Oktoberfest.... the luxury show
The 5 star campsite location means that this busy cook had the luxury of not only a drinking water tap right by my pitch, but proper washing up facilities!! Now this may not seem much, but at the end of an 18 hour day, not having to lug 50 litres of water 400m and not having to wash up on my knees in Cooky, means luxury indeed!! This is a different kind of VW show both in terms of venue and the amount going on for show goers. Free coach trips up Cheddar Gorge to Wells, treasure hunts and a BMX track (to name but a few) mean that visitors often struggle to fit everything in. It does however also mean that with so many people off site during the day, the food area can be a bit quiet at times! Visitor numbers at this show will however increase again next year, so I am sure it will balance itself out.... Food wise this was the weekend of the sausage... with our local butchers sausage sandwiches selling out very quickly.. Book early if you want to go in 2010 and say that cookin'camper sent you...
Viking Volksfest
Stunning North Yorkshire Scenery and probably the 
best weather I have seen all summer boded well for this show which cookin'camper went to for the first time. Add a great atmosphere and superb entertainment with a 'Glastonbury' quality music stage and you have a brilliant little show. Steve, the organiser, is
a sound man by profession and clearly used his contacts well to ensure non stop music throughout the weekend. Cookin'camper had a great weekend with 'Chicken Curry and Rice' selling out on Saturday night faster
than any dish I have ever done.. see you there next year!!
Little Day Out.... one for the kids
A change from our normal events saw us head down to Brighton for the inaugral 'Little Day Out' festival in Brighton. This free family fun day saw glorious sunshine and plenty of fun activities for families. Face painting, kids races, crafts and of course the chance to try cookin'campers delicious food!!!! Having just managed to source ethically reared, quality chicken at a sensible cost for the first time I decided to try 'Lemon and Thyme Chicken Wraps'. Served with salad and a selection of flavoured mayonnaise these went down a storm as did the homemade chocolate cake. This is a lovely event well worth checking out next year if you live near Brighton. (It would be great to have included some pictures of the festival, however as photo's would have included children, I have not done so)
Run To The Hills........Weddings, Chicken and Glow Sticks
My favourite show... loads of people, a fantastic chilled
atmosphere, superb entertainment and always a surprise or two! This year was no exception with a wedding taking place at the show... what a great idea. The success of this event, which just seems to get bigger and bigger, is down to 'Dubliminals' the organising club. They love doing it and this rubs off on the show goers. They also work their butts off over the weekend, with a case in point being that the site had been completely litter picked by 5.30am on Sunday after Saturday nights celebrations, which for once I got to enjoy as I had completely sold out by 10pm! If you spent any time in the 90's in a field in the middle of nowhere, dancing with a glow stick in your hand, then the last hour of the night is for you.... brilliant. Oh and as for the chicken? This appeared for the first time on the menu on Saturday night as I have finally found a source of ethically reared chicken at a sensible price... 'Chicken in a Creamy Mushroom Sauce with Rice'... unlike the poor chickens it flew out!!!
Volksfest Wales
After last years mudbath, the Welsh Weather Gods smiled this year and the sun shone!! Loads to do for show goers with Saturdays highlight being the cruise down to Porthcawl. I stood watching the line of vans and cars drive past for a good 20 minutes.. it would have been a great sight if it hadn't been lunch time and they were all going to spending their money
in the beachside cafes!!! Saturday night made up for it though and Volkswest Wales has one of the busiest Sundays around, so all in all a great weekend. Once again Bolognese proved a big hit as did the barbecued bacon rolls for breakfast and the barbecued bananas stuffed with plums!!!!
European Field Archery Championships
A mixed week this one.... Weather conditions caused one day to be cancelled, which obviously hit trade. It was, however great to have an opportunity to 'go international' and sell to competitors from 14 different nations. Following a safe start with pasta dishes, we then treated them to good old bangers and mash and on the final afternoon a traditional Welsh Cawl (lamb stew). What was really nice was having the opportunity, whilst they were out on the course , to prepare and cook a dish that takes time to
do properly. How many outdoor caterers can be seen boiling bones to make fresh lamb stock actually at the event? About as far from a frozen burger as you can get I reckon.. Oh.. and I'm taking up field archery... looks great fun and a lovely bunch of people.
Dub'dayz Summerfest '09
Another show in it's second year? Yes indeed and it's great to see the benefit of so many people choosing to stay in the UK this summer and have more weekends away. Based around a proper 'biker bar' owned by the ex drummer of a well known 70's band, this show is a bit different. A great 
atmosphere, lots going on and the bar itself providing a superb focal point made this a very enjoyable if tiring weekend. Late night entertainment meant cookin'camper was still busy well after midnight!! Success of the weekend? Bolognese!!!
Dubs at the Castle
Another show in its second year and once again great leaps forward in terms of; the show itself, the number of visitors and cookin'campers' success. The menu was kept simple with Welsh Lamb Kebabs and Welsh Beef Chilli Fajitas selling well. Pleasingly the sales of our ever increasing range of teas were excellent and cookin'camper seems to now be well known for taking this aspect of catering seriously with quality products.
CamperJam
Despite, or maybe because of the 'credit crunch' ( I hate that term) this years shows have been far busier than last year, with people choosing to stay in the UK and have more weekends away. 'CamperJam', organised by VW Camper and Commercial Magazine was new last year and the this plus a large amount of pre-advertising saw numbers treble. Please don't be fooled by the photo which shows no-one around. This was taken at 6.00am on Sunday morning which was just about the only spare moment I had!! CamperJam is a great family show with lots to see and some fantastic evening entertainment. If you have never been to a VW show before this would make a 
great first event and, as with all VW events, there is no snobbery and you are made welcome even if you don't own a Volkswagen
Paddle Round The Pier
The first weekend of July heralded cookin'campers first trip to Paddle Round The Pier in Brighton. Was it a success? Well if record takings, 4 shopping trips to re-stock and 3 event bookings off the back of being there isn't a success, then I don't know what is! Fortunately, being an ex Brightonian I wasn't flying solo for once, which was just as well for without the help of Will, Ron, Zoe, Gibb and Hadley (he might be less than a year old but he was the least stressed of all of us!), I would never have got through the weekend. Thanks guys.... The menu was simple.. Bacon Rolls for breakfast and then Welsh Beef Chilli Fajita's, Vegetable Chilli Fajita's and more Fajita's and more Fajita's and more Fajita's and more ..................
The Bus Stopover
19/21st June saw cookin'camper heading to Wymeswold in Leicestershire for this years Bus Stop Over. Running since 2004 this laid back, friendly and very popular show was one of our best events in 2008 and this time round proved to be even more successful.
Continuing the theme of the show season so far, the sun shone and the show was far busier than last year. Trade was extremely brisk right from the Friday night start with Welsh Lamb Kebabs and a Courgette and Mushroom Risotto flying out the pans.
cookin'campers breakfasts are getting more and more popular every week, as I guess people are coming to realise that using quality bacon, free range eggs and tasty bread really does make a difference to their breakfast sarnie! Also on the menu this weekend were the ever popular, Welsh Beef Chilli Fajitas, Welsh Beef Meatballs and Tomato and Vegetable Pasta, as well as homemade cakes (when will I ever manage to bake enough!!!!) and of course our now famous Apple Crumble and Custard.