Learn practical outdoor food and cooking skills, including campfire cooking, food hygiene, food storage, meal planning, foraging awareness and outdoor cooking.
Autumn is a rewarding time to explore woodland and hedgerows, especially when you start noticing the nuts developing beneath the trees. But finding a nut on the ground doesn’t automatically mean it’s ripe, edible or worth collecting. Some are ready to gather, others need more…
Cooking outdoors doesn’t always require a metal pot, a camping stove or a kettle over a fire. One traditional technique, known as stone boiling, uses heated stones to warm water in a separate container. It takes patience and careful preparation, but it’s a fascinating way…
A handful of fresh greens can turn a basic pot of soup into something worth making again. Nettles have a mild, earthy flavour once cooked, wild garlic brings a gentle savoury sharpness, and sorrel adds a fresh, lemony taste. Each works well in a simple…
There is a big difference between recognising a plant or fungus and knowing that it is safe to eat. When you’re learning to forage, the safest habit you can develop is being comfortable leaving something alone when you cannot identify it with certainty. Some poisonous…
Foraging can be a great way to learn more about the plants around you, but the most important skill is not knowing how many wild foods you can eat. It is knowing when you have identified something confidently enough to eat it — and when…
Keeping food cold while camping can be surprisingly difficult. At home, you can simply put everything in the fridge. At camp, you may have a cool box, ice packs, frozen food and a warm day to deal with. The key is to start with cold…
Activity Overview Difficulty: IntermediateTime: 30–45 minutesLocation: Suitable outdoor equipment or cooking areaBest for: Scouts and ExplorersSkills: Equipment care, stove maintenance, fault checking, camp cooking, safety awareness Regular stove maintenance keeps camping stoves working reliably and helps identify problems before they become dangerous. Maintenance should include…
Activity Overview Difficulty: BeginnerTime: 30–45 minutesLocation: Suitable outdoor cooking areaBest for: Scouts and ExplorersSkills: Stove safety, fuel handling, camp cooking, fire safety, risk awareness Camp stoves provide a controlled way to cook outdoors, but they still involve flames, hot surfaces and potentially hazardous fuels. Safe…
Activity Overview Difficulty: IntermediateTime: 1–2 hoursLocation: Suitable campfire or outdoor cooking areaBest for: Scouts and ExplorersSkills: Camp cooking, fire management, heat control, food preparation, pioneering Campfire reflector cooking uses a reflective surface positioned beside a campfire to direct radiant heat towards food. It can be…
Activity Overview Difficulty: BeginnerTime: 30–60 minutesLocation: Suitable campfire or outdoor cooking areaBest for: Cubs, Scouts and ExplorersSkills: Camp cooking, fire safety, food hygiene, heat control, teamwork Campfire roasting is a simple outdoor cooking method where food is held over the heat of a campfire using…
Activity Overview Difficulty: IntermediateTime: 1–2 hoursLocation: Suitable campfire or outdoor cooking areaBest for: Scouts and ExplorersSkills: Camp cooking, fire management, food preparation, heat control, teamwork Campfire baking is the process of baking food using the heat from a campfire rather than a conventional oven. It…
Activity Overview Difficulty: IntermediateTime: 1–2 hoursLocation: Suitable campfire or outdoor cooking areaBest for: Scouts and ExplorersSkills: Fire lighting, camp cooking, food preparation, fire safety, teamwork Ember cooking is the process of cooking food over the steady heat produced by hot, glowing embers rather than directly…
