Küche mit *1000* Sternen: die Lagerküche

Camp kitchen and co.

A camp kitchen is of central importance: children ask about the next meal, stand around the warming fire for a while, leaders meet for a coffee, visitors are received and food is cooked for a whole pack of hungry mouths.

The camp kitchen team faces high expectations and challenges. Therefore, as a camp team, try to build a kitchen in which the kitchen team feels comfortable and can cook well.

You can find tips on this in this article. However, it is also advisable to consult further, more detailed information - you will find details in the info box of the PDF file.

The warehouse kitchen

The camp kitchen must be operational right from the start. This means that the kitchen team can use the most important basic equipment. This includes a fireplace with cooking stove, a kitchen tent, a set-up table and some racks.

In the course of the camp, these facilities can be improved or supplemented with new structures.

Basic considerations

Choose a dry floor for the kitchen. Wood and water should be easily accessible. The sheltered workspace for the kitchen team should be as bright as possible - construction plastic or a party tent wall with a window is suitable for building.

Build stable facilities with experienced people. The kitchen team should have good workstations (height is particularly important: they will be standing for most of the work!)

Construction

As mentioned above, when the camp starts, the kitchen will also have a facility in which they can start working. For you, this means that in addition to setting up the camp and tent, sufficient time must also be allowed for the kitchen. It is advisable to assign a few (experienced) leaders who are only responsible for setting up the kitchen.

Hygiene

The kitchen team is primarily responsible for hygiene in the kitchen. However, you can also make the kitchen team's work easier here with appropriate equipment. Talk to them beforehand about what falls within their area of responsibility and what they would like you to build (e.g. fridge).

Fireplaces

If a fireplace is available, build it into your kitchen. Otherwise, pay attention to the terrain and choose a suitable place (hollows, holes). If there is meadow there, cut out the top layer (turf) and put it in a damp place so that you can make the fireplace invisible again at the end of the camp. Consult the landowner when building new fire pits.

The fire must be at a sufficient distance from the nearest tree (10 meters - measure the distance to the crown, not the trunk).

The construction of a fire/cooking site depends on the number of people in the camp and how long the camp will last.

Simple fireplaces

For simple fireplaces, you basically need a few large stones arranged in a circle to form the boundary of the fire.

A pan can also be hung on a stick on two forks of a branch (each stuck into the ground on one side of the fire).

The advantage of this is that you can remove the pan from the fire without burning yourself: Simply remove the stick with the pan hanging from it from the branch forks.

The pan can be placed directly over the fire on some larger stones or even on slightly larger logs.

Green, sturdy sticks can be used to build a tripod to which you can attach another piece of wood to hang a pan (see below)

More elaborate structures

For a longer camp with a large number of people, a well-built fireplace must be available.

Table stove / altar stove

As this cooking area is not directly on the ground, it protects the ground and your chef's back. However, this fireplace must be absolutely stable!

Round hearth

This type of cooking area is suitable for an area with lots of large stones. Several people can cook, prepare food and draw hot water at the same time at the various work stations...

Oven

There are various ways to build an oven. A barrel (must be clean and must not have previously been a container for paint, chemicals or gasoline) or a large tin can is helpful for most of them.

The barrel is now buried in a mound of earth. There must be room for a fire under the barrel. Close the barrel with a lid. You can bake when there are good embers under the barrel.

Other facilities

After the cooking area has been built, the other facilities are added. First decide what needs to be in place before the camp and what the kitchen can do without for a few days (for example, does it need an oven from the start or could it be built with the children during the camp?)

Work tables

There must be enough space in the kitchen for preparing and cooking food. Build these surfaces stable and at a suitable height for the cook (he will spend many hours at them). Shuttering panels are suitable for the surfaces.

Refrigerator

Having a refrigeration unit for the kitchen brings enormous advantages.
If there is a stream nearby, you can create a "landing stage" for bagged food in a sheltered spot.

A metal container placed in a bucket filled with water also works well. Place a cloth on the metal container with the edges reaching into the water.

Depending on the soil, you can also dig a deep hole and place a barrel in it. Fill the cavity between the barrel and the ground with damp sand. Thanks to the cooler temperature, it is a good place to store delicate food.

Kitchen racks

Food must not be stored directly on the floor. This is why racks are very useful. Build them in a similar way to the work tables with formwork panels.

Another option for racks is to use the trees: you can hang boards from ropes, cover them with nets and thus protect the food from insects and rodents!

... if you want a little more ...

The kitchen can be equipped however you like, depending on time, creativity and pleasure. How about a good washbasin? A towel rail? Hot running water directly from the grate above the fire? With a hanging rack for ladles and cutlery? Or a Hollywood swing for exhausted kitchen staff?

Sources/literature:

• kennen+können, handbook for group activities and vacation camps, rex kreativ + freizyt
• Funke, kennen+können in Natur und Freizeit, besj verlag Fällanden (also the sketches from there!!)
• HOT POT, outdoor cooking with groups. rex kreativ + freizyt

• Content and picture: Forum Kind issue 2/08, page 15 + 16. Technical considerations and various kitchen constructions for the camp. © Copyright www.forum-kind.ch
• Author: Salome Brander