Kitchen Set Up Advice based on Climate Camp 2007 By Central Kitchen Co-ordinators Lou Hemmerman (The Common Place Cafe, Leeds) with Shannon Stephens (The Forest Café, Edinburgh). With thanks and acknowledgement to Pete from The Purple Penguin, Isy from the Anarchist Teapot and Pat from Veggies for comments and advice on their experience. Contents Feedback and Lessons Learned from Climate Camp. P3 What kind of set up did Climate Camp 2007 have? Staffing needs Ideal Co-ordination Team Cooking team Common Staffing Experiences Hot water and tea and coffee: Why a dedicated team? General Information and Advice on Kitchens and Food p6 What to cook? Advice on food ordering and Gas Equipment Budget and quantities Recipes and menus Food allergies and special diets Health and hygiene Before the Camp p13 Suggested Timeline of Tasks and Duties 6 Months before 3 Months before 1 Month before Kitchen Tips and Recommendations p 15 General Kitchen Set Up: Space, Logic and Flow Lighting Gas and Burners Where to get Stuff? Gas Quantities Safety Advice Gas Set Up Rocket Stoves and Alternative Fuels and Cooking Stoves Food Safety Pest Avoidance General Hygiene Food Poisoning and Contamination Safety with Heat and Knives People management, timing and staffing Cooking for many people Preperation Stock Control Cooking Tips Serving Onsite Kitchen Management and Tasks p22 Immediately before Site Set Up A Brief and Not Comprehensive Summary of Onsite Tasks and Routines. Set up Main Camp Tat down Afterwards ---------------------------------------------- Feedback and Lessons Learned from Climate Camp. What kind of set up did Climate Camp 2007 have? This advice is based on a model of 10, 150-200 people capacity kitchens, cooking three meals a day. There were 9 neighbourhood kitchens; Yorkshire ( The 1 in 12 Club and The Common Place Café Collectives), Scotland ( The Forest Café and AcE) , North West/Manchester ( The Basement and Liverpool Social Centre) , Oxford ( Oxford Action Resource Centre), West Midlands ( Food not Bombs) South Coast ( The Anarchist Teapot and The Cowley Club), London ( several groups), East Side/Nottingham ( The Sumac Centre and Veggies) and West Side/Bristol ( Kebele and Cardiff/LNG pipeline camp kitchen ). Many of these kitchens were based around social centre café collectives and existing vegan catering collectives. UK social centres are a vital support structure for practical kitchen provision. When seeking out kitchen collectives and neighbourhood collectives for 2008 these social centres are a good starting point . Early communication with these teams is essential and e mail addresses and contact details should be gathered at the earliest possible time. The kitchens team should also have a key contact e mail and person checking the e mail. Questionnaires and tat lists can be sent out and these are available from the ATC. There was one central/hub kitchen, which is based in Leeds. The central kitchen did site set up and tat down food, kitchens support during the camp and co-ordinated food ordering and storage throughout the two weeks. The neighbourhood kitchens cooked for the people in their neighbourhood with their own equipment, using food and fuel ordered centrally before the camp. The central kitchen only cooked meals when it was needed to extend capacity beyond the neighbourhoods. In the event this happened most of the time due to fluctuating and unpredictable numbers. It had a dedicated team and provided continuity and coherency to food provision. To co-ordinate this the central kitchen was the site of daily post lunch kitchens meetings where all neighbourhood and central kitchens teams met and agreed numbers, staggered timing of meals and sometimes talked menus. At the meeting we would also troubleshoot and gather money in from neighbourhoods to be banked. A team of two co-ordinators in the central kitchen re-ordered food as needed, in conversation with the finance team and transport people. There was also a food store co-ordinator who kept track of things. More devolved and less centralised models are possible, but the climate camp team has not yet tried doing them on a large scale. Next year we may try doing a central café and snack area, providing soup and snacks, but not a central kitchen as such. Some people question the need for a central kitchen and this is open to debate. Regarding a neighbourhoods only model it can be suggested that each neighbourhood autonomously ordering and paying for their own provisions is difficult to manage financially and could lead to patchy provision and shortfalls. However a co-ordinated strategy is not impossible and could reduce central workload. This could happen if neighbourhoods are in place early enough and communicate with one another and a co-ordinating team. Feasibly a co –ordination group could also arrange for different neighbourhoods to take responsibility for set up and tat down but again there is a risk of fragmentation and gaps. Currently the partially centralised model is hard work for the central team, but it guarantees adequate provision throughout the camp and reflects current neighbourhood capacity and skill levels. Often neighbourhoods do not form until late in the process and it is risky to devolve too much. Staffing Needs Co-Ordination Team: Neighbourhood Communication Person/team: Liases with neighbourhood representatives and kitchen crews to communicate progress in the run up to the camp and share advice and ideas, including tat lists and skill sharing documents. Onsite they organise and facilitate kitchens meetings and check capacity, menus and allergy needs with neighbourhoods. Food Hygiene Person: Knows their stuff about all this and communicates with neighbourhoods and checks in with them regularly. Provisioning and Foodstore Person/team: This person takes on responsibility for ordering and stock checking food, fuel and provisions for the site. They will write the orders before the camp with the help of last years records and place the orders when needed in communication with the finance team. Onsite there is a food store co-ordinator who keeps track of stock and arranges for re-ordering. They also advise neighbourhoods on prudent and economical stock use. Central Kitchen Co-ordination and Cooking Team: This team is responsible for food production and serving within the central kitchen, and all clearing up and food hygiene