Stocking our campervan pantry for some delicious and easy meals

There's something truly magical about cooking in a campervan – or is there?

Welcome to campervan cooking, where your ingredients may be fresh, but your improvisation skills better be fresher.

Last weekend, we decided to ignore the less than favourable weather forecast and went on our first camping trip together in 2024.

We like West Cork (who doesn’t?) and always stop in Clonakilty to stock up in what I assume is one of the best supermarkets in Ireland.

That is Scally’s SuperValu. Sheridan’s has a cheese counter there with a great selection of Irish and French artisan cheeses.

The bakery offers fresh bread, and the spice section puts a spice farm in Sri Lanka to shame (not really but it is pretty extensive).

We always discover new products and this time was no different but we were focused on our culinary camper pantry so cheese, crackers, bread, vegetables and more were carefully selected and our anticipation to arrive at our chosen location grew with each item that made its way into the basket.

When you decide to hit the road in a campervan, the first thing you’ll need is the kitchen. In our case, it is a two-burner mini stove with a sink. And then you need a fridge – or a good cooler box as in our case that feeds off the battery.

It's about the size of a breadbox so you need to be rather creative with space and the foods you buy. We try to keep it simple so that we don’t need to keep too many things chilled like milk.

The true test comes when you try to actually cook and I have to praise Mr T as he has perfected campervan cooking to an art. I just sit back and wait patiently for the culinary delights to appear on the ‘dinner table’.

We have fresh salads with added seeds and nuts, side dishes like hummus and dips with crackers. Dinner is mostly an affair of fresh bread with cheeses, cold meats, more crackers. I am not talking about the dried out excuses of crackers but delicious cheese crackers made by Sheridan’s and Isle of Crackers but also tasty creations by the Fine Cheese Company who even give cheese matching advise for their crackers, crudites (veggie strips) with whipped feta dips and other delicious snacks – always going down nicely with a glass of vino.

Just because you have decided to brave the elements, doesn’t mean you can’t have style and substance and yes, we do take wine glasses on our trips.

The next morning, we continue our quest for happy tummies and have a feast on Rosscarbery Black & White Pudding, sausages and rashers. If you haven’t tried Caherbeg and Rosscarbery pork products yet you don’t know what you are missing.

Tea and coffee are also a must and people who know me well know that I don’t like drinking tea out of mugs so my proper cup and saucer complete the banquet of breakfast delights.

Although I am not the biggest camping enthusiast, I do enjoy trips away with Mr T and watch him becoming a ‘domestic god’.