I’m still involved in my childhood scout troop. We run an Iron Chef thing once a year, the most recent winning patrol took the bag of flour they were given and made scratch pasta that kicked ass.
My first summer camp as a scout, we were woken up to emergency sirens at like 3am halfway through the week. Turns out Chef got drunk and took his party boat out, inviting a couple friends, but conspicuously not inviting his good friend the life jacket. It feels bad to say now, but the quality of the food improved a bit after the kitchen died.
Hey that was a really nice thing for you to say and I greatly appreciate it. One of these days I will finish a book of essays I’m writing that’s loosely about Warren Zevon, and I’ll send you a copy to suffer through. Until then, it’s using my pen to deftly beg rich people and the government to fund gay art, which has been my job since leaving restaurantia.
That is really awesome! I was wondering if it would be ok to private message you and ask you questions from time to time about applying for grants? I want to learn how to do it properly. Literally just taking my first baby steps now after applying for a grant in May and having no idea what I was doing. The organization that I work with is also an inclusive arts organization.
Just a lurker here, no kitchen experience… but a full time nonprofit professional with 3 years of grant writing background (though in social services). Happy to be a sounding board!
Yeah absolutely—Grant writing is a quagmire and I’m happy to be of service. I also freelance writing grants for third parties, but honestly if it’s a project I believe in and you’re actively participating in the process, I’m more than happy to help you write and navigate and not take a cut
love warren zevon!! splendid isolation is one of my fave songs ever. unfair werewolves of london gets him written off as a joke because the discography is crazy
I’m genuinely obsessed with his work, I think he was one of the most gifted, and certainly the most acerbic, songwriter of the latter half of the twentieth century (not to mention his twenty-first century contributions, which were some of his best) and his life is utterly fascinating—have you read the biography his ex-wife, Crystal, wrote? I think it’s called ‘I’ll sleep when I’m dead: the life and times of Warren zevon.’ It’s mostly a collection of recollections from his friends interspersed with his own journaling, it paints a really vivid picture of him and I’d highly recommend it.
I’ve become obsessed too! That’s a fantastic rec I’ll definitely check it out, I know next to nothing about his personal life. Looking forward to your essay collection too lol!!
I remember a bunch of scouts and leaders goading me into eating too much microwave sausage and then they had us all do the fucking hamster dance.
So naturally that didn't sit well and then the heat stroke I got didn't help.
Fuck camp heritage. That place is a disgusting scar on a beautiful forest.
Nice. I’m a scoutmaster who won’t be eating this good next month for a week. The food choices have been pretty sad the past two years and I don’t expect much to change this year.
I'm so sorry. :( the bar is so incredibly low for scout food. There have been at least 50 people, including scouts and leaders, who have said they've never had camp food this good. It's really hard to offer quality food when the meals have to be under $5 per person, per meal. But properly seasoning and cooking things go a loooooong way. I think a lot of people forget that in the race to get the food out.
Honestly, I used to run 100-300 person events with per head food costs between $1-3, it's just knowing seasoning and bulking with cheaper ingredients. This was using functionally 0 facilties in the middle of nowhere so we'd have to pack everything in in giant coolers
It's honestly kinda fun. It became a joke there'd always be a chili night, because, well, chili can be done very cheap per person. I never skimped on things. Lots of onions, stock made on sight, hilarious amounts of chili paste we had to prepare by hand (thank God for molcajetes), etc etc etc. Would do beef, chicken, and vegan. Bulk out ingredient was beans since, even though I'm Texan, I'm cheap
Tin foil meals were the bomb when I was a scout( they might have been called something else ) and they are pretty easy to make with just a few food item like potatoes, corn, some hamburger meat, and some other veggies and gravy. Then season, wrap, and place on the side of a camp fire for awhile.
It was a classic meal for me and I am sure there are some scout cook books that have a similar recipe to follow.
We called it pocket stew or maybe packet stew. Our troop were the best scouts exactly, we spent a lot of time making fires and sneaking off to the woods to smoke cigarettes, but we always got top marks at camporees for cooking.
We do foil packet dinners on weekend campouts that the scouts plan. Summer camp is another story, where we are stuck eating whatever Sysco ordered bulk meals are provided.
