canister gas stoves. If I do I'll report back :-)

charlieh - 9/26/2016 10:35 - Parent #

oh gawd....I think we're at the other end of the scale! At one-dayers or weekends on my own I'll just rely on the caterers, but at Bungay we bring a large Really Useful box containing a two-ring gas cooker with grill, wok, two saucepans, colander, various dishes and bowls, cutlery for four to six people, proper chef's knife, plastic chopping board, wine glasses, proper china mugs (can't stand plastic ones as the tea/coffee goes cold too quickly), tin-opener, veg peeler, kettle, a zillion bits and bobs (jubilee clips, clothes pegs, string, lighter, multitool....), gas spanner, collapsible water container, collapsible cool bag, corkscrew and there's more. A separate big box has dry goods including a range of spices, rice, pasta, tins etc. plus any home made chutneys, jams, cider, beer and there's cereal of several types, biscuits, noodles, UHT milk & juices and any fruit & veg we've grown that needs eating. We also bring a portable gas/electric fridge, picnic table, cooker stand/cupboard and sometimes a barbeque and associated tools.

This a hangover from the years we'd bring the kids (Libby from 5 months all week at the old Bristol, Ben from 3 months all 10 days of Bungay) and couldn't rely on caterers being on time (Alex gets *really* grumpy if not fed on time), up early enough (it's bloody lonely at a juggling festival at 530 in the morning with your kids wearing *all* their clothes, sitting in a gazebo having breakfast) or producing anything the kids or we would eat. I think I can pretty much cook anything I can at home (that doesn't need an oven) with this setup, and I've made curries, casseroles, fry-ups, stir fries, pasta sauces and more for us and friends. At EJCs we don't take the fridge or quite so many pans and dry goods and take a 1-ring cooker, so it all fits into a single large box (hint, if you take as much crap as we do to an EJC, put it all in stackable waterproof boxes and get a trolley or sackbarrow to drag it the half mile over the inevitable bumpy field to where your tent is).

I think what I'm trying to say is whatever you might need, I can probably lend you it!