Camp Haute Cuisine

Camp food ranged from overburned wienies and gooey s'mores to mystery meat and over boiled veggies. Good food always came in care packages from home , However that's all changing .Camp food is now full of good things with healthy and tasty recipes.It's no longer fare to be tossed to the bears.It's actually good stuff.

Camp cuisine was the subject of an article in today's New York Times Dining section. The piece written by Jan Hoffman, explores the cuisine of a few camps. This is a new breed of kiddie camp with nutritionists and chefs who create good, nutritious food for tweens and teens. They are sensitive and cook accordingly to children who have all sorts of allergies and intolerance. This makes the whole experience even more fun for those who previously could not attend sleepover camps because of their limitations. Kids get to cook and bake too, often helping out with kitchen duties.

The food itself is tasty and nutritious. There is fresh baked zucchini bread along with homemade hummus. Salad bars are big with veggies grown on the camp premises and also attended to by the campers. Dressings are low calorie yet tasty and a departure from the usual tween fare of fast food..Breakfast is not  gummy oatmeal or rubber eggs and burnt bacon but buffets laden with wild Columbia River steelhead smoked salon and whitefish salad. Dinner is lemon chicken coated with fresh ground Japanese pangko breadcrumbs.There are still treats such as homemade chocolate chip cookies but they're made with whole wheat flour and othe natural ingredients

Camp fare is changing for the better. Kids are not only learning how to build fires but also to garden and cook as well as bake nutritious and tasty foods.That's better than learning how to rub two sticks together to create fire!