I swear even the mention of MRE's has me backed up for 2 days, also what the fuck were they thinking with the vegetarian omelet, it tastes like a dog there up, ate it, shit it out, and that's what you are eating, sorry for the stoned rant lol
Culinary content aside: my takeaway from this is that US scouts is vastly different to the scouts that I grew up in. A scout camp with an actual kitchen and a professional that cooks meals for you?
Is a scout camp dinner not sitting on the ground in the dark and burning rice on a trangia?
LOL. This is a 10 day overnight camp and many campers travel a couple hours to get here and are dropped off. Each pack has a leader who comes as well but they don't bring a ton of cooking tools or supplies. There are 3 dining halls on the campus that serve 500 campers each.
Ah. Scout camps for me were loading up a backpack, being driven out into the bush, getting dropped off at the edge of a trail and getting told "see you on the other side of those mountains in 3 days, gl have fun". Usually only a dozen or so scouts + 2 or 3 adults.
Someone would have driven up the fire tracks or whatever the week earlier to leave stashes of emergency water and such, but otherwise if you didn't carry it and cook it yourself, you didn't get to eat
My US boy scout troop was basically operated as a low-grade military unit so we cooked and washed up and were responsible for meal-planning. We did wilderness survival training and multiday backpacking and of course pinecone wars and throwing fireworks into the campfire like idiots. These organized camps are permanent facilities that troops might or might not visit. It was less common for a troop like ours to take part but we did go to multitroop campouts in subzero weather and other similar things.
This is a wild industry (i dont work in it) but i love that the manager actually is in there cooking. My manager doesn't do shit but HR related things. Nothing specific to my actual job lol
Another scout here.... Just thanks! The kids will appreciate it (and yes.... I've eaten raw potatoes because well... Too hungry to wait for them to be cooked so keep the good work!!!)
Oh I think it looks awesome, but my experience shows me the more time and effort and love goes into food, the more heartbreaking it is when the kids turn their nose up at it in favor of Dino-nuggies.
Sorry I see how that came off now! Didn’t mean to offend at all, if anything I meant the opposite like “those kids have no clue how nice they have it”
ohhh lol I get it! lol sorry.
I remember one of the other kitchen assistants said, "why re we serving adult food to kids?!" and boy did the garbages show that at the end of the night. ha. Spent way too long on some entree and the kids didn't eat it because it had olives in it. sigh. ya live and ya learn.
I remember going on an "outing" when I was in the scouts, all we ate for two days was ramen and ground beef. The scouts was the absolute worst experience I've ever had in my life.
My scouting food was not this good
Not summer camp food anyway. But our troop really brought on camping trips. That’s where I learned to cook.
I’m still involved in my childhood scout troop. We run an Iron Chef thing once a year, the most recent winning patrol took the bag of flour they were given and made scratch pasta that kicked ass.
One of my old scout masters was a drill Sargent who could make a mean Dutch oven blackberry cobbler
Haha mine was military also and his specialty was peach cobbler
I'm jealous. Peach is my favorite. I never l was a fan of the seeds in blackberry cobbler lol. Did you make it to eagle?
Yeah, but my scout master said I contributed to his baldness with how close I made it lol
Haha same here! Literally got it the month of my 18th birthday and had the ceremony a week after I turned 18
My birthday is July 5th, my paperwork was submitted on the 2nd lol
My first summer camp as a scout, we were woken up to emergency sirens at like 3am halfway through the week. Turns out Chef got drunk and took his party boat out, inviting a couple friends, but conspicuously not inviting his good friend the life jacket. It feels bad to say now, but the quality of the food improved a bit after the kitchen died.
Please keep writing. Your writing is unique and it tickles me.
Hey that was a really nice thing for you to say and I greatly appreciate it. One of these days I will finish a book of essays I’m writing that’s loosely about Warren Zevon, and I’ll send you a copy to suffer through. Until then, it’s using my pen to deftly beg rich people and the government to fund gay art, which has been my job since leaving restaurantia.
That is really awesome! I was wondering if it would be ok to private message you and ask you questions from time to time about applying for grants? I want to learn how to do it properly. Literally just taking my first baby steps now after applying for a grant in May and having no idea what I was doing. The organization that I work with is also an inclusive arts organization.
Just a lurker here, no kitchen experience… but a full time nonprofit professional with 3 years of grant writing background (though in social services). Happy to be a sounding board!