issues within it. They set up rotas, prepare the food if they are needed and keep the place tidy and running with cleanliness and order. Hot water people. Hot water is the key to successful and hygienic kitchens and happy campers as they get regular tea and coffee. In 2007 hot water was a tremendous strain on kitchens and it really needs a dedicated production crew with a separate but connected area of work. No cooking skills are needed, but an interest in how to produce a lot of hot water with less fuel use would be ideal! Cooking Team Kitchens themselves are usually routinely staffed by a combination of volunteers on a rota, co-ordinated by experienced cooks. A 250 people capacity kitchen generally needs at least 5 experienced co-ordinators on a rotation and more people is better. A large main meal for 150 or more needs around 8 -12 volunteers for chopping as well as washing up help (2-4 people working shifts). The co-ordinator should not only be someone who understands cooking but also has strong understanding of food hygiene, kitchen flow, time management and very good people skills (if you are good enough with these people skills then you need not be a good cook since most cooking can be delegated). Rotas are generally in four hour blocks, and peak activity is around vegetable preparation and clearing up at the end. Less people are needed to actually cook. Too many cooks spoil the broth! It can work well to delegate specific tasks to people in teams. For example, One team responsible for sauce preperation, two on salads. The co-ordinator can work out how the tasks of the meal could be divided this way. Or different people take on responsibility in advance ( for example at a short kitchen morning meeting) for different parts of the meal, including setting up serving areas and making sure the washing up area is sorted. Common Staffing Experiences The central kitchen was the hub of food provision and in many ways worked very well but struggled with staffing. The neighbourhoods also did very well although some less experienced kitchen crews needed support and struggled with staffing themselves. Generally there are more willing chopping volunteers than there are experienced co-ordinators. This contributed to exhaustion and high demand on people who are confident in the kitchen. Skillsharing is therefore a high priority for the movement in this area. The central kitchen team at climate camp had responsibility for both cooking and food and fuel provision. They also dealt with set up, food ordering and getting an overview of how many people are being fed. It is highly recommended that these things are separated roles in future ( see above ideas) as it contributed to burn out ( see the 2008 kitchens handover document for some idea of the new ideal task allocation and timeline). The people responsible for general food and stock needs and kitchen co-ordination should not be the same people doing the cooking. They are different tasks, and in combination can do you in! Another way of avoiding burnout is to have a fresh and seperate crew for tat down, and also for set up. We also hope to introduce this in 2008. Hot Water and Tea and Coffee: Why a dedicated team? Climate camp had tea and coffee and hot water provision for washing up devolved to kitchens. This was extremely stressful, very propane gas heavy and affected cooking capacity. Next year we may try having a team with responsibility only for hot water and tea and coffee provision, armed with a lot of rocket stoves. It is recommended that hot water is a separate concern from cooking with a dedicated team, even if it is located in the same general area as the kitchens. It is worth noting that on a typical ring burner or water boiler 5lt water from cold takes about 16mins to boil, whilst 5ltrs added to an already boiling boiler drops it's temperature to 83 degrees and takes about 12 minutes to get back to boiling. General Information and Advice on Kitchens and Food What to cook? First of all it is generally recommended in the movement that kitchens cook VEGAN. This is not just an ethical stance about the environment and animal cruelty, it also keeps the health and hygiene people happy and off your back. It avoids the need for refrigeration, and is low risk for cross contamination. It is also more inclusive. Advice on Food Ordering and Gas Other documents available from Lou (tummyfiller@riseup.net) and the ATC (http://atcoop.org.uk/) are a kitchen tat list, and a food hygiene guide. Lou has also written a kitchens timeline and task list for 2008 which is a helpful guide to the tasks involved in kitchens set up. The Anarchist Teapot Guide to mass catering (http://www.eco-action.org/teapot/publications.htm) is a must read, and Veggies catering campaign are also experienced and helpful, for a whole range of useful advice see: (http://www.veggies.org.uk/page.php?ref=912#suppliers) There are also copies available on request to Lou of the food order for Climate Camp 2007 which gives some indication of food quantities for neighbourhood kitchens cooking for 150 people, and also the overall food usage of a 1000+ people camp over two weeks. This is not intended to be comprehensive and mistakes were made. It is a good documentation of a successful ‘ in progress’ ordering system. Gas at climate camp was ordered centrally, as were vegetables and bread. Each neighbourhood used approximately 2-3 19 kilo propane bottles. We recommended that each neighbourhood brought some gas themselves and spare regulators and piping. This gave us some extra capacity in case of an early influx of people. Our dried food order was very basic, and it is best to keep it to that level. We suggested that if people wanted to bring nice luxury things like olives, pesto, favourite spices, fancy herbal teas, balsamic vinegar, chocolate and sweet things then they should feel free but it is their call and on their budget. It is good to research local wholefood, fuel and fresh provisions suppliers thoroughly before any event, and to make sure they are supportive and can offer credit if needed. They need to be big enough to be able to take a risk on a big order and the local natural food store may not be your best bet. Lembas, Community Foods and Essentials are all good starting points. If they cannot help they may be able to recommend other suppliers who can. If you are using a squatted site