Beverley Glock shares her top tips on how to feed yourself (and the family) at an outdoor festival.
Glastonbury kicks off festival season this weekend. You’ll need sustenance after all that walking and dancing, but what are you going to cook in a tent with no fridge?
Plus if you’re going to a family-friendly festival such as Camp Bestival, then feeding the children will pose another challenge. How are you going to cook their favourite foods while you’re away? Here's my guide.
Early decisions
There’s an important decision to be made early on. Do you:
A) Eat out
This means you don’t take any food, just shedloads of cash and eat out for every meal. Festivals usually have great food, but at a price. On top of buying breakfast, lunch and dinner you also have to fund the ice creams and drinks. That’s a lot of money.
Or
B) Eat in
The cheapest option, but you have the long trawl back to the tent for each meal. You’ll save money but will doubtless end up missing some acts. And once the kids have eaten they’ll want to stay where they are, and not walk miles again. That’s not a very laid-back festival experience.
Or you could have the best of both worlds.
Plan your meals in advance, cook some food at the tent and eat out for others. The food you bring will be freshest early on, so perhaps plan on cooking for the first day or two and eat out at the end of the festival.
What equipment should I take?
There is obviously no point taking electrical items, as you won’t have a socket unless you’re in the very posh, very expensive, prebuilt tent areas. Here are my must-have suggestions.
Camping stove
Fold down camping stand/mini kitchen
Makes life easier by enabling you to cook at waist height rather than having your stove on the ground and trying to cook lying on your stomach.
Trangia
This is a serious camping stove, which is available in different sizes. The big ones get so hot you can stir-fry in them – great for cooking noodles.
Freezer bags/boxes
We have a ‘plug in’ fridge that connects to the car. It’s fantastic and keeps food colder for longer than the standard boxes. Take at least two boxes and keep one of them shut until day two. Don’t fiddle with it or open it ‘just to have a look’; the food will keep cold in there as long as you don’t open the lid. A bit Pandora’s box, but it works.
Mypressi Twist
Food tent
Yes, a tent just for the food. A small one works perfectly, but make sure it zips up all the way round to keep out bugs. This means the food won’t get mixed up with clothes, and you can position the tent in the shade. It’s a great way of using those ‘kids tents’ when your family has outgrown them.
Crockery, cutlery and pans
Paper crockery saves washing up, and try and take lightweight pans. Don’t bring the pans from home – they’ll be heavy and take ages to heat up on the stove. It’s worth the investment to buy the light aluminium pans specifically for camping stoves.
Bring proper cutlery though and take turns to do the washing up, as it’s a great way of making friends. Remember to take a heap of tea towels, washing up liquid and dishcloths, too.
What’s best to cook in a tent?
I’ve tried out lots of different things, from tinned curries (don’t go there) to cooking from raw. This is what works best, in my opinion.
Freeze, freeze and freeze
Festivals take place in the summer, so it will be warm. This means the food you’re eating and preparing needs to be kept cold so it's safe to eat. This is another reason why it’s best to cook on the first couple of days.
Breakfast
Freeze milk too, although not all of it, as you’ll need some fresh for breakfast and coffee on the first morning. This means you’ll have lovely cold milk for cereal.
Lunch
We eat lunch out on most days due to the long trek back to the tent. But sandwiches, wraps, and dried pasta with jars of sauces are great staples to have to hand.
Fruit
Bring heaps of fresh fruit as this keeps well. Apples, bananas and oranges don’t need chilling and this is when the ‘ripen at home’ fruit come into its own. Give it a day or two in a warm tent and the fruit will ripen beautifully.
Afternoon tea
Dinner
After much experimenting my preferred option is to cook the food at home, freeze it, and cook it from chilled on site. I once made fajitas from raw while my friend reheated his – he was eating a good hour before we were. First night chilli, curry, spag bol, tagines or casseroles with boil in the bag rice or dried pasta or couscous work really well.
Pizza and garlic bread can be cooked or reheated in a frying pan on the stovetop. Cook the bottom and then grill the top. Remember to take a frying pan.
Nibbles
Bring loads of olives, pistachios and crisps. It may take a while to cook, so these will keep everyone happy until the food is ready.
Drinks
If all else fails, try the stress-free version of camping food: tequila, limes and salt. Then you won’t remember that you haven’t eaten!
Portable stove image attributed to Duk
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