Coronavirus cook-off becomes ultimate guide to camp oven cooking

It began as a challenge to create the most spectacular camp oven meal known to man. It’s now an online hit, not only for locked down Aussies, but ‘cough-dodgers’ across the globe.

When Peter Lorimer started doing camping oven cook-offs with his son Jack, he had no idea the cooking challenge would turn into a social media phenomenon.

The challenge — to create the most spectacular meal using just a camping oven over a fire — has become an online hit in lockdown.

Mr Lorrimer said the challenge started as a way to keep entertained with his son during the first lockdown.

“In a nutshell, when the country went into pandemic lockdown in March, 2020, I was on the hunt for something to break the boredom of isolation in my Newcastle apartment,” he said.

“After yarning to my son, Jack, 23 at the time, in Gunnedah, who was also going stir-crazy, we decided to launch a camp oven cook-off via ­videos and texts on our iPhones — a little bit of friendly banter and an ­excuse to sample a cold beer and a thimble of fine Bundy Rum.”

Camp Oven larrikins Peter Lorimer, Murray Hartin and Jack Lorimer. Picture by Paul Mathews.

The first cook-off saw the pair battle it out with lamb shanks and damper versing a red wine garlic beef stew, with the results posted to Facebook and ­Instagram.

“A few mates contacted me during the following week asking if they could join in and the next weekend we cooked with 20 enthusiasts,” Lorimer said.

“Within a few months we had more than 12,000 members from all states in Australia and also followers from overseas.”

And the followers, who Peter dubs his band of sneeze-evaders, cough-dodgers and larrikins, rise to every challenge.

Josie and Kailee Gallagher cook up a storm for one of the camp oven cook-offs. Picture by Peter Lorimer.

Whether it’s themes like “cook something from the water” or “sweet treats”, the camping cooks have come up with some wild recipes.

One follower created a potato bake in a whole pumpkin while one used the camp cooker to make ­apples stuffed with chocolate and caramel.

For a special cook-off Lorimer called up his old mate, bush poet Murray Hartin, and asked him to craft a poem for the project.

It was then the idea for a book was born.

Camping cooks come up with wild, creative concoctions using their camp ovens.

Gunnedah's Cathy Riley produced some outstanding camp oven recipes during the cook-offs. Picture: Peter Lorimer

A cookbook will feature Murray’s poems and Peter’s photography with the recipes.

Mr Hartin said anyone with a camp oven and a fire can get ­involved. “It’s something they can throw in their caravan or camping bag … we are both larrikins and camp oven cooking is not an exact science,” he said. “It’s slow as you go and no real rules ­recipe wise — if you don’t like something, take it out and put something else in!”

The book Camp Oven Cooking: The Complete Aussie Guide is out in October.

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Originally published as Coronavirus cook-off becomes ultimate guide to camp oven cooking