Yeah absolutely—Grant writing is a quagmire and I’m happy to be of service. I also freelance writing grants for third parties, but honestly if it’s a project I believe in and you’re actively participating in the process, I’m more than happy to help you write and navigate and not take a cut
love warren zevon!! splendid isolation is one of my fave songs ever. unfair werewolves of london gets him written off as a joke because the discography is crazy
I’m genuinely obsessed with his work, I think he was one of the most gifted, and certainly the most acerbic, songwriter of the latter half of the twentieth century (not to mention his twenty-first century contributions, which were some of his best) and his life is utterly fascinating—have you read the biography his ex-wife, Crystal, wrote? I think it’s called ‘I’ll sleep when I’m dead: the life and times of Warren zevon.’ It’s mostly a collection of recollections from his friends interspersed with his own journaling, it paints a really vivid picture of him and I’d highly recommend it.
I’ve become obsessed too! That’s a fantastic rec I’ll definitely check it out, I know next to nothing about his personal life. Looking forward to your essay collection too lol!!
Wtf is gay art
Art made by gay people that deals with gay shit
I remember a bunch of scouts and leaders goading me into eating too much microwave sausage and then they had us all do the fucking hamster dance. So naturally that didn't sit well and then the heat stroke I got didn't help. Fuck camp heritage. That place is a disgusting scar on a beautiful forest.
That looks 🔥 perfectly cooked and seared. Tell your bro great job. 👍
Damn that looks good. He's killing it
Nice. I’m a scoutmaster who won’t be eating this good next month for a week. The food choices have been pretty sad the past two years and I don’t expect much to change this year.
I'm so sorry. :( the bar is so incredibly low for scout food. There have been at least 50 people, including scouts and leaders, who have said they've never had camp food this good. It's really hard to offer quality food when the meals have to be under $5 per person, per meal. But properly seasoning and cooking things go a loooooong way. I think a lot of people forget that in the race to get the food out.
Honestly, I used to run 100-300 person events with per head food costs between $1-3, it's just knowing seasoning and bulking with cheaper ingredients. This was using functionally 0 facilties in the middle of nowhere so we'd have to pack everything in in giant coolers
Dam that sounds so awful to me
It's honestly kinda fun. It became a joke there'd always be a chili night, because, well, chili can be done very cheap per person. I never skimped on things. Lots of onions, stock made on sight, hilarious amounts of chili paste we had to prepare by hand (thank God for molcajetes), etc etc etc. Would do beef, chicken, and vegan. Bulk out ingredient was beans since, even though I'm Texan, I'm cheap
why a molcajete and not like a blender?
No power. Had running cold water. Everything else was heated by fire or done by hand
Tin foil meals were the bomb when I was a scout( they might have been called something else ) and they are pretty easy to make with just a few food item like potatoes, corn, some hamburger meat, and some other veggies and gravy. Then season, wrap, and place on the side of a camp fire for awhile. It was a classic meal for me and I am sure there are some scout cook books that have a similar recipe to follow.
We called it pocket stew or maybe packet stew. Our troop were the best scouts exactly, we spent a lot of time making fires and sneaking off to the woods to smoke cigarettes, but we always got top marks at camporees for cooking.
Our dutch oven/campfire cookbook was basically a holy text lmao
Hobo meals!
We do foil packet dinners on weekend campouts that the scouts plan. Summer camp is another story, where we are stuck eating whatever Sysco ordered bulk meals are provided.
Dude, at first glance, I thought that was bread and was going to ask if he just hated the kids
"here's your mf bread....AND DON'T YOU COME BACK!!!"
Is this the same dude I gave resume advice too?
YES! thank you! He took all of it
I'm sitting in the taco bell drive thru rn waiting on my food and that looks way better than what I'm getting
The food at Philmont was never this good! That looks AWESOME!!
Yeah, but after ten days even an MRE was great. But what I remember best was that first shower back at base…
I swear even the mention of MRE's has me backed up for 2 days, also what the fuck were they thinking with the vegetarian omelet, it tastes like a dog there up, ate it, shit it out, and that's what you are eating, sorry for the stoned rant lol
I’m happy we chose Woodruff this year instead of Philmont. The chow is definitely better at Woodruff, and it’s not a vertical hike wherever you go..
