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Culinary countdown

It’s time to get cooking, and the clock’s ticking, but you’ll have to work in your pairs to over-come the kitchen complications.

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You’ll need

  • Pens or pencils
  • Scrap paper
  • Access to a sink
  • Stopwatch or phone
  • Access to kitchen equipment

Before you begin

  • You may want to run this activity more than once, so everyone can have a turn at being a chef and a challenger.
  • You’ll need to ‘Set the scene’ and ‘Plan the challenge’ during one meeting, then ‘Prepare the pantry’, ‘Get in the kitchen’, and ‘Serve up’ next time.
  • Make sure you’re ready to do this activity safely. Refresh your mind about Food safety in Scouts, and read the Gas guidance if it’s relevant.
  • Download and display the Allergens poster, Faiths and foods poster, and Guidance on hand washing poster.
  • You may want to set a budget in advance. Think about whether you’ll use group money.
  • If it doesn’t work for you to meet at the shops, that’s OK. Adapt the activity – perhaps you could do an online order or some people could stop at the shops (with a list) on the way to the meeting.
  • If you don’t have cooking facilities in your normal meeting place, save this challenge for an overnight stay or trip where there are facilities.
  • It’s the leader’s responsibility to risk assess – they have the final say on whether a kitchen is suitably equipped (and on making sure that there are plans for people with dietary requirements).
  1. The person leading the activity should remind everyone not to eat a big meal before the next meeting – they’ll need plenty of space to eat their delicious creations.
  2. Make sure everyone knows where they’ll meet next time to ‘Prepare the pantry’ (and remind them to bring their shopping bags). Make sure parents and carers are aware. It may be useful to chat through the best travel options too.
  3. Everyone should run through Food safety in Scouts and make sure they know how to keep everyone safe.
  4. Make sure everyone knows what to wear when they’re in the kitchen. Everyone should come with their hair tied back (or at least with a hairband to tie it up when they arrive) and wearing clean clothes that aren’t too loose or flammable. It’s best for people to make sure their legs are covered and they’re wearing closed-toed shoes too. 
  1. Everyone should share their dietary requirements with the group so they can be taken into account. Do this before you split into groups – it’s important to think about the chefs’ requirements too as they’ll be handling the food.
  2. Everyone should split into two groups – the challengers and the chefs. The challengers will invent meals and challenges, while the chefs will give cooking a go. An adult should decide how many chefs it’s safe to have depending on the size of the cooking space and the equipment available. The chefs should always work in pairs.
  3. The challengers should work with an adult to plan a handful of meals that meet everyone’s dietary needs. The plans should list the core ingredients (including quantities) and a brief description of the finished dishes. They should plan meals that can be prepared and cooked in 45 minutes, and should avoid expensive ingredients or things it’ll be hard to find. They should make sure there’ll be enough of each dish for everyone in the group to try some. It’s OK to leave some of the finer details of the method out to increase the challenge. Seven plans should be plenty.
  4. The challengers should seal each of their finished plans in an envelope (or just fold it over).
  5. The challengers should create at least 16 ‘Complication cards’ that will add extra challenges for the chefs at different stages of the challenge. None of the challenges should make cooking unsafe or drastically increase the risk – they should be about encouraging the chefs to think on their feet to adapt to challenges. For example, ‘you can’t use your dominant hand for stirring or serving’, ‘you can’t use any more bowls’, and ‘you can’t use the scales’.
  6. Meanwhile, the chefs should work with some adults to assess the cooking area of kitchen. Is it safe? They should make sure they have everything they’ll need, including clearly labelled bins for food waste, recycling, and general waste. Go through the safety sheets you read before getting stuck in, so people know what to look out for.
  1. Everyone should meet at the shopping location they agreed and the chefs should get into pairs.
  2. A challenger should give each pair of chefs a random meal plan and a list of everyone’s dietary requirements.
  3. The chefs should set off to buy their ingredients. They should get everything they’ll need and check the labels carefully to make sure everything fits people’s dietary requirements. They should keep track of what they’re planning to buy to make sure they stick to their budget. The person leading the activity may choose to get some basic ingredients for all the chefs to share, such as oil and salt, so people don’t end up with lots left over.
  4. Once they’ve paid, everyone should pack their ingredients carefully. They should make sure the heaviest items are on the bottom, think about keeping things grouped (for example, all of the frozen items together) take extra care with things that are particularly fragile (such as eggs) or squishy (such as bread or soft fruit). Insulated cool bags are useful for keeping things at the right temperature.
  5. Everyone should head back to the meeting place.
  1. The chefs should unpack their ingredients and set up their cooking space.
  2. Someone should start the clock! They should set a timer for 45 minutes and put it somewhere everyone can see it.
  3. The chefs should get on with cooking, cleaning up as they go.
  4. Meanwhile, the challengers should get on with another activity. They could still work towards another part of their Chef Activity Badge, for example with the Camp kitchen pitchin' activity.
  5. When the timer says there are 40 minutes left, the challengers should offer each pair of chefs the face-down deck of ‘Complication cards’ they made. Each pair of chefs should choose a card and continue cooking while following its instruction.
  6. Everyone should repeat step five when there are 30 minutes left, then again when there are 20 minutes left. Each time, the new ‘Complication card’ should replace the existing one, which should be put to one side.
  7. When there are 10 minutes left, the chefs should pick a final ‘Complication card’ from the challengers’ deck. For the final 10 minutes, the chefs should follow all four of the ‘Complication cards’ they’ve picked in the activity at once.
  8. When the timer reaches zero, everyone should turn their appliances off and step away from their dishes. It’s OK to be a bit flexible with the time to make sure food’s cooked safely and put onto plates.
  1. The chefs should serve their creations to the challengers (and the people leading the activity).
  2. The challengers and people leading the activity should try a bit of everything. They should all use different, clean, cutlery. 
  3. The challengers should decide which dishes are the best. Which pair of chefs should be crowned the ‘culinary countdown champions’? They should think about which chefs worked together well, overcame obstacles, and produced something that looked and tasted good.
  4. Everyone should work together to wash up, wipe surfaces, dispose of waste, and distribute the meals (and spare ingredients). They should try to make sure there’s no food waste.

