This past weekend, scouts from across the district took park in the annual district wide cooking competition, showing off their culinary skills, while sticking to strict camping conditions. Each team could use either a single double burner gas stove or a fire to rustle up their 3 course meal. Scouts were given an opportunity to pre-plan their menu ensuring they adhered to the following conditions:
- Each team must prepare a 3 course meal, starter, main course (hot) and dessert.
- The food must be served within a 30 minute window, between 11am and 11:30am.
- The menu should be balanced.
- The cost of the meal should be no more than £8 per team member.
- All equipment used should be appropriate for a scout camp in a field, no special gadgets or electronic gizmos.
For this year’s event we had a total of 14 teams entered from 5 of our scout troops, providing additional opportunities for approx 35 young people. It was fantastic to see the creativity show in their menu’s and in the presentation of their dishes. Every dish served was taste tested by our panel of judges – Jayne (District Lead Volunteer), Aiden (District Youth Lead) and Slimer (Support Team Lead & Event Organiser).
Every dish tasted adhered to the rules outlined at the start of the event and all menu items were ultimately safe to eat! Would our scouts be able to prepare these items on camp? Absolutely. All of our volunteers are exceptionally proud of what our young people achieved, and it gives scouts another opportunity to demonstrate Skills For Life.