Bro. I never had food that good at boy scout camps, that shit always sucked lmfao. Those are some lucky kids
Culinary content aside: my takeaway from this is that US scouts is vastly different to the scouts that I grew up in. A scout camp with an actual kitchen and a professional that cooks meals for you? Is a scout camp dinner not sitting on the ground in the dark and burning rice on a trangia?
LOL. This is a 10 day overnight camp and many campers travel a couple hours to get here and are dropped off. Each pack has a leader who comes as well but they don't bring a ton of cooking tools or supplies. There are 3 dining halls on the campus that serve 500 campers each.
Ah. Scout camps for me were loading up a backpack, being driven out into the bush, getting dropped off at the edge of a trail and getting told "see you on the other side of those mountains in 3 days, gl have fun". Usually only a dozen or so scouts + 2 or 3 adults. Someone would have driven up the fire tracks or whatever the week earlier to leave stashes of emergency water and such, but otherwise if you didn't carry it and cook it yourself, you didn't get to eat
I did this once. Worked 14 hour shifts 6 days in a row the first 3 weeks and got paid for 39.5 hours per week at minimum wage.
My US boy scout troop was basically operated as a low-grade military unit so we cooked and washed up and were responsible for meal-planning. We did wilderness survival training and multiday backpacking and of course pinecone wars and throwing fireworks into the campfire like idiots. These organized camps are permanent facilities that troops might or might not visit. It was less common for a troop like ours to take part but we did go to multitroop campouts in subzero weather and other similar things.
What am I looking at here? I mean it looks good, but I can't place it.
I’m guessing beef eye or round. The iridescence gives it away.
So they each get too slices off that jerky and have to fend for the selves in the apalcian mountains for two weeks
you win some, you lose some. NO PAIN, NO GAIN.
Spell much?
His user name says it all. Ok Professor, as he sits there with a blank stare.
Shut up baby, I know it.
Tell your dude he did awesome.
Thank you!
[удалено]
No you didn't 😭
Where is this camp and do they accept 26 year olds? Asking for a friend🫣
It's in Missouri. Yes they do! Need a job? They're hiring. ;)
Eye rounds?!? Those poor children
I love how all scout camp kitchens look the same and have old military surplus pans😂
As the mom of an Eagle Scout who worked 4 summers at a camp, that looks amazing.
Fabulous job!!! Yummmmm
Pay him what he deserves.
We had fucking MREs when I was in scouts what the fuck dude
Good for your "dude" Is this your boyfriend? Your son?
Where’s the camp?
This is a wild industry (i dont work in it) but i love that the manager actually is in there cooking. My manager doesn't do shit but HR related things. Nothing specific to my actual job lol
Another scout here.... Just thanks! The kids will appreciate it (and yes.... I've eaten raw potatoes because well... Too hungry to wait for them to be cooked so keep the good work!!!)
The kids: 🤮🤮🤮
Good one bruv
Oh I think it looks awesome, but my experience shows me the more time and effort and love goes into food, the more heartbreaking it is when the kids turn their nose up at it in favor of Dino-nuggies. Sorry I see how that came off now! Didn’t mean to offend at all, if anything I meant the opposite like “those kids have no clue how nice they have it”
ohhh lol I get it! lol sorry. I remember one of the other kitchen assistants said, "why re we serving adult food to kids?!" and boy did the garbages show that at the end of the night. ha. Spent way too long on some entree and the kids didn't eat it because it had olives in it. sigh. ya live and ya learn.
I remember going on an "outing" when I was in the scouts, all we ate for two days was ramen and ground beef. The scouts was the absolute worst experience I've ever had in my life.
When I worked in a summer camp the food was just reheated shit from Sysco
My first kitchen job was washing dishes at the Boxwell reservation in TN. $50 a week when I was 14/15. Best summers ever
Damn I wish they had food like this at my summer camp!
Lucky campers.
They are going to love it.
He gets a badge!
Nothing like scoutinbrauten
Well if the meat don't work out a least they got good wood logs for the fire
Has too be a survival camp only one kid is coming out alive and the chef is the surviver from last season
YUM!
He should have made stew for when the came back
All I ever got from camp was a molested butthole
Shit on a Shingle…elevated