{"id":200521,"date":"2025-07-31T14:09:51","date_gmt":"2025-07-31T21:09:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=200521"},"modified":"2025-07-31T14:09:53","modified_gmt":"2025-07-31T21:09:53","slug":"camp-cooking-traditions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/camp\/camp-cooking-traditions","title":{"rendered":"Building Camp around the Stove"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Sometimes we go camping to sate a hunger for adventure. Other times, we pack up our tents and camp cooking supplies<\/a> simply to sate our hunger for good food. After all, food does taste better at camp.

Making a meal in the wilderness can involve techy pots and multi-burner stoves or simply flames and hot coals. The delicious result might be a gourmet taste explosion or a return to ancient lifeways. The experience might go precisely as planned or exactly the opposite. But whatever we fork, spoon or spork into our mouths, there\u2019s no question the food\u2014shared, passed around and enjoyed around the campfire or at a picnic table\u2014will satisfy in more ways than one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Chef Style<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Magenta and coral-hued skies over deep canyons and high peaks are great and all, but Rashad Frazier knows what makes these sights even more memorable: good eats. Formerly a professional chef in Brooklyn, Frazier is co-founder of Portland, Oregon\u2013based adventure company Camp Yoshi<\/a> which provides digital-detox and wellness escapes for groups and solo travelers alike. He loves nothing more than to guide guests to a stunning lookout point, watch as they take in a vista photos could never fully capture, and then pass around grilled T-bones with confit cherry tomatoes and salsa verde<\/a> or a tray of tender braised short ribs served over heirloom grits with roasted garlic and smoked sea salt. \u201cIf you\u2019re going to go that far out to see something cool and vibey, why would you not want to pair that with an amazing meal and bottle of wine or cocktail?\u201d laughs Frazier, an REI Co-op Member since 2018. \u201cFood is the only thing that matters. I don\u2019t care where you are, if the meal is not good, it will ruin any experience.\u201d

Lousy cooking won\u2019t ruin any experience on Frazier\u2019s watch, especially given his fleet of high-quality cooking vessels and utensils. For even heat distribution and lightweight titanium cook sets he turns to the Takibi Fire & Grill<\/a> and Micro Pot<\/a> from Snow Peak<\/a>, while Dometic<\/a> coolers (namely the CFX5 75 Dual-Zone Powered<\/a> and Recon 41 L<\/a>) keep his thyme fresh, his craft beer cold and his chocolate ganache intact. By pairing quality camp kitchen gear<\/a> with a food philosophy that centers on fresh, local ingredients (seasonal whenever possible) and not overdoing what nature already made delicious, Frazier keeps morale high among his clients, many of whom are venturing into the outdoors for their first time. \u201cFood is important because people are on vacation,\u201d he says. The one thing that will remind them quickly that they miss home is a lousy meal.\u201d

Food\u2019s most important role, however, is its ability to bring people together, whether on Camp Yoshi Trips to Nowhere<\/a> or those that we plan with our own friends and family. \u201cHow do you get a group to come together quickly?\u201d Frazier asks. \u201cYou feed them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Learn more about Camp Yoshi with the REI Co-op Studios short film REI Presents: Camp Yoshi<\/a>.<\/em><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Photo courtesy of Camp Yoshi<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Grilled T-Bone with Confit Cherry Tomatoes and Salsa Verde<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

(Serves 2)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ingredients<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Salsa Verde:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n