Columbia Sportswear x Adventure Cooking

KITCHENLESS COOKING: AN ADVENTURE CHEF SHARES HER TOP SECRETS FOR MAKING AMAZING CAMPFIRE MEALS

“Camping season may be several months away, but wilderness chef Sophie Hollingsworth is already talking about ways to improve your outdoor culinary game this spring”

Sophie Hollingsworth likes to refer to her culinary style as what would happen if “Indiana Jones and Martha Stewart threw a dinner party.” The wilderness explorer, whose adventures have included trekking through the Namibian desert and descending uncharted rivers in Madagascar, is well versed in backcountry cooking. Aside from her own personal experiences, she runs A Taste of Adventure, an adventure catering business that creates immersive wilderness cooking experiences. She says that people are naturally drawn to cooking over open fires, as it’s something we’ve been doing for thousands of years. “Ingredients and methods change, but cooking over the fire is (rooted) deep in our ancestral DNA,” she explains. “I reckon the love of the fire is innate in all humans—even if it is buried deep down.”

According to Sophie, it’s not as daunting as it may seem to make rich and savory meals when you’re out in the wilderness. “It doesn’t matter if you’re a first-time fire cook or a seasoned pit master, as long as you have access to firewood, a knife, and some basic ingredients, you can have delicious fire-cooked feasts on your adventures or in your backyard.” To help you take your camping meals to the next level, we asked Sophie to share her top camp-cooking tips. Check them out below to learn how to make your food taste better and more mouthwatering when you’re grilling in the great outdoors.

Adventure chef Sophie Hollingsworth says that one of the keys to successful wilderness cooking is bringing the right tools. Among other gear, she often uses a braai grill plate (pictured below) which fits over the spare tire of a vehicle and converts any open flame into an instant grill.