Troop Menu Planning

[OldGrayOwl]

Our PLC came up with an idea for menu planning.

The troop would plan the menu for the next campout, making sure that it is a balanced menu. It would be up to the patrols to get the food for their patrols and prepare however they want to, but they have to use the ingredients that the Troop planned for.

 

What do you think?

[local1400]

Interesting. Will the adult leaders sample and judge the meals? Could be a good competition for the patrols and to see who can really serve it up good.

[OldGrayOwl]

Yes, they shall.

They are also going to be cooking as well (adults REALLY like to eat )

 

[FScouter]

Sometimes the PLC comes up with a great idea and we go with it. Sometimes they come up with a so-so idea or something likely to be not too sucessful, and we go with it. Sometimes they come up with something that conflicts with basic Scouting principals and I (SM) advise them that while the idea has merit, let''s find another way to work it.

 

This is a good case of an idea that breaks down the patrol method. If this was my PLC, I''d ask them what they are trying to accomplish or what problem they are trying to solve such that a menu dictated from above is the best solution. Then I''d help them explore other solutions.

 

So, in this case, what is the PLC thinking about that leads to a PLC menu, and how does this idea support or detract from the patrol method or the other methods? How would the patrols or the troop be better off with a menu written by the PLC?

[Beavah]

Yah, I''m with FScouter here, eh?

 

This might be an OK thing to do for a while, if you''ve got young PL''s who really don''t yet have the skills to do menu planning on their own, and you don''t have the adults to actively coach each PL. You work with the PLC as a group, demonstratin'' how to put together a single menu that''s good and nutritious, and then help ''em buy the right quantities.

 

That can be a fine way to teach for a few months, until they build up a repertoire. But then it should fade out. Yeh might start by encouraging a "strong" patrol to do food on their own, and then as each patrol "takes off" let this troop method technique go.

 

Of course, this could also be a way to start transitioning from "troop method". If up until now you''ve been doing everything as a whole troop, you take the first step by keeping planning and buying as a whole troop, but do cooking by patrol.

 

Beavah

 

[OldGrayOwl]

Nope,

They just want to try something different. They have been acting as "normal" patrols all along, they just want to see how many different ways that work for cooking different meals. Like local1400 stated, a competition between patrols, after the winning meal recipies wii be posted on our troop website. They just got tired of Ramon noodles and cold cereal. I guess that some people just can''t fathom having a Scout run troop.

[anarchist]

OldGrayOwl,

 

I guess I would ask the question...Why?

 

Are the patrols so weak that they can not plan and exicute a meal?

 

but without background it just sounds like the PLC had a bad idea...and you let them run with it...boy led alright.

 

If it is a matter of having a cooking contest...just set the main food item(s) such as chicken breasts and rice or hamburger and potatoes and see where they end up...judge not only on prep and taste but on originality or imagination! (shepard pie trumps haburgers and fries).

 

Your last post (or dig?) might just indicate weak patrols, PLC and SPL...rather than folks here not understanding the patrol method...IMHO if you want to head down the road of troop cooking -have at it...just don''t blame it on following boy led...boy led does not mean adult (or SPL) abdication...

 

If the boys are tired of noodles and junk...who is to blame? Start with the patrol leaders and work your way up the Chain...Train them right and the PLC does not have to short circuit the process.

 

 

my three cents.

Anarchist

[OldGrayOwl]

Nope.

Not it at all.

The troop (PLC + patrols) do NOT want to have troop cooking, they like patrol cooking, they want to see how well they can come up with different methods for preparing the same food, and YES, the PLC and the patrols do understand the patrol method as well as the adults.

If you let them run with an idea, even though you know it isn''t a good one, how can you get them to learn. I know, just have ...... come along and teach them how to spell exicute, as well as his idea of the patrol method.

How does this idea conflict with the Basic principals of Scouting?

Isn''t the PLC elected by the members of the troop?

The PLC is trying something a little different than other troops are doing for ONE campout. They really want the members of their patrols to see how they can fair with limited ingredients on menus.

 

Example: Breakfast - eggs, sugar, orange juice, baking mix, milk, butter, vanilla..... Let''s see.....that sounds a lot like pancakes and orange juice + milk

 

Lunch . Bread, peanut butter, jelly, ham, cheese, turkey, milk, apples.... sure sounds like a nice bag lunch

 

Dinner - beef cubes, potatoes, carrots, peas, onions, brown sugar, tomatoes, beef broth... that might just be some real nice beef stew.

 

They want to see about the different styles of cooking from a limited choice if ingredients. Is THAT in violation of the patrol method?

 

The patrols have come up with this idea at different times throught the year for a weekend cooking contest, and the PLC decided that the upcoming campout would be a good time for them to do it.

