One of the things that makes Intention fun and unique and helps build community is that we share, cook, and eat healthy meals together.
This year we’ll be offering freshly cooked dinners on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and a self-serve brunch (e.g., cereals, fruit, snacks, etc.) Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
Meals will be vegetarian with vegan options and either gluten-free or with gluten-free options. Though all meals are planned as gluten-free, they may not meet the standards required for celiacs or people with severe intolerances.
Please feel free to bring your own scrumptious food (snacks, desserts) and drinks (remember to try to bring all your own water and other beverage needs for the weekend). Tea and coffee are considered treats and personal items and will not be provided. Thus, please bring your own teas and favourite beans (already ground is ideal).
A separate kitchen space will be available for anyone that wants to bring and cook their own food, including meat, or with special cooking or dietary requirements. See bottom of this page for more details, if this applies to you!
Please bring your own cup, bowl, plate, and cutlery. A dish washing station will be available for you to wash them. Some dishes will be available for people who can't or don’t bring any, but we won't know how many in advance.
Please DO NOT bring any items with ANISE/FENNEL/LICORICE as one of our community members has a life-threatening allergy to them. They are commonly found in Fisherman's Friends, chai tea, other teas, curries, and mixed spices. Attendees may be advised prior to the event of other please DO NOT bring items (e.g., peanuts).
A lot of hands are needed with Kitchen Pod for meal preparation, cooking, and cleaning. Don’t worry, it is fun and rewarding! We are specifically looking for volunteers to help with one or more meals during the event. As a leader, co-lead, or support, you should be responsible, a good communicator, familiar with cooking, able to follow a recipe, and good at giving or receiving direction to ensure tasks are completed.
If you feel called or are interested in serving the community with Kitchen Pod or you have any questions or comments, then please email kitchen[at]intentiongathering[dot]org
Cooking (if any of your supplemental meals/snacks require it)
1) Please, no cooking anywhere except in the kitchen area, and no open flames of any sort outside of the kitchen area! The forest is very dry, and this is an explicit request from the landowner. (There is a designated smoking area with a water hose handy, open flames are allowed there too.) Note that the family camping area may make a separate arrangement about where to use stoves, please check with family[at]intentiongathering[dot]org if this applies to you!
2) There will be some communal stoves (propane and butane) set up in the “DIY Meal Prep Area” (if you know the venue, this is the area with tables and benches just outside of the kitchen island, but still under the tarp).
3) For cooking your own food, if necessary, please bring your stove, if you have one, to the DIY Meal Prep Area; or use the few communal ones already there if you don't have one. We suggest that you clearly mark your stove, and if you have enough masking tape, also indicate if it’s there to share, or for your own use only. If the latter, we suggest that you put the stove away after use. Please clean up after yourself as much as possible!
4) Please, no cooking in the designated “Dinner Prep Area” (the central kitchen proper, ie: around the “kitchen island”) during meal prep time - kindly use the DIY Meal Prep Area instead.
5) You can cook pretