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To help complete the Cooking Merit Badge, the Troop is holding an Iron Chef competition for the outdoor cooking requirement. Requirement 5 (d), (e) and (f) spell out what the competitors will need to accomplish:

5 (d) In the outdoors, using your menu plans for this requirement, cook two of the five meals you planned using either a lightweight stove or a low-impact fire. Use a different cooking method from requirement 3 for each meal. You must also cook a third meal using either a Dutch oven OR a foil pack OR kabobs. Serve all of these meals to your patrol or a group of youth.

5 (e) In the outdoors, prepare a dessert OR a snack and serve it to your patrol or a group of youth.

5 (f) After each meal, have those you served evaluate the meal on presentation and taste, and then evaluate your own meal. Discuss what you learned with your counselor, including any adjustments that could have improved or enhanced your meals. Tell how planning and preparation help ensure successful outdoor cooking.

Each week two scouts will square off to cook one of the three meals and snacks. After preparing the meal in the outdoors and during our meetings, the rest of the Troop will sample and evaluate the competitors’ meals using the following scale:

• 4 stars: Excellent

• 3 stars: Good

• 2 stars: Meh

• 1 star: Barely edible

• 0 stars: Barf 

Additional rules:

• Cooks must use approved meal plans
• Meals must feed approximately 6 people
• Must be ready at agreed time
• Must use troop cooking stoves and equipment, but can bring family grills if you choose.

The scouts with the highest scores at the end of the competition will receive a special honor.

Here are the standings so far. (Scores are an average of the Excellent-Barf scores provided by the scouts served):