Most people aren’t going to a festival because they want to throw a banquet every night, but most people also want to enjoy their meals and don’t have the budget or dietary requirements to buy all their food when you’re there.

Also keep in mind that even if you enjoy camp cooking, you will have a lot less energy on day 3 of a festival than day 3 of your relaxed Cederberg camping trip.

Here’s a simple guide to meal prep that tries to strike the balance between effort and enjoyment.

Tips and Tricks

  1. Pack pre-made meals; this works well for shorter festivals (1-3 nights). Pick out a few meals that are still tasty when cold and keep well, cook them beforehand (if necessary) and keep them cool.
  2. Don’t cook anything. If you can eliminate the need to cook, you save massively in both time and equipment. A convenient way to do this is to bring easy-to-assemble breakfast and lunch (cereal, muesli, sandwiches, rolls, etc.) and buy your supper from the vendors.
  3. Only take a kettle. Particularly if you have access to electricity, this is a winner. Many hot meals just require boiling water, you can still have your morning coffee and it’s useful for cleaning up.
  4. Minimise dishes. If you want to cook, do it on the braai or choose a one-pot/one-pan meal. Better yet, eat out of the pot/pan and save on dishes!
  5. Ask ChatGPT to do it. ChatGPT is surprisingly good at making meal suggestions, writing recipes and collating shopping lists. Save yourself some time and take advantage of our robot overlords.

Meal Suggestions

Pre-made

Breakfast