you may want to consider a safe storage area to deliver food to near to the site immediately prior to the camp. This is to deal with suppliers anxiety about not having a fixed delivery address. This will reduce stress and should be dealt with as early as feasible. You should always factor in transport of food and equipment into your planning procedures and budget. Equipment Equipment lists, tat lists and inventories are hugely helpful and can be shared. The central kitchen inventory and other kitchen tat lists are available for consultation. Here is a simple neighbourhoods and kitchen tat list. The central kitchen area needs a medium-large white marquee for cooking and eating space, a large white wedding marquee for the food store and a smaller washing up shelter. General At least one large marquee or two smaller Some people prefer the kitchen marquee to be separate. Remember you will need to store food, have a preparation area and also have space for meetings and socialising. Some neighbourhoods and kitchens may have their own marquees, others will have to contact the site structures person. Metal Kitchen Sinks .At least two for washing up and one for hand-washing area. Last year we had standpipes near kitchens on mains water. If your sink has taps with pipe/fittings that can join on to 20mm or 25mm blue MDPE water pipe, you may be able to get a direct connection into your kitchen Wooden Stands for the Sinks Pallets and Boarding for walkways and food storage Wheelie Bins Rugs and old carpet for flooring Cushions and seating material Tarpaulins Plastic Sheeting Seating for people Flipchart paper, pens drawing pins and notice boards Small tables Gaffer Tape/Zip or Cable ties/poly-prop rope Market trader type big clips/clamps for securing tarps Basic tools such as hammers, screwdrivers and spanners. Power Equipment Tea-lights and Candles Jars and Holders for Candles Kitchen Infrastructure and Set Up. Gas Burners and something strong and fireproof to put them on. A kitchen to feed 150 needs at least three of these. Propane Gas Bottles for Burners. Please do bring at least some yourselves if you possibly can Rocket stoves, Gasifiers and hay-box ovens or alternative heat sources REGULATORS and piping that MATCH your gas bottles. Spanner if required for regulator. It is much better to use an adaptor that feeds multiple burners from one bottle than each burner having its own gas bottle! Appropriate clips or crimps for securing. Water Storage Butts or bottles A copy of the anarchist teapot guide and Health and Hygiene Regulations Pallets and tables for storing food off the floor. Large mouse-proof plastic storage boxes with lids Strong tables/counters for prep and serving First Aid Kit (with blue plasters) Fire Extinguisher (Powder type) and fire blanket and/or fire buckets. Smaller bins (general waste and compost) Bin liners Tables and chairs for punters Wheelbarrow Matches or some form of robust mechanical lighter for your burners. Kettles and Hot Water Urn for tea and washing up water Weighing Scales (very important for getting grain quantities right and avoiding wastage) Sweeping brush and mop Dustpan and brush Rubber car/bath mats are handy for creating non- slip areas around washing up and tea urns. Cleaning Hosepipe and connectors Buckets Bowls (or those plastic storage boxes are good) Tea-towels Cloths Aprons Scourers and sponges Washing liquid for towels etc Washing up liquid Surface cleaner (preferably spray form) Gel hand sterilizer for quick cleansing Soap Some form of washing line Preparation and Cooking Utensils Multiple plastic chopping boards. At least five, brown and green coloured. Multiple large and small SHARP knives with Sharpener Thermometer for Checking Food Temperature Massive pans. At least two. One for sauces and one for grains/sides: Large stainless steel pans with heavy bottoms, dixies rectangular stainless steel pans with lids which the army use), frying pans (big flat bottoms are the best). Each person needs 0.5L of food roughly for a main meal. This means if you are feeding 200 people at once, you need enough pots to put 100L of food in. Some smaller ones for any reheating. Big stirring spoons. Ladles and serving spoons Serving dishes and/or heatproof mats/boards for putting hot pans on Graters Salad and Mixing Bowls Whisks Multiple TIN OPENERS Colander Mashers Sieve Measuring jugs Trays Tongs Teapot and Cafetiere Plastic containers and Tupperware of a variety of sizes. WITH MATCHING LIDS Tin foil Cling film Eating and Serving (useful to get people to bring at least some items themselves, indeed we recommend this to avoid loss, or encourage a deposit scheme, plastic is best) Hand-washing set up for people in queue (bowls and soap) Plates (small and large) Bowls Mugs Plastic cups/glasses Knives Forks Spoons Tea spoons (thousands) Safe container for cash You also need to budget for gas and spare equipment. Spare burners ( with gas set up extras like clips and piping) and pans are particularly useful. People often ask how big a pan they will need. Here is an idea from Veggies: ‘Use a pot big enough for about 0.4ltr per person, or 0.5 ltr for soup as a meal.The volume of a pot is approximately depth x radius squared x 3 (roughly 'pi'). Measure in centimetres and divide by 1000 for litres. eg a medium pot 25cm across by 20cm deep is almost 10ltr, enough for 20 - 25 people. Budget and Quantities You should budget around 12,000 pounds for food at least if you want to put on a similar event to Climate Camp. We do not have an accurate record of how many people we were feeding across a two week period, but at the weekend action peak it was around 1500, and at the main camp period it was around 800, which built up from around 200 in the early stages and fell to that again in the latter stages. More money is definitely always better. To give some indication of costings Climate Camp began with a 5000 pound credit from a wholesaler, plus £500 spent on 2 days worth of vegetables and bread. They spent £6000 more throughout the camp on replenishment of all these things and several hundred pounds more on Gas. They charged around £28 a week/ £4 a day for food and made a 5000 pound surplus that will fund the beginning of the next camp. As mentioned above the actual food order is available for consultation, and a detailed break down is there. Central provisions were fronted by climate camp