 

What happens at summer camp where the troops are supplied with the ingredients for their meals? Isn''t this the same thing? Oh, I know, you all just go to summer camp where the STAFF fixes the troops the food and all the Scouts have to do is some waiter duty. Yeah, that is the Scouting way and the Scouting method. The Scouts are away for an entire week and they have to eat by dinning hall, instead of cooking for themselves.

 

on edit - I should have titled the thread Meal Contest instead.

(This message has been edited by OldGrayOwl)

[Venividi]

I actually like the idea. PLC comes up with a menu of, say for example, beef stew for dinner. Patrol A makes a traditional stew with beef, carrots, celery, onions, and has bisquits baked in a dutch oven; Patrol B makes the same, with the addition of turnips & rutebagas, and cooks the bisquits as dumplings in the stew. Patrol C makes a goulash style stew by including paprika.

 

OGO indicates that this is for the next campout, and does not imply that it is for all future campouts.

 

As an aside, our troop was a believer in patrol cooking type of summer camp. Each patrol was given Exactly the same ingredients for every meal. A week of this really improved the patrol''s cooking skills, and patrols were then more confident in selecting more complicated meals during the rest of the year. A great benefit, even though the patrol did not plan the menu at summer camp.

 

 

 

[OldGrayOwl]

Thank you, Venividi.

That is exactly the reasoning the PLC had behind the idea.

[Beavah]

Yah, OK OGO, sorry I had trouble readin'' through my bifocals.

 

As a one-shot outing, sure, why not?

 

Could even become a regular feature once a year.

 

You could up the challenge next time by having a set of odd ingredients to do something good with. Sorta like a "Top Chef challenge".

 

Now, if in their regular patrols all they''re doin'' is ramen noodles and cold cereal, then I reckon the place to start is by using your JLT time, or a part of each PLC meeting each month, to teach the patrol leaders how to cook.

 

Beavah

 

[Eagledad]

I always get excited when the PLC changes a part of program to improve performance. I agree with Fscout about guarding the principles of the program, but I also want to see if they have a good idea. I dont see this becoming a bad it, I wouldn''t hesitate explaining my concern to the PLC and having a discussion that might lead to an even better idea. That has happened several times.

 

I love it when scouts think out of the box.

 

Barry

 

[John-in-KC]

OGO,

 

When you can tell me EVERY SCOUT in your Troop has met First Class Requirement 4a:

4a. Help plan a patrol menu for one campout that includes at least one breakfast, one lunch, and one dinner, and that requires cooking at least two of the meals. Tell how the menu includes the foods from the food pyramid and meets nutritional needs.

Source url:

http://www.scouting.org/boyscouts/resources/32215/firstclass.html

 

THEN AND ONLY THEN would I encourage any form of cooking competition at the full patrol level. Support advancement first. What you''ve done for a 2d Class Scout going to 1st Class is cause him to forfeit an opportunity to do this.

 

Have you thought of having individual cooks register for a competition?

 

 

Edited in: This is a very hot button issue with me. Five years ago, we had a campout on the far side of the state just before our LT camp for the year. Only about 10 Scouts wanted to go; PLC agreed to consolidate to a single patrol. Eagle Son (then 2d Class) volunteered to be the cook. He had a BBQ-Mac as dinner, dutch oven biscuits for breakfast, and on and on. Good menu, and he'd practiced the tasks at home.

 

PLC overrode him to just mac and cheese. An ASM later tried to chew his butt... SM and I pointed ASM to the SPL (who wasn't on the campout).

 

So now, I'm a bulldog when it comes to protecting menu planning and cooking for 2d class Scouts seeking First Class!

(This message has been edited by John-in-KC)

[PeteM]

So John,

I guess that your boys don''t go to dinning hall summer camp like OGO mentioned, UNLESS ALL of your boys have finished First Class cooking, RIGHT???

[acco40]

In our troop, we have a "troop meal plan" that all patrols have to follow: Meals need to be cooked. Cooking involves the mixing of two or more ingredients (doesn't include water) and the application of heat. We have to dust this off every few month or so when the kids do nothing but bagels, milk and cereal, sandwiches, i.e. for all meals.

 

Each patrol leader should have a general idea of the advancement status of all his patrol members and thus voice his opinion on cooking and other such items at the PLC. So if many need the "cooking requirements" he should be pushing the idea that they get the chance.

 

If the troop wants to ensure a balanced menu - review the menus. Don't dictate ingredients. Also, in our troop, I decided that the adults eat as a patrol to remove the pressure on the Scouts to cook "adult" food. We have different palates and when the adults ate the youth prepared food I had too much of a problem getting the adults to "back-off" and let the kids prepare the meals.(This message has been edited by acco40)