Cooking in the rain

I am presuming DoE groups ( but my answer will cover most options)

 Where possible, dont cook in a porch (your risk assessment will probably indicate this is a no no, you need to bear in mind that the kids arent as experienced, have less of an appreciation of the hazards involved and will be more impulsive than you are).

The camps sites I choose for groups usually have an undercover area (similar to an open sided barn) where the kids and the stoves can be out of the rain. This negates this issue, allows the kids to dry off a bit, and helps to keep their tent inners a bit drier and cleaner.  Even where there isnt an offical cooking barn, I can usually negotiate use of somewhere suitable (roof, garage type large door)

I also have a tarpaulin (which doubles as a gear trailer cover) and some poles/rope/pegs so I/we can throw up a kitchen shelter  if needed.

If...and only if...cooking in a porch is unavoidable I use a trangia over any other stove - they are very stable and the flame is fully enclosed.  A gas trangia is even better. What I have got the kids to do is designate one tent as the cooking tent - they then take it in turns.  its easier to control.

I have been there and done that in the days of pump up paraffin stoves, cotton tents, and unbreathing nylon waterproofs. Cooking indoors wasn't really an option but it was perfectly possible to cook outside in the rain. All you need is motivation and morale. An umbrella might help.

If the design of your tent permits, you may be able to fold back or collapse the inner to make a larger non-flammable and highly ventilated space. It would be desirable to have a back door, or maybe a large sharp knife at the ready to cut your way out if things go wrong.

One group I heard of camped beside a stream. They tried cooking inside. The tent caught alight so they pulled out pegs and tried to dump the tent into the stream. Unfortunately one of the pegs got forgotten, so the lad dragging the tent fell in the stream but the tent burnt up.

Get a tarp, gives you outdoors covered cooking (and eating) space, keeps food out of the tents, keeps the group together, doesn't weigh or bulk much, doesn't create escape/carbon monoxide issues.

Pete.

tarps are a way, but depends on how the trip is set up if that is possible.

For the Ten Tors event, which I help train Explorers for, the kids are walking a fair distance and wildcamping overnight.  The older ones often walkinginto the eveing to get the distance in.

Trangias are preferred, or remote feed gas burners with very good windshield (I made them for our group)

My advice to them is to have the stove just outside the tent but reachable from within the porch. and to have one dedicated cook  - no one leaves the tent till the stove is turned off.

they don't always follow this advice though - yesterday morning one 3some were stood arounfd their stove in the pouring rain at 6.30am waiting for their hot breakfast after they had packed everything else away!

 One other idea I've used,

 As most tents have a detachable inner, take the inner down. Depending on the size of tent depends on how many could cook inside.

 To keep them from getting wet from ground, can either sit on rucksacks or 'sit mats'.

 I would not use petrol stoves, too dangerous until you know how to use one.

 Trangia or Gas. If the gas stove isn't a remote feed, you can buy 'feet' to make it easier to steady stove. The feet fit all usual sizes of gas cans.

an alternative to feet is a a cable tie (or two) round the cylinder with a couple (maybe three) of wire tent pegs nailing it firmly into/onto the ground.