You've discovered that there are lots of alternatives - all of which valid.
The wind break is simple shelter for a tenner, or your initial thought of rigging up a tarp could be fine if its not windy and you can fix it up.
I'm sure the rest of your party will be happy for you to stand out in the rain cooking for them without any shelter - joking aside, if you do all your prep inside then depending on the meal might get away with minimal trips outside.
I opt for a small kitchen tent. Or cook outside under a Go-Outdoors tarp with a decent windbreak near enough (not too near) to prevent wind. The tarp can be attached to your tent porch and you can cook at the far end away from your main tent.
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We are inside cookers and have done for the past 16 years; but taking all reasonable precautions as have already been spelt out including having a fire extinguisher on hand. Ventilation is key and we have pretty much always cooked with doors open and all other ventilation open too.
Our new Vango Edoras has low level ventilation points which we keep open all the time irrespective of the weather and these are located right where we have our cooking set up.
I used to have a windbreak with a canopy, and cooked under it.
Then I got a tent with an integrated porch that I used for my kitchen set up, and my current tent also has such a porch.
DK
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We try in the first instance to align the tent in such a way that the entrance / cooking area is away from the prevailing wind therefore the rain is reduced as a problem.
In Cornwall last year there were however several nights when it was a struggle. We used most of the previous answers, however the main problem was the wind blowing the gas out!
Cooking inside is to be avoided for all the reasons listed.
Tarp and/or windbreak here. Trangias work in pretty much any conditions and so does a lidded barbecue.
If it's too foul for that then eating out is the sensible option.
Have a look at peoples set up, in the picture galleries. Plenty of kitchen set up in tents, people cook under a tarp or have a utilities tent.
For me if the weather is naff, I cook inside, i use suitcase stove, which use those canister aerosol, which just slot in. Just make sure they are inserted correctly. I have a kitchen stand which has 3 sides splash guard. There are those things which go over the frying pan, which stops splattering.
Never, never cook with BBQ's or Cobbes, by or near the entrance of the tents or brought into the tent even when cooled down or out. All the deaths, is result of doing this, through carbon monoxide poisoning in tents.
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Quote: Originally posted by heath63 on 31/8/2016
Never, never cook with BBQ's or Cobbes, by or near the entrance of the tents or brought into the tent even when cooled down or out. All the deaths, is result of doing this, through carbon monoxide poisoning in tents.
I light my Cobb under a brolly well away from the tent using a quick lighting Cobb stone (can start cooking on it in under 5 minutes) and leave it well away from the tent entrance. With the lid on no rain water can get inside, believe it or not I've left mine outside at home for several days in heavy rain and not a drop went inside.
When we've finished cooking, the fuel gets soaked in water and once the Cobb is cold it gets cleaned up and packed away. It never comes into the tent or van until it cold and never with fuel in it. If we're tenting there isn't room to bring the Cobb inside if its raining!
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Topic: Cooking - a stupid question
