Scouts give up bangers and beans for risotto and paella
Scouts cooking around the campfire are turning up their noses at traditional bangers and beans - in favour of risotto and paella.
Source: Telegraph.co.uk
Last Updated: 5:40PM BST 08 May 2009
Scouts are binning the tins of spaghetti to make way for gourmet dishes like paella and risotto
The group, famous for its "Be prepared" motto, is binning the tins of spaghetti to make way for gourmet dishes you could find in any good restaurant.
It is being blamed on the UK's obsession with celebrity chefs like Jamie Oliver and Hell's Kitchen star Marco Pierre White.
A new survey has revealed the growing craze for experimental cooking has led to the death of traditional camping snacks as complex culinary dishes cooked from scratch take over.
The poll was carried out by The Scouts and Scouts Chefs Badge sponsors Dutch Edam and showed kids as young as six were cooking up a storm outside their tents.
Simon Carter from The Scouts Association said he was not surprised about the new trend in eating.
He said: "It was just a matter of time before haute cuisine found its way onto the campsites of Britain.
"We're all about having an adventure in the great outdoors and this really shows it.
"Who would have thought when the Scouting Association formed in 1907 that good old traditional camping grub would be side-lined for gourmet dishes that get served in top class restaurants?
"With cookery programmes dominating our TV channels, Scouts are determined to give celebrity chefs a run for their money.
"We want to do our best to re-create their challenging recipes in the great outdoors."
Risotto was the top campsite meal with and incredible 32 per cent of votes, paella second with 28 per cent, followed by veggie and meat skewers with 15 per cent.
In fourth was pasta bake with 14 per cent, with fifth position going to home-made cheeseburgers with 11 per cent.
Four hundred scouts were quizzed on their tastes in an online poll conducted on the internet last week.
The survey also showed food was not the only thing to be upgraded by modern-day campers.
Nowadays the average camping kit is now worth a whopping £1,000, packed with luxury items including sat navs, iPods, tents, and camping stoves.
A spokesperson for Dutch Edam added: "We're delighted to see that cooking a healthy, nutritious meal has become a real craze within the camping community.
"It seems people realise, that with a bit of creative thinking, cooking on a camping stove can be just as inspiring as cooking at home in the kitchen.
"The Scouts Chef's badge encourages kids to prepare and make a healthy, balanced three-course meal specifically for around the campfire.
"It's great to see that so many are now being inspired to be adventurous with their campsite cookery and leaving their tin-openers at home."
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