Are albergue kitchens currently open?

It depends. I walked the CP earlier this year, and there was a mix. No kitchen was closed, per se, but only a few had cooking equipment and utensils, and fewer still had crockery and cutlery for serving any meals that might have been prepared. Many kitchens had microwaves, but never any microwave safe cooking equipment, but there were fridges in every albergue I stayed at.

I expect that the other camino routes will be much the same.

Kitchens were open on the stretch of the CF and on the CA when we were walking last summer, but as @dougfitz mentioned with mixed amounts of service warehouse and cooking ware.

This summer on the CF I didn't always sleep in albergues but the kitchens I saw were open to use, not very different than pre pandemic. Some only had microwaves and / or not a lot of equipment, but you could still prepare sandwiches, salad ect. For example:

- Roncesvalles (not much equipment and no shop in town, so you need to bring ingredients or buy microwave meals from the vending machine, but that was already the case pre Covid).
- Zubiri municipal (renovated, new simple kitchen is now inside the building, had no fridge if I remember correctly?)
- Cizur Menor / Orden de Malta: fully functioning kitchen, big supermarket in Cizur Major or small tienda in town, hospitaleros were very happy to see pilgrims cook a communal meal
- Puente la Reina / Padres Reparadores: fully functioning kitchen, as always very busy, same as pre Covid
- Estella municipal: open and theoretically has everything, but stoves were not allowed to be used for some reason
- los Arcos Issac Santiago: fully functional kitchen, same as I remembered it pre covid
- Najera municipal: fully functioning kitchen, same as pre covid
- Burgos municipal: only microwaves, more decoration than a real kitchen, same as pre covid
- Hornillos Meeting point: microwave kitchen incl. fridge
- Cacabelos municipal: simple microwave outdoor kitchen if I remember correctly, had a fridge too I think?

The donativos with communal meals I stayed at offered their communal dinner just as before Covid - I stayed at Zabaldika, Logrono and Granon.

The only totally empty kitchens I ever saw (without any pots/plates/forks ect.) were in Galicia (Xunta albergues) but that was pre covid, not sure what they're like now, if they're open at all, didn't stay at one this year.

In general, carry a tiny pot that doubles as a cup, a plate, a spork and an opinel knife and you don't have to worry about kitchenware and can prepare some (cold) food even if there's no kitchen at all.

Buen Camino

My experience in summer 2020 and 2021 on the Frances then Norte/Primitivo - and from what my daughter told me in 2021 about the Frances... Not all kitchens reopened. Definitely more open this year than last year though. If you need kitchens, I would verify in advance whether or not they are open AND what kind of cookware/dinnerware is currently being stocked in the kitchen. Why? This year it seemed that some kitchens were technically reopened - but not stocked with anything helpful to allow you to actually cook.

Same goes for Communal dinners - many places began hosting them again. Some did not.

I’m the Hospitalero now in Ribadiso da Baixo. The kitchen is open , stove , oven, microwave and refrigerator, without utensils or cooking gear.

dougfitz said:

It depends. I walked the CP earlier this year, and there was a mix. No kitchen was closed, per se, but only a few had cooking equipment and utensils, and fewer still had crockery and cutlery for serving any meals that might have been prepared. Many kitchens had microwaves, but never any microwave safe cooking equipment, but there were fridges in every albergue I stayed at.

I expect that the other camino routes will be much the same.

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It seems as the years go by there are less kitchens that have full services to cook, and eat and clean up after your meal. Covid may be part of the reason of course, but I think there are many albergues that may be tired of some pilgrims not cleaning up properly, taking "just" a spoon, or not properly respecting and taking care of plates, pots, pans etc in their kitchens. Just a guess and not an accusation.