Our top tips for Cooking in a Campervan

Avid camper enthusiasts know that the one thing there is never enough of is space. Packing and preparing your vans for a trip can often become a game of Jenga or Tetris so maximizing every nook & cranny is vital, particularly when it comes to cooking in a campervan. Nobody wants to become ‘hangry’ discovering essential culinary items are missing.

Here are our top tips to making sure you are fully prepared to feed you and your family after a day of being outdoors hiking, cycling, paddleboarding or whatever activity floats your boat when you hit the campsites.

Following just a few of these ideas may earn you those extra brownie points and the badge of ninja chef, all whilst balancing the restraints that come from having to work within a tight space.

• Don’t go overboard on pots & pans. Stick to the basics; like a small non-stick frying pan which will be easy to clean and do consider stackable, space saver pans. Lets face it, more often than not you will only have two rings! Think about durability when choosing, so that you know your items will last no matter how long the trip may be.

• One pot meals are often an easy option. A portable 12v slow cooker is great  if you have the luxury of electricity or a Dutch pot works equally well over an open fire too. The beauty of a one pot meal means you have more time to spend enjoying your adventure instead of slaving over a stove. Just make sure you have the space to store it so that it’s not cumbersome.

• Lack of space when it comes to meal preparation is tricky to balance but a small table-top, foldable camp kitchen table not only affords more room but means you can take meal prepping outside, whilst being a handy area to stash your pots, pans, and utensils after you’ve finished eating outdoors.

• Try to avoid gadgets that only serve a single purpose! Not only will they steal your valuable space but having multi-functionality is key. Portable grills and stoves add extra cooking space to small caravan or motorhome interiors and allow you to take the cooking outside. There are some very bijou, portable cooking stoves these days which can double up as BBQ’s, grills, pizza stones and even paella dishes.

• Cutlery and crockery are the vital necessities to all meals and whilst opting for disposable utensils may seem like a space saving hack for an overnight stay, they are not particularly environmentally friendly and do add to the rubbish that you will be left with at the end of your trip. For a feeling of a ‘home cooked meal’ opt for real crockery and popping a cutlery tray in your van means you will never need to search through drawers full of loose cutlery again.

• When mealtime is over, you’ll find that collapsible washing up bowls and buckets become the ultimate gadgets for clearing away, being convenient, practical and space saving.

• Perhaps the most important and invaluable tip is to PLAN your meals before you pack. Knowing exactly what you need for your trip from ingredients to utensils takes the chore out of deciding what to cook after a wonderful day outdoors, whilst saving you vital space for storing the really important things, like a couple of bottles of your favourite wine!

The team at Fennel UK might not be able to rustle up a five* meal for you but we can help to ensure you maximize on space, not least with our top tips above but also with our range of small and perfectly formed push button handles. Loved for their individual designs and produced to precise dimensions with the mobile and leisure vehicles in mind.

Fennel push button handles are all designed to improve the user experience, combining premium quality, style, and comfort to help provide an interior and environment where you can kick back and relax, and just as you would expect they are small on space but big on detail! Hit the ‘shop now’ tab to take a look at our full range. You might also want to check out our tambour doors, particularly useful in larger vehicles and motorhomes.