and paid back in donations by people at the camp. This is filtered through the neighbourhood kitchens collecting food donations from camp attendees. This donation money will also pay for food you need later in the camp so it is vital it is collected early. You will need to make sure this is clear to neighbourhoods and include the cost of food in the information on website about camp costs. To do this you need to work out necessary donation levels on the basis of your projected costs. Here from the Anarchist Teapot Guide is a good indication of quantities allowed per person. For food ordering you simply need to calculate upwards from person to neighbourhood level ( approx average 150 people. See column 1 of the food order for an example. The you need to factor upwards again to camp level by number of kitchens. See column 2 of the food order. This can be done using these quantities as a rough guide. This can be complex and needs a good head for figures. The Climate Camp 2007 food order gives some indication that this is not an exact science. However it gives a sensible indication of the amounts of food you should be expecting to go through over a two week period. The final column tells you how much was actually used at the camp. Muesli: 50g per person per day Soymilk: 0,2l per person per day Bread: a bit less than 200g per person per day, 20 large (800g) loaves will feed just under 200 people at one meal Sugar: ca 1kg per 100 people per day for teas and coffees Margerine: ca. 1kg per 100 people per day for breakfast/bread with lunch Grains: 60-100g per person per meal Couscous/bulgur: 5kg will do 60-80 people per meal Pasta: 125g per person per meal Dried beans: 80-100g per person per meal Main dish: up to 0,4l per person per meal Veg in a main meal: 250g per person per meal (so, if it’s mainly potatoes and carrots – say 150g potatoes plus 100g carrots per person) Tomato puree: 35x 200g double concentrate tubes for a sauce for 200 – or, large size catering tins (usually 900g) – 4x for a sauce for 100. A bit less if you’re using chopped tomatoes too. Lettuce: 1 iceberg for 10 portions of green salad, a bit less for other lettuces Cabbage: 50g per person per portion of cabbage salad or cabbage side dish Cucumber: 1 cucumber will make a salad for 6-8 people Vegan sausages: 10kg sosmix will make ca 400 sausages (not huge ones) Bouillion/stock: about one large tin (900g) for a soup for 200/250 Dressing: 1 litre vinaigrette dressing for a salad for 100 people (more if a potato/ bean salad) Fruit: if budget allows or we’ve been asked to, we’ll have fruit with lunch or dinner, usually asking people to just take one piece. Apples often come in 18kg boxes (100-150 pieces), Bananas also 18kg (average – 120 pieces), oranges 15kg (average – 65 pieces) Recipes and Menus The Climate Camp kitchen team did not prepare recipes and menus as there is a huge range of advice and experience in circulation. The Anarchist Teapot Guide to Mass Catering is great ( see above). Veggies have been gathering their recipes at http://www.veggies.org.uk/recipes/index.htm and http://www.veggies.org.uk/page.php?ref=1182. Another Dinner is Possible’ from Mike and Isy of the Anarchist Teapot is another great resource of recipes that can be sized up. This and other excellent vegan recipe books are available from Veggies and also Active Distribution (www.activedistribution.org) It is also good to share ideas and experiences on site so you have as diverse range of food as possible. Experienced kitchen people may not have used a recipe for a long time but have learnt through trial, error and practice. For example Lou has about 10 tried and tested favourites in her head ranging from thai, through indian and mexican type meals which she is happy to share and experiment with. It is good to learn and share seasoning combinations that make for a ‘theme’ of food that works ( for example using coconut, garlic, lime, turmeric, ginger and chilli gives a thai theme), and to also to learn by ‘eye’ vegetable combinations that are complementary, such as courgettes, aubergines, onions and peppers together giving an italian feel. These things come through practice and sharing ideas and tips. Things like that cocoa adds a certain something to chilli and pesto can rescue the dullest pasta sauce. It is also worth knowing what doesn’t work and turns into the much maligned vegan slop! Try and maintain texture and variety in meals, but do not over do it by putting everything in. Having every vegetable and pulse in one meal with some random sauce is a recipe for disaster. Humourously Lou generally refuses to cook anything brown because it always looks bad! It is important not to worry too much though. Experience will teach you that hungry and active people are always grateful and appreciate how difficult it would be to provide gourmet food in a field. Variety, retained texture, and a range of sauces, grains, salads and seeds are the key. Menus and ideas can also be discussed at a daily kitchen meeting if you want to avoid ten kitchens all cooking chilli. Food Allergies and Special Diets It is recommended that the medics team should be alerted to these things and gets anyone with severe food allergies to speak to their kitchen team immediately. In most cases they will try and find solutions. If not the person will generally agree to take care of their own needs. Try and be tough with people who are simply faddy. When cooking for hundreds you cannot be too delicate with people who don’t like things, or who have very mild food intolerances. At the kitchens meeting you can decide which kitchen will be wheat free for the day. One kitchen should also be chilli free, and all kitchens should consider food suitable for children's palates be set aside. Raw food people are fairly common too. Last year I asked raw foodies to help themselves to the veg store and to take care of themselves as much as they could. Or to be creative you could ask them to take over a whole meal! . Be aware that some raw foodies can have a taste for exotic food stuffs so may need some monitoring if everyone else isn't just going to eat just turnips. Health and Hygiene You should expect to be visited by people in white Wellingtons many times and to take health and hygiene seriously. There is advice included below about health and hygiene, and there is heaps of official advice available