First class cooking requirement?

[yaworski]

I don't have the handbook in front of me but I recall that one of the requirements for 1st Class is to serve as patrol cook for a campout, planning the menu, cost breakout, etc.

 

In my troop the prevailing belief is that means that if Scouts do this as a group -- plan the menu together, one guy cook breakfast, one guy lunch, etc., this counts.

 

I read it as meaning each scout has to do the whole job himself from beginning to end, planning and cooking. Of course, someone else gets to clean up since that isn't the cook's job.

 

What is the general interpretation of this requirement?

 

 

[k9gold-scout]

The new requirement says each scout must "cook" all 3 meals - no hot dogs and chips - no cocopuffs ect.

[dan]

 

I CANNOT beleive that this requirement throws the patrol concept out!

[sctmom]

Requirement 4a

Help plan a patrol menu for one campout -- including oen breakfast, one lunch, and dinner -- that requires cooking. Tell how the menu includes the 4 basic food groups and meets nutritional needs.

 

Requirement 4e

On one campout, serve as a patrol's cook. Supervise your assistant(s) in using a stove or building a cooking fire. Prepare the breakfast, lunch, and dinner planned in requirement 4a. Lead your patrol in saying grace at the meals and supervise cleanup.

 

 

In my opinion, it does support the patrol method -- we can't all cook at the same time. The cook has leadership responsibilities. Sounds like 4a can be done as a group, but 4e you have to be THE cook for the campout and supervise helper and cleanup crew. (A good reason to have a lot of campouts, so everyone gets a chance at this in the first year or so.)

 

Four basic food groups? Do kids know what that is? I thought everyone was on board with the food pyramid these days.

 

[yaworski]

"Four basic food groups? Do kids know what that is? I thought everyone was on board with the food pyramid these days."

 

The food pyramid is basically the same thing except that they seem to have broken out "fruits and vegatables" into "fruits" and "vegatables" which doesn't make a lot of sense since there isn't much or anything that you can get from one that you can't get from the other.

 

I do have a feeling that the food pyramid will come crumbling down in a few years. It is heavily grain oriented and now carbohydrates are coming under fire.

[sctmom]

In something I was looking at that was written in the 40's or 50's, "oleo" was listed as a food group. LOL

Go ask the kids if they have eaten their "oleo" today. Not OREO! Even though I think chocolate is a basic food group.

 

 

 

[yaworski]

So there was the milk group, meat group, and oleo group? Must have been during the time that they were trying hard to push margarine as a butter substitute.

 

 

[OldGreyEagle]

At one time I think the food group "Fat" sat on top of the food group, might explain the Oleo mention. Then again I remember when oleo came in white sticks and had coloring to make them yellow...

 

Actually the perfect food is Pizza, has the grains in the crust, the dairy in the cheese, the vegtables in the peppers/mushrooms/olives and the protein in the sausage and pepperoni and if I missed anything, it can be added. COme to think of it I am a bit hungry right now...

 

Anyway, to get back to task, I read it as the person passing the requirement needs to be the primarily cook for the meals. SO that means only one per patrol can pass per campout. The again, the adult patrol could stand having their food cooked by a scout. It can be done.

[ScouterPaul]

I think this requirement does support the Patrol Method. The Patrol decides on the menu. During every Patrol outing there is a duty roster prepared where each member has specific duties to perform all of which are for the good of the Patrol. Requirement 4e - serve as the Patrols cook - supervise the assistant(s)... If you have ever worked in a resteraunt then you know that the Chef does not do all the cooking he supervises the assistants. Doesn't this help to prepare the Scout to lead others?

 

Aren't Oreos at the bottom of the food pyramid?

[stressbaby]

I don't think this requirement is inconsistent with the patrol method but it does create problems on the duty roster for a campout. When one of our boys needs to complete 4e for first class, he brings this up at the patrol meeting when the boys complete the duty roster. If he and an assistant are cook and fire for the entire campout, the rest of the boys are stuck with KP all weekend. So far it hasn't been a problem with our new troop, but I wonder whether it could be and what solutions are out there.

 

Stressbaby

[LauraT7]

We haven't done the "Patrol" system for very long - previously, what was done was that those boys who needed those requirements of planning and cooking were always given priority in campouts. It does say "help plan a PATROL menu" - which to me, means multiple input.

 

then the requirements of food groups, nutritional needs, list of food, and costs, gear needed, safe handling of food, garbage, etc were all done individually by the boy with an ASM or other adult to sign off.

 

then those boys, say (2 or 3 in a patrol at most) would be assigned cooking duty on the next campout. Sometimes they could not ALL be "cooks", or they didn't make the campout they planned for - so they would be given the job of "cook" on the next campout.

 

this has become easier since we started using patrols for meals - more opportunities for cooking!

 

And yes, they DO have to cook THREE meals but we often don't get them all in one campout. for some oddball reason, our troop has a habit of one-nighter campouts, with lots of biking, or hiking - activity stuff that we ususally bring sack lunches for. Sometimes it's hard to fit in that "lunch" cooking meal. But what we often do for this is have the boys bring a sack lunch or non-cooking meal and suppliment with some kind of "hot" extra the boys cook - like soup, or stew.

[Eagle Foot]

The First Class cooking requirement can be a problem if it is left to the end of all of the requirements. I have found that it does support the patrol method because the others will have to assist with clean up, they all eat toghether, and have grace. The patrol members need to support the scout or scouts doing the cooking. It will be their turn and they will want cooporation also. If a scout cooks for at least himself and three others that's four...min. amount for a patrol. If the scout cooks for either his patrol members...pluss some of the adults I can't see why that would not keep him covered with the requirement. Planing ahead for this will be the key. I found that that must be done, because more than one scout will be working on this. This is something that needs to be considered as the scouts reach Second class and are looking twards First Class. I also have found that the PLC needs to keep this req. in check when planning.

[mk9750]

As an Advancement Chair, I think that this is one of the ways Advancement Chairs can be very helpful to Scouts and patrols as they tackle the cooking requirements. If someone (it is me in our troop, as we activley use Troopmaster software) tracks the progression of each of the boys in a patrol), he or she can assist the patrol leader whil making out duty rosters. The cooking requirements all build on each other. Boys working on Tenderfoot must gather and make fuel wood for a fire, and light a cooking fire. Boys working on 2nd class must assist a cook. And the boys working on 1st class have to lead the cooking activity. Even in the most strict environments, three boys can be responsible for these three functions on a campout, and, if done satisfactorily, be signed off. If the troop were to a bit more liberal, more than one could do the fire and assisting. But it takes someone to make sure the patrol leader takes this into account when doing the duty roster.

Mark