How we run our kitchen at Camp Delicioso has been fine tuned over the years to accommodate the challenging environment for which we live in for 15 days. You really begin to understand how much we take for granted the infrastructure that’s been provided for us in the default world. Water, electricity, natural gas and sewage systems is what we replicate to provide us a glamping experience. As we continue to reduce, reuse and recycle, please take a moment to familiarize yourself with our current operations in the kitchen. Feel free to make comments and suggestions for improvements.
Water consumption in the kitchen for cooking and cleaning can be extremely high if we don’t consciously monitor our usage. We have placed some safeguards into place to help limit the use of water. Specifically for cleaning, we will NEVER build a solution that offers a continuous stream of water from a faucet. In the 15+ years running this camp, we tried this option once – never again! Since all gray water must be captured, you need to be mindful of how much water goes down the drain and out of sight.
Cleaning Process
- All dishes need to be scrapped clear of all food particles and sauces into a trash can as best as possible. Use utensils and limit paper towel consumption.
- Wash dishes by spraying a pre-mix solution of dish soap & water from a hand held 1Gal sprayer (clearly marked with “soap”)
- Use any of the various scrubbing tools available at the sink area to clean: green-scrub sponges, brushes, wash clothes, green-scratcher pads.
- Rinse dishes by spraying clean water from a hand held 1Gal sprayer (clearly marked with “rinse”)
- Dry dishes with towels and put kitchen items away, take personal dishes/cutlery back to your camp area.
- Wipe down stoves, ensure the gas is turned off!!
- Wipe down all counters and tables.
- Hang all towels to dry for next use.
For hard to clean kitchen items that need a bit more cleaning horsepower, you can boil some water and pour into pots/pans. Make sure to block the sink drain to maximize the water usage. Soaking dishes over-night is not an option we want to pursue as this leaves a mess for the next kitchen crew. Only in extreme cases we’ll go down that path, however, if you’re part of the kitchen crew that required to soak dishes, please make sure you follow-up and finish cleaning before the next crew cooks their meal.
There will be 2x 55Gal water containers located in the kitchen area of the container. We will have 4x 5Gal transfer water containers to facilitate spray bottle filling, cooking and to fill hand washing station. Please do your best to avoid spilling water everywhere.
Food Leftovers
When your evening meal has been served and every camp member that showed up has been fed, we still want to pack left-overs and provide access to those that may have missed our meal time. We will have a dedicated cooler to hold those items until the next evening meal.
I.e: Johnny & Suzie cook Monday curry…leftover rice, chicken and vegetable curry is placed into plastic zip-lock bags and labeled: contents and date. They’ll double bag if necessary and place into an ice chest, making sure there’s ice to sufficiently keep the food chilled. On Tuesday, Johnny & Suzie will follow-up on the leftovers before the next dinner meal and take any leftovers back to their cooler. This food still needs to be maintained and will be consumed during the day if folks are hungry for snack, or will be part of our Sunday night pot-luck meal time.
Any questions, always consult with camp leads for guidance and advice….communication is KEY!
Kitchen Use – Off Schedule
There will certainly be times when folks will want to make a snack and need some heat! The kitchen is available to use anytime a meal is not being prepared for the camp. 2 rules to follow:
- Clean up after your self and Leave NO Trace Behind!
- Ensure that the propane tanks are turned off – not just at the stove, but the tanks themselves. Gas will leak if you fail to do this. Remember – Righty Tighty, Lefty Loosy.
