Eating outdoors is a particular passion here at IDEAL, and after a year spent crammed around the kitchen table, night after night and elbow to elbow, the desire to get out there and eat al fresco is more strongly felt than ever.
Dining outside offers us the chance to slow down and relax, under the sun, sans screens and side by side with loved ones…just as it should be. Moreover, spending time outdoors boosts levels of Vitamin D, lowers stress and helps us reconnect with our elemental past.
In recent years, outdoor cooking has grown hugely in popularity here in the UK, despite the weather and because of the likes of chefs Niklas Ekstedt, Brat’s Tomos Parry and Berber & Q’s Josh Katz, who all advocate the benefits of cooking over open flames.
With interest in foraging and wild ingredients also gaining traction, more and more Brits are taking themselves into the countryside for a feast. And we’re right there with them. If you have a friend who loves to combine their love of the great outdoors with their love of food, then here are suggestions that might suit them to the ground; check out these 6 gifts to give someone who loves eating outdoors.
FORAGING UP A FEAST
Foraging, the act of gathering wild food for free, has become increasingly popular over the past few years, especially since the start of the pandemic. As the Guardian reported last year, “the annual Waitrose Food and Drink report predicts that foraging will carry on enjoying a surge in popularity in 2021, noting an 89% increase in social media interest”.
Whilst 2022 is only a few days old, we wouldn’t be at all surprised if this trend continued into the new year.
Whilst we trust your friend has at least a passing knowledge of which berries are non-poisonous and which mushrooms might cause them to start hallucinating, a book on edible, wild plants, herbs, vegetables and fruits might be just the ticket. The books Forage: Wild Plants to Gather, Cook and Eat by Liz Knight and The Forager’s Cookbook by James Wood will help kickstart your friend on their foraging journey, safely and informatively. For a bonus present, throw in a pair of safety gloves – especially useful if your pal is a fan of foraged nettles!
A STYLISH POCKET KNIFE
The pocket knife – an outdoor cook’s best friend – is easy to carry and to store, and is always there when you need it. While no doubt your friend has a bog-standard camping pen knife, consider gifting them a new pocket knife for an upgrade.
It’s a well-known fact that chefs and cooks love their fancy knives and there are some pretty exquisite pocket knives out there created with the “wow factor” in mind, from ones with old-fashioned faux-bone handles to titanium handles. Brands like Deejoo offer stunning finishes on their blades too, from a simple mirrored sheen to both matt grey and black titanium veneers.
While some argue that folding knife blades aren’t large or versatile enough to do a great job with cutting up food or meal prep, we reckon they are perfectly adequate for basic meal prep and cooking. And when you’re cooking outdoors, it doesn’t pay to be too precious…rather defeats the point, don’t you think?
A pocket knife should be a staple in every cook’s carry arsenal. There are countless uses for a pocket knife when cooking and dining alfresco. Just a few include the clean removal of foraged mushrooms while strolling in the woods, snipping enough wild herbs for your supper without damaging the rest for another forager, opening tins and cans around the campfire, performing basic butchery and vegetable prep, and even shucking oysters. Also, and while this is not an outdoor scenario, if your friend is eating steak in a restaurant and the knife isn’t sharp enough, they can just pull out their pocket knife. Let your imagination run wild (though not so wild that you end up cutting yourself!).
If you’re not yet convinced, rumour has it that the pocketknife has become de rigueur among young hipsters too, and let’s face it, a lot of chefs who love cooking outside with wood and fire could be categorised in that bracket.
Read: 6 practical tips for eating outdoors
A STAYCATION TRIP TO THE SEASIDE FILLED WITH COOKING
A meal enjoyed in the great outdoors, with even greater company, is one of life’s greatest pleasures. So, why not give your friend the best gift of all? No, we don’t mean a diamond ring and a new car, but rather, give them the gift of your undivided attention and time.
If your foodie friend loves fish, consider a camping trip to (or a seaside holiday home on) the Cornish coast, which is a major draw for fish lovers. With excellent local producers and fantastic produce, Cornwall is ideally suited for cooking fish on the barbeque and eating oysters on the beach. St Ives, Newquay, Penzance, Port Issac and Padstow, in particular, all have incredible food scenes.
Speaking of oysters, Essex, which also offers exceptional countryside, green marshland and hundreds of miles of coastline to enjoy, is also awesome for camping. With mineral-rich, brackish tides, Essex estuaries are the perfect breeding ground for oysters. Alternatively, the estuaries and salt marshes of the Kent coast are perfect not only for oysters, but also for lovers of lamb. While you’re there, a trip to the UK’s number one gastropub, the Sportsman, is a must!
Alternatively, rural log cabins are all about celebrating being at one with nature, and the majority come with well-appointed outdoor cooking facilities, so why not consider taking your food-loving friend to one for a holiday of dining al fresco?
A MINI BBQ
For the outdoor cook, the pinnacle of the experience is, without doubt, cooking over an open flame. That said, it’s no secret that disposable BBQs can leave food tasting a lot like lighter fluid, and that’s before we consider their impact on the environment. In fact, last year it was announced that disposable barbecues would no longer be sold by the Co-op near UK national parks, to support bans and stop fires.
As Miles King, the chief executive of the charity People Need Nature told the Guardian “We’re in a climate and ecological emergency and we just can’t afford to risk our vulnerable wildlife and their habitats from being torched because someone wants to cook an alfresco sausage.”
So, to ensure your friend can still enjoy the joys of eating al fresco responsibly, why not gift them a mini, portable BBQ this year.
For something a little less pricey, an outdoor cook can never have too many enamel pans, which respond particularly well to the unpredictable heat of the open flame.
A PORTABLE STOVE
A reliable portable stove can make all the difference to a good outdoor trip and the joys of eating al fresco. Is there anything better than giving the gift of fire to an outdoor cook via a portable stove? We certainly don’t think so.
When it comes to portable stoves, they vary immensely in size. Generally speaking, for trips into the great outdoors, the smaller the better; after all, no one wants to be lugging a huge stove through a forest or up a hill.
If your friend who loves cooking outdoors already owns a portable stove, consider gifting them a portable stove accessory like a hotplate.
AN IMMERSIVE WOODLAND DINING EXPERIENCE
Sure, it’s great to cook outdoors – that we’ve established – but sometimes, it’s even better to be cooked for outdoors. Fortunately, there are immersive alfresco dining experiences aplenty available in the UK, and one of our favourites is from the guys from Nomadic. They offer an outdoor immersive dining experience in a woodland setting in Buckinghamshire, within an hour’s commuting distance of London.
If dining on a table carved out of a birch tree surrounded by a woodland glade and roaming animals is the kind of thing your pal likes, then this is the ideal gift for them.
Seasonality dictates the menu and diners are invited to go foraging before settling down to a feast. Theatrical, informative but most of all, delicious, this is the ideal gift for the friend who loves to eat outdoors but doesn’t necessarily enjoy the washing up!