online. Common sense practices of hand and veg washing, and surface cleaning are all important and there are other things that are more important in mass catering in a field. The main ones are to make people wash their hands before taking food, to make people wash their hands in a dedicated hand wash sink, before washing up, and also to have only one or two people washing up rather than DIY. There were no mass outbreaks at Climate Camp 2007 and this can be attributed to great care being taken about this stuff. It is worth reminding everyone that takes part in cooking that those catered for will almost certainly include people with vulnerable immune systems. It is wise to be co-operative with official people as they generally are supportive and only want to make sure people are safe. We all share the aim of making sure that an outbreak of tummy bugs is avoided, or worse. They are more likely to pass you if you are polite, well informed and willing to co-operate. Before The Camp Suggested Timeline of Tasks and Duties 6 Months before a) Set up the kitchens e mail address and agree a rota to check it b) Update neighbourhood kitchens contact list and introduce your team to neighbourhoods. Arrange to have regular contact with them and share contact details. c)Contact known neighbourhood kitchens with a questionnaire and tat list. Check in with them about capacity and any equipment and skillsharing needs. Give them copies of food hygiene regulations and a copy of the ATC skillsharing book with lots of advice in about practical matters. Share the anarchist teapot guide and other useful kitchen links. d) Begin recruitment of the kitchen co-ordination and hot water team at the earliest possible time. e) Make the team available for questions, and have a known contact person f) Do an inventory of the central kitchen equipment and replace any equipment lost or broken and expand the capacity if needed with extra burners and pans. g) Contact the structures person with the site group and make any equipment needed known to them. The central kitchen area needs a medium-large white marquee for cooking and eating space, a large white wedding marquee for the food store and a smaller washing up shelter. h)Source local to the site wholesalers and make price and credit enquiries: CHECK WHEN THEY NEED THE ORDER BY. 3 Months before a) Write the dried goods food order, with help from last years records. You will need one initial order and another top up order ( at least one) later in the week from a local supplier. It is best to draft these together and account for later needs, and have back up suppliers in the area. This will take a long time and a good head for numbers so allow plenty of time for it. b)Once written check in with neighbourhoods about what provision they can expect and indicate to them what provisions they will need to supply for themselves. Usually these are luxury goods and some spare gas capacity. c)Check the order with finance people and experienced kitchen folks for mistakes and missing items. d)Begin enquiries about storage and delivery of the order to a safe space in the vicinity of the site. Suppliers do not like not knowing where they are delivering to so it is helpful with squatted sites to liase with local people and the networking/outreach group to find a suitable space nearby. e)Arrange transport for the central kitchen from Leeds to the site. It needs to be large enough for the kitchen and enough food stores for two-three days. Make sure you also arrange transport back at the end of the camp. f)Arrange a meeting with kitchen reps from all neighbourhoods at one of the gatherings and give plenty of warning: This is an opportunity for skillsharing, troubleshooting, a capacity check and advance warning of problems and gaps. g) Recruit new central kitchen co-ordinators and volunteers from outside the team: People and groups new to the camp often like to work in the central kitchen, and it is good to send a recruitment call out to the main list. h)Make sure you have recruited a foodstore co-ordinator for onsite and engage their help in the later stages of ordering and provisioning. i)Check in with perishable goods and fuel suppliers to check when they need the order by to have stuff on site at the beginning of the camp. You should expect to have to buy some fresh provisions for the set up period and then have the main order on site for the camp. 1 Month Before a) Maintain regular contact within the team and with neighbourhoods. Make sure any final needs for information and support are met and that you know when to expect neighbourhoods on site so you know capacity and cover for the first few days of the camp. Tell them how much to charge people for food and how to get the money to you, when kitchens meetings are, and where you will be on site and what you will be doing. b) Confirm the existence of a safe food store location near to the proposed site. Arrange a suitable delivery and take away date with the owners of the space. c)Send in the final dried goods order to the supplier and give the supplier the address of the safe space when possible. d)Arrange for transportation of this food onto the site at an appropriate time e)Prepare fresh goods and fuel orders to be sent in, usually the week before the camp, you will often have to tell them the site location literally days before they deliver. This is stressful and be prepared for mutinous suppliers and have back ups ready. f)Have a strong set up kitchen crew in place and ready to be onsite as soon as the site is taken. Do an inventory of equipment and do last minute checks. Kitchen Tips and Recommendations These are some things the authors have learnt through time and experience They are also important from a safety/hygiene point of view. General Kitchen Set Up: Space, Logic and Flow a) Where possible have food storage, prep, cooking and serving area separated but consecutive (this is a useful ordering to work with). Not in different tents or anything, but in some kind of set up that aids logical progression/flow from food sack to mouth. Different areas are generally for different tasks but they should link with one another in an order that works without people having to bump into one another trying to do things. Eg the prep area should be close to the food, and a tap for washing veg should be nearby etc. b) Try and have enough space for people to