Clancy of the Campfire

Who is Clancy?

For a start, he’s not the guy in the picture – although he has been known to don an Akubra and a Drizabone and gaze out into the sunset. Just not from the back of a horse. Clancy’s not much of a rider.

Clancy isn’t one man – or even one woman. Clancy is anyone who enjoys the great outdoors – and sees good food as part of that adventure.

Whether you’re travelling in a van, camping in the bush, in a tent by the beach, using the communal facilities of a caravan park, or just having a picnic in your backyard or in that park by the beach, Clancy is there. You’ll find Clancy cooking over a fire, a hot-plate, a gas-burner or a portable wood stove.

Clancy will spice things up with a fragrant curry, keep it traditional with a slow-cooked stew, serve up a roast with all the trimmings, throw together a simple (or not so simple) salad, or make the most of the catch of the day. Clancy might be in the mood for some flatbread, pasta bake, or want to tempt you with something sweet. And when it comes to family favourites or a date night under the stars with that special someone, Clancy will have you covered there too.

Clancy knows that nothing tastes better than a meal cooked and eaten in the great outdoors – except perhaps the meal that’s cooked and eaten in the great outdoors with family and friends. Add a campfire and you’ve made some pretty special memories.

How do we know? Because that’s who we are.

Clancy of the Campfire isn’t one person – he’s really four people. More, if you count the kids. We’re two families who love to get together and cook, eat, laugh and talk about cooking and eating.

Mitch and Jo are brother and sister and with their respective spouses represent two different sides of the Clancy story.

Mitch and his wife, P like nothing better than getting away in the bush with their kids. He’s at his happiest with a swag, a fire, a camp oven, his portable wood burner. Mitch is the accessories guy.

Jo’s family like the bush too – they’d just prefer not to rough it quite so much. They travel relatively lightly – as far as equipment is concerned – and are more about cooking on a hot plate or over a burner.

Two different approaches with one common goal:

To create memories through the sharing of good food in the great outdoors.

We know that food cooked outside doesn’t need to be bland or boring – it can be as full of flavour as the landscape that we’re eating it in is.

We also know that when you’re in the great outdoors, we don’t want to mess about with fancy techniques and we don’t (usually) have access to the sort of kitchen equipment that we take for granted at home. (Although if you’re the person who packs a blender and the mixer, hey, no judgement.) That’s why the measurements in our recipes usually use spoons, cups, or handfuls rather than grams or ounces. Given that we’re cooking with flames and other variables, the cooking times will also be approximate.

We’ll try and stick to the sorts of supplies that are readily available either in your pantry or at the local supermarket near your campsite. Occasionally we’ll make something a little more exotic for those times when it’s worth the effort of taking those ingredients with you from home. We’ll also help you out with ideas for your leftovers.

If we’re making a curry paste we’ll either smash it out in the mortar and pestle or whizz it up before we leave home. When there’s a recipe that calls for multiple spices, we’ll mix the blend in advance – who wants to carry all those little bottles with you. A little menu pre-planning goes a very long way.

On this blog, we’ll be posting our favourite recipes and sharing with you our successes and our failures. There’ll be tips and tricks and we’ll even road-test the occasional new product for you. Whether you’re cooking in the confined space of a caravan, or in an outdoor camp kitchen you can turn out tasty and inspiring meals for all the family. Hang out with us – we’ll show you how.