The Camp Kitchen — A Complete Packing Guide

The camp kitchen is where most of the trip actually happens. People talk about the tent, the swag, the chairs around the fire — but it's the kitchen that decides whether you're eating like a champion or surviving on cold baked beans for three days.

Build your camp kitchen kit once, store it in a single tub, and never have to remember individual items again. This is the canonical packing list for serious campsite cooking, plus how to season and care for your camp ovens (the most underrated piece of cooking gear in Australia).

Photo by Fumiaki Hayashi on Unsplash

One large heavy-duty plastic tub with a clip-on lid is the foundation. Industrial storage boxes (50–80L) work — the rugged kind, not Ikea flimsies. Everything in this tub stays in the tub permanently between trips. You restock from the tub, not the kitchen.

Always-in-the-tub item: a designated head torch. You can't cook in the dark, and a head torch frees both hands for stirring, lifting camp oven lids, or chopping vegetables.

• Melamine crockery set (4 plates, 4 bowls, 4 mugs) — light, unbreakable
• Cutlery set in a roll-up bag (8 each of fork/knife/spoon)
• Plastic drinking glasses or stemless tumblers
• One large plastic platter — doubles as a chopping surface and a sharing plate

Skip enamel unless you like the aesthetic — it chips and weighs more. Skip ceramic completely.

Photo: Igal Ness / Unsplash

• Plastic containers with proper lids (small + medium + large)
• Ziplock bags — large, medium, small in roll quantities
• Cling wrap and aluminium foil
• An egg container (cheap plastic, holds 12) — saves a dozen broken eggs every trip

Camp ovens (cast iron) are the most versatile piece of camp cooking gear. They bake, roast, slow-cook curries, fry — and the patina you build up over years of use makes them better with age.

• One large camp oven (9–12 quart) — for roasts, casseroles, multiple-portion meals
• One small camp oven (4–6 quart) — for sides, damper, smaller meals
• Camp oven lifter — a long-handled hook for moving hot lids and ovens around. A 4WD jack handle works as a backup
• Trivet for each oven — a wire rack that keeps food off the bottom (a small round cake rack is fine)
• Welding gloves — better than oven mitts for moving hot ovens around coals
• Cake tins sized to fit your camp ovens — for damper, brownies, anything that benefits from going in a tin

Look for camp ovens with a lipped lid — the small rim around the edge keeps coals and ash out of your food when you lift the lid. Worth paying extra for.

• Large deep frying pan (cast iron or carbon steel)
• Flat skillet or grill plate (for steaks, breakfast)
• Large pot (4–6L)
• Small pot (2L)
• Whistling kettle or billy can
• Jaffle iron — no Aussie campfire is complete without one

Photo: Angga Kurniawan / Unsplash

This is also a great way to clear out duplicate kitchen-cupboard gear at home — donate yours to the camp tub.

• Large serrated/bread knife
• Large chef's knife
• Smaller chef's knife (paring)
• Long-handled tongs (×2)
• Wooden spoons (×2)
• Spatula (long-handled, heat-proof)
• Egg flip / BBQ slide
• Egg rings (silicone)
• Potato masher
• Long-handled metal spoon
• Large meat fork
• Metal whisk
• Hand beater (yes — Pavlova works at camp)
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Cutting boards (Teflon or plastic)
• Large and small mixing bowl
• Collander, can opener, bottle opener
• Gas lighter, waterproof matches
• Salt, pepper, oil, your favourite spice mix

Cast iron rusts. Fast. Seasoning is the process of building up a tough, dark, non-stick coating on the inside that prevents rust and dramatically improves cooking performance. Most articles make this sound like a religious ritual — it's not.

The dishwasher method (way easier than the traditional one):

1. New camp oven straight out of the box. Pop it upside down in your dishwasher (lid included). Run a normal cycle. This strips the protective wax coating
2. Critical: be there when the cycle ends. Leave it 30 minutes and you'll find a light dusting of rust starting
3. Dry thoroughly straight away. No dishwasher? Hot soapy water + scrubbing brush, rinse well, dry immediately
4. Spray or wipe over with vegetable oil — every surface, inside and out
5. Place upside-down in your domestic oven, lids on a separate shelf
6. Bake at 200°C for 2 hours
7. Turn the oven OFF — leave the door closed. Let it cool overnight (opens at this point will smoke up the kitchen)
8. Wipe over, light coating of oil, repeat the bake-and-cool cycle once more

Done. Two cycles + overnight rest twice = a properly seasoned camp oven, ready to cook.

The patina you spent hours building up takes minutes to destroy. The two rules:

1. Never put cold water in a hot camp oven. Thermal shock can crack or shatter cast iron. Let it cool slightly, then add water gradually
2. Never use detergent. Strips the patina. Just plain hot water

The cleaning routine:

1. After cooking, take the food out and let the oven cool somewhat (5-10 mins on the coals after pulling the food)
2. Add water gradually — 50–75% full
3. Place back over heat, bring to a boil
4. Use a wooden spoon or plastic dish brush to scrape off any stuck bits — gently
5. Tip out the water, repeat if needed
6. Wipe completely dry with a tea towel
7. Spray or wipe a thin layer of oil over the surfaces
8. Pop back on the coals for 15-20 minutes to set the oil
9. Cool, wrap in an old cloth or canvas bag, store

Same routine applies to all your cast iron — frying pans, jaffle irons, skillets. They all need patina maintenance.

A properly stocked camp kitchen is the single biggest quality-of-life upgrade for any camper. Build the tub once. Restock when you get home (replace the spice jar, refill the matches). Maintain the cast iron after every trip. The gear lasts decades and you'll go camping more often because the friction is gone.

And once you've eaten lamb shanks slow-cooked in coals, or damper still steaming from the camp oven, you'll understand why this kit is the most-loved part of any serious camper's setup.