move past one another and hot things easily c) Have a distinct, separate washing up area with a hot rinse and capacity for air drying. People should be able to take their things there without coming back through the kitchen. There should be a separate hand wash here for washer uppers. d) Have all burners away from tent walls and sheltered from the weather. Make sure they are stable and away from any burnable material. Grass will nearly always burn, so you can dampen it or cut it back. Or watch it carefully the first time it catches with water on hand and then it is fine. e) Get gas set up checked by an experienced person and keep your spanner handy. (See later sections for advice on gas set up) f) Have sturdy tables and make sure they are steady on the ground. They should also be the right height for an average height person not to get back ache chopping. g) Tables can be used logically to aid the flow of the kitchen and to create no-go areas. You can almost never have too many, and 8 is a good number for a 200 person kitchen. At climate camp the central kitchen had two tables at the front with tea and snacks to keep people out of the kitchen most of the time. We had two-three large prep tables running perpendicular to these for prep and serving, and another two or three for the washing up area . The back of the kitchen was pallets with food on and in the middle space and around the sides we had pallets with pans and cleaning equipment on. The burners were in the far corner, away from the general flow of people. h) We made sure that once people had their food they could walk out of the door to the eating area without doubling back. i) You can create non slip areas using rubber mats around urns, washing up pathways etc to avoid a mud bath. j) Pallets are invaluable for keeping things off the ground and also for creating logical storage areas. Food should always be stored off the ground in closed bags and boxes. Lighting The kitchen area should be well lit, and a light coloured tent is recommended. Lighting should be installed for evening and night cooking. Head-torches are really helpful Gas and Burners Where to get stuff? Calor suppliers are usually helpful and information or www.bes.co.uk come highly recommended Gas Quantities: 19kilo bottles are the most manageable and last a decent amount of time. Generally we discourage people from ordering 47kg gas bottles because they weigh much more than 47kg including the bottle and are so very difficult to move about. The Anarchist Teapot do use them for their impressive burners but most burners can cope with the 19kilo. Safety Advice IMPORTANT: ALL THE INFORMATION BELOW CAN BE FOLLOWED WITH VERY LITTLE RISK. HOWEVER THIS IS A ROUGH GUIDE AND ANYONE WHO IS GOING TO CREATE A GAS SET UP SHOULD TALK TO SOMEONE WITH EXPERIENCE BEFORE THEY START TO PLAN,AND GET SOMEONE KNOWLEDGEABLE TO CHECK IT BEFORE USE. a) Don't use any gas equipment you are not sure about- was it designed for the task you are going to use it for, is it still in good working order? b) MAKE SURE YOUR REGULATOR AND BOTTLE MATCH. If they don’t you will not be cooking a thing. c) Treat gas with respect. Always have the bottle off when you are working on anything, keep naked flames away and out your kitchen when it is not in use, and keep your nose attuned for a gas smell when there shouldn’t be one. d) Use a proper lighter for lighting your burners, one that keeps your hand as far away as possible. I recommend the co-ordinator keeps the lighter on their person. (it's always best to use a lighter rather than matches as matches have a habit of getting into food) e) You can easily run two average burners off one bottle and you should do that for economy. Most burners come with their piping and regulator set up ready. You should check the piping for wear, and that the screws on the security clips are tight. Any missing security clips should be replaced. Gas Set Up For new set up for two gas burners running off one bottle. You will need. Two burners. Spanner and screwdriver. 3-5m length of orange rubber piping, triad splitter and security clips (at least 6), and one compatible regulator to join to the bottle. First you need to attach two half metre pieces of orange rubber gas piping to each of the burners and secure each join with a screw on security clip ( note: screw on security clips (jubilee clips) damage hosing and should be single use. Either cut the piece of hosing damaged off after use or use crimps and crimping tool (£10 to £15 gas supplier) and again discard after use. Tough piping can be softened in a mug of hot water. Take a metal triad splitter, available from most calor gas stores, and insert the two lengths of piping on either end of the horizontal metal part. Again you should join firmly and secure with screw on security clips (see above about re-use). Another part of the triad splitter should be pointing vertically and this will join to the bottle. Take another length of piping appropriate to your needs and add it to the third branch and join it to the regulator. Again all joins should be security clipped The regulator should be fixed to the bottle and tightened thoroughly with a large spanner, which should remain near the gas area Turn on gas and check all joints with gas leak liquid (from gas supplier) or washing up liquid. Smear on joint and check carefully for bubbles The gas bottle can then be turned on as needed, and the burners lit using the nozzles on the model you have. to change the bottle. Turn it off, detach the regulator and join it in the same manner to a new bottle. Gas bottles should be put outside the tent. Turn them off when they are not in use for a length of time (overnight) it is easy for the nozzles on the burners to be left open. Make sure the burner supports the pan and use two burners for one pan if you think it is necessary. You cannot heat a huge pan using tiny burners. Make sure your burners are powerful enough. A regular £35 one ring calor gas burner can cope with medium pans, but a three or four ring burner is often needed for a super big amount of sauces or grains. Check out your local Asian catering store, and Army surplus are also great. If you suspect you have a leak turn everything off at once and test using soapy water, or a nearby plumber if there is one! Replace the part that is leaking Always have spare piping, regulators and security