Cooking on the Camino

[TorontoGMan]

Hi all!
I just picked up a very lightweight 2 person pan set...
I seem to understand that at times one may have the chance to save a Euro or two, while being able to serve those pilgrims nearby with a meal....
In Your Humble Opinion...(love that!), can a wannabe chef have fun with something like this?

 

[Bradypus]

Useful in the Xunta albergues in Galicia which mostly have stoves but no cooking utensils! A never-ending source of annoyance.

 

[J Willhaus]

@TorontoGMan many of the kitchens will have cookware and plates (although as you get into Galicia, the Xunta albergues have lovely kitchens, but absolutely no kitchen ware.) I would say you won't need your cookware. We have cooked many times on the Camino and did not need to bring any cookware. What may be a great addition to the albergue cooking scheme is a good sharp knife. Albergue knives all seem to be as sharp as a butter knife. We always bring a good sharp pocket knife with corkscrew or buy one once we get in country.

If cooking with others you can definitely save money. Cooking just for yourself, maybe not so much as you can't always buy in small quantities except maybe individually packaged things that come with microwavable cups/plates, etc. Very fun though to cook with others on the Camino. Usually meals are a big pot of pasta, bread, wine, salad, fresh fruit, etc.

 

[Rick M]

I have cooked a few times on Camino, some albergues have terrific kitchens and nearby shops. Linares, just after O'Cebreiro has no restaurant and you pretty much have to cook your own dinner there. Expect some chances to cook, but don't take any equipment. Keep your pack as light as possible. Take nothing that you do not need, and even those should be multi purpose. Your feet will thank you for it.

 

[naplesdon]

The Benedictines in Sahagun promote a communal meal and there is a great place to shop just across the street. Other than that pretty slim options. I remember years ago the knobs on the cooktop in Logrono had been removed to keep pilgrims from cooking.

 

[J Willhaus]

There is a good kitchen in Azofra. You will cook together at Granon. We cooked meals with others at several other places on different caminos (Religios-La Parada, Estella-San Miguel, Zamora-Albergue de Peregrinos, Belrado- Hostel Point B). You should be able to see on the apps which albergues have a kitchen and be sure to ask when you check in of you aren ot sure. If you are staying in hotels, you will not usually find this option though.

 

[DoughnutANZ]

I cooked a couple of chicken curries in Sahagun for the shared evening meal. Biggest issues were a lack of a sharp knife and the tiny stove which meant that another pilgrim who had also planned to cook that night had to wait for me to finish before he could start and this made it a bit awkward.

Attempted to cook a shared pasta meal for some pilgrims that I met in Albergue Santa Clara in Carrión de los Condes and was on the other end of the situation, waiting for others in front of me in the queue who just left their dirty pots in the sink and didn't care about anyone else who might need them.

 

[Vacajoe]

The general rule is that you need three things for an albergue meal - kitchen, pots/pans/dishes, and a market - but you’ll only get two of those wherever you stop for the night! .

 

[Gerard Griffin]

You can save a fortune with that kit, there's a great range of microwave meal, la Carilla I think, heat nicely in a pan either on the road or in a hostel when no-one's looking, at need. Arriba!!

 

[Rita Flower]

You will need something if you want to cook in Galicia Xunta albergues. A light plastic microwaveable bowl was very useful.