Reflection

This activity was all about being independent. Had people planned meals, shopped, or cooked for themselves before? How did it feel when people managed to do things for themselves? What did people do when they were unsure about something? Perhaps they asked a friend, or tried a few different solutions, before asking an adult. What tips do people have for others who may take on their role of chef or challenger?

This activity was also about keeping going. What challenges did people face along the way? The challengers may have come across a tricky dietary requirement or found it hard to focus on their task rather than watching the chefs. The chefs may have found it hard to keep going when the challengers kept making it trickier, or they may have had some other kitchen mishaps. How did people overcome the challenges? People could think about how they worked together and communicated.

Safety

All activities must be safely managed. You must complete a thorough risk assessment and take appropriate steps to reduce risk. Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Always get approval for the activity, and have suitable supervision and an InTouch process.

Cooking

Teach young people how to use cooking equipment safely. Supervise them appropriately throughout. Make sure it’s safe to use and follow manufacturers’ guidelines for use.

Fires and stoves

Make sure anyone using fires and stoves is doing so safely. Check that the equipment and area are suitable and have plenty of ventilation. Follow the gas safety guidance. Have a safe way to extinguish the fire in an emergency.

Food

Remember to check for allergies, eating problems, fasting or dietary requirements and adjust the recipe as needed. Make sure you’ve suitable areas for storing and preparing food and avoid cross contamination of different foods. Take a look at our guidance on food safety and hygiene.

Flammable items

Always take care when using flammable items, especially if you’re near fire. Always follow the manufacturer’s instructions and guidelines.

Sharp objects

Teach young people how to use sharp objects safely. Supervise them appropriately throughout. Store all sharp objects securely, out of the reach of young people.

Adapt the ‘Complication cards’ to suit your group. You could change the number of cards given out or the difficulty of the challenges. The challenge of ‘not using spoons’ could be made easier by changing it to ‘not using teaspoons’, for example.

Some people may find meeting somewhere different challenging, especially if it’s busy and unfamiliar. You could adapt the activity, for example, by buying the food in advance or even doing an online order.

Make sure the food is safe for everyone with dietary requirements. It may be best for individuals (or an adult, or both) to check the ingredients the chefs buy, just to be certain.

Make the cooking space as accessible as you can – would low-level tables and power outlets make it more accessible for anyone who can’t stand for long periods of time or uses a wheelchair? Could you expand the kitchen into another part of the meeting place if this would make it more accessible?

People could bring along any adaptive equipment they usually use, for example, electric tin openers.

Remember that some people have trickier relationships with food for lots of different reasons. Make the activity accessible for them by not expecting everyone to join in the same way. Some people may not like others seeing them eating, others may only eat certain foods, not want to mix different foods or textures, or eat at a faster or slower pace. Find a way for people to let you know about their needs (in private if that feels more comfortable) and make a plan to accommodate them in a respectful way. 

All Scout activities should be inclusive and accessible.

Scouts Chef Activity Badge

If people enjoyed this challenge, why not adapt it to fit your next event, trip, or camp? If you’re cooking on a campfire you may need fewer ‘Complication cards’, as the fire brings its own challenges. You could also manage risk by introducing all of the ‘Complication cards’ at the beginning and allowing more time (for example, setting the challenge of cooking without a cooking grill or knife before people begin).

This activity’s in the young people’s hands – they shape the whole experience by writing the meal plans and ‘Complication cards’.