clips/crimps and the tools needed to work with them. Rocket Stoves and Alterative Fuels and Cooking Stoves Wood chip fuelled rocket stoves are becoming a common site around field kitchens and they can be very useful for heating water. Advice on their construction can be found on the internet and skill shares are common around the environmental movement and social centres. At current capacity it can be suggested that they are generally best kept as a supplement or reserve heat source, though as the technology and experience moves on this may change. Their advantages are sustainability and DIY/recycling ethos. However it is good to bear in mind that they are not often big, powerful or stable enough to support large pots and pans, they need constant tending and fuel monitoring and they make everything turn black and messy. Propane burners remain more reliable and you do not need to get in vast amounts of wood fuel. Watch this space, I am hoping to be convinced! Solar and Haybox ovens are also possible, and Gasifiers have also been mentioned and experimented with. Food Safety Pest Avoidance a) Store food off the floor and avoid spillage. b) Your containers must have lids. c) Don't leave food lying around and cover your compost in a sealed container that is strong enough to present a challenge to rats foxes etc- so not just bin bags d) Sweep and mop if you have the kind of flooring that could be. If not pick up any obvious bits of food waste left lying around. General Hygiene a)All people who walk in the kitchen area and do anything must wash their hands. All volunteers should wash their hands in a bowl separated for this purpose using soap. You can also make sanitising gel available. b) The kitchen should be a working area. Don't let people hang out in there and try and avoid self service snacks. They make a mess and create germs. NO SMOKING in the kitchen c) Cover your clothes and your HAIR. d) Wipe all surfaces regularly with sanitiser. Rinse chopping boards off regularly. e) Have only one WASHER UPPER for people’s plates and mugs etc. AVOID DIY washing up. This person must wash their hands first f) Keep food off surfaces and in containers. The central kitchen was full of plastic boxes and tubs of a variety of sizes for washing, storage and transportation of food. These are invaluable and it is recommended that you invest in a selection, some with lids, some without. They are also useful for serving (see below) If you're buying things in bulk, big brand new dustbins are an excellent investment as storage containers. g) If possible tubs for vegetable washing should be for that task only. Soil is a contaminant. h) Remember some people eating with you will have more vulnerable immune systems than you- take food hygiene seriously i) If you're going to use teatowels, you will need a few hundred. Loads and loads of aprons are also a good idea, then laundry becomes another issue to consider. Have a washing line available and take detergent for washing. Food Poisoning and Contamination a) It is a strong recommendation that you do NOT REHEAT RICE, or indeed anything. Cook to the number of people you have and weigh out grains. 10kg feeds 100people. If it helps to avoid wastage cook smaller batches more often rather than cooking a huge batch and wasting it b) Try not to have leftovers. Offer seconds once everyone has eaten. Throw away what is not eaten unless you have a cool place to store it. c) Have a food thermometer to check that all food has reached a temperature of 65-70 degrees before serving. This is vital if you do reheat in desperation. d) Avoid keeping food warm for long periods before during or after cooking. Food should be hot or cold e) Have plenty of hot water. Set aside an urn, burner or rocket stove for that purpose alone. Safety with heat and knives a) Have either bluntish or sharp knives - my experience is that a mixture between blunt and sharp knives is what's really dangerous and a uniform sharpish/bluntish is easier to maintain than all sharp. The reason for the cliché that sharp knives are more dangerous than blunt ones, is that you have to push hard, but this is only really the case with meat. How much resistance to vegetables really put up! b) Do not lift pans unaided and try and avoid moving them at all. Decant food into containers to serve using large jugs( see below) c) If you have to move large hot things around make sure everyone in the kitchen knows what you are about to do before you do it- shout a warning. d) Have pan holders. Take great care with urns and steam as many of the nastiest kitchen burns come from steam rather than flames. People management, timing and staffing a) Have one co-ordinator for each meal if possible. This is a constructive and fluid hierarchy and makes for better humour for all if someone has a recipe and system in mind and can take others through it. b) A list of daily tasks and tasks needed for the next meal on a whiteboard or whatever works well. It can also be helpful to delegate specific tasks to a group. One for salads, one for sauce etc. c) Keep children, dogs and snackers out of the kitchen. Make the kitchen recognisable as a separate area using counters and tables. d) Have set meal times and make them clear to avoid nagging, Make sure that the kitchen door shuts to the public at some points of the day so breaks can be taken and there is a sense of rest. If you're not confident at achieving your meal time let people know eg write “ish” after the time aimed at e) Set shifts for the volunteers and have a rota. f) Have tea coffee and snacks in a separate area so people can help themselves. Cooking For Many People Preparation a) Regard prep as a constant task not a prelim to a meal. Try to have lots of large clean plastic containers labels on that you can ask choppers to fill regardless of what time of day it is. b) Have working areas for veg, salad and important but fiddly things like garlic, ginger and chilli. It is good to use colour-coded chopping boards to separate salad and more mucky veg. c) Never turn any volunteers away, you will always need garlic and onions and the kitchen can always be cleaner. d) Use any downtime within range of a meal to put pulses into soak, boil beans and parboil hard veg like potatoes, carrots etc. Stock Control a) Ask neighbourhoods to bring containers for dried goods so it is easier for you to keep track centrally and then you do not have loads of bags open. Get items as you need them and keep track. Cooking Tips a) Prepare food in order of priority in terms of how long it takes to cook. Chop and cook potatoes before mushrooms for example. b) Add them to the pan using a similar logic. Hard stuff first, softer stuff later c) Several simple smaller dishes can be easier than a few large if you have the capacity. It also makes for variety if there is a bit of sauce and grains, some bean salad and side veg. It can also be simpler than a complex curry, and faster to cook. d) Don't be scared of big pots. Fill them gradually and bulk out with stock, lentils and pulses. Add bulk and then liquid to avoid drying out and burning. The protein element is important. And yes fifty onions is normal! Be careful not to let food stick on big pots make sure to have big enough wooden spoons. It will need stirring well because a lot of food is heavy and will stick to the bottom e) Lou cooks using a standard method that she finds works for most one pot sauces. Onions and veg fried with a bit of oil in order of toughness, add hot vegan stock (if you are making a sauce) for further cooking time, add cooked pulses and any tomatoes and condiments and then season. Other people have their own ways though. f) Don't be shy with seasoning in big pots. You will need more than you think! But do add salt and chilli steadily checking taste and heat. Lou has ruined more than one meal by chucking it in. She also adds garlic raw and late in the cooking process as often it has more power that way. It may be useful to fry spices in separate pan. People who really like salt or chilli can add more themselves. g) Don't rush grains or leave them until last minute as they take time. Start with heated water early and add the grains until the water just covers them. One technique is to stir as it boils and add more water if necessary. You can be more generous with water if you want to prevent burning. You can scoop the grains out with a wire hoop in this case rather than attempting to tip a heavy pan to drain. h) LIDS are very important and save a LOT of time and energy Serving a) It is usually best if you serve people, rather than self service. It helps with portion control and also avoiding germs. It also saves a lot of time and faffing. b) You can put food in containers on a table at right angles to the counter and stand in a line passing plates along each server who has a different item and finally handing them full to people through a 'hatch', or to the end of the queue c) People should take what they are given, they can always leave it. Don't fuck around with preferences. d) Only give seconds when you are sure everyone is eaten- though don't be saving food for too long for people who may or may not turn up in a bit, it will only lead to food wastage e) Have bread and cutlery, tea and coffee on another table so that you don't get a hold up from buttering etc.. f) We recommend that people bring their own cutlery and plates and you conserve your stash for people who are visiting or have forgotten g) make sure people donate and remind them! Onsite Kitchen Management and Tasks Immediately before Site Set Up A couple of kitchen people need to be in the area the day before the camp. They should buy enough veg and bread for two-three days of provision to about 100 people and store it in a van with kitchen equipment. If it is a squatted site it is best to be in the area quietly and not to take part in taking the site. You will need to be fresh for a whole day feeding people who have been up all night and have to set up a camp. Get onsite as soon as you can after it is taken. Get hot water and tea provision set up as soon as possible and provide bread and breakfast provisions. Set up the kitchen! And get going…. A Brief and Not Comprehensive Summary of Onsite Tasks and Routines. Set up a) Liase with the gate at the earliest possible time to get regular updates of numbers of people on site approximately. This is hugely helpful if not always accurate. b) Provide three meals a day for set up people and try and stay sane! Have a rota and make sure welcome team are including kitchen work in the set up tasks. c) Hot water crew set up hot water areas for washing up and tea d) Check in with neighbourhoods as they arrive: Find out when they will be set up, how many they will be feeding and make sure you have a kitchens meeting as soon as possible when the camp is nearly fully set up. Do health and hygiene advice sessions and gas set up checks. e) Set up food store and put fresh food in it in an orderly manner as it arrives. Expect disruption to this from the police and try to stay calm and negotiate. Get the food from the storage location when agreed . Main Camp a) When neighbourhoods kitchens are at full capacity try and scale down central provision fully and have a rest day or two, or at least do less meals than before. Try and maintain a position as overflow capacity or soup and snacks. b) Maintain kitchens meetings for troubleshooting and capacity checks. c) Neighbourhoods must  collect donations and pay them to central kitchen.Take in donations money from neighbourhoods, count, record and pass to finance group and 'check that neighbourhoods are collecting donations and at right level d)Set up a rota and keen crew for the 24 hour kitchen in action periods. e)Keep an eye on stock and liase with neighbourhoods about prudent use of expensive and easier to cook items. f)Try and change crew mid week and allow people to have rest and enjoy the camp. g)Re-order food and get new supplies on site as needed. This will be when vital items have generally run low, not when you run out of any non vital items. Bread and veg will need restocking at least twice. Take account of delivery days. Cash and Carries are also an option. Tat Down a) Begin to increase capacity again as neighbourhoods leave and gradually we move into tat down when we will be the only kitchen left. b) Try and have a fresh crew coming in for tat down or at least a co-ordinator with a clear head to do the last few days of cooking. c) When only a skelton crew is left then begin to dismantle the kitchen and distribute surplus food to appropriate places. d) Load the van and go home. Make sure central kitchen equipment ends up back in leeds! e) Have some kind of review meeting on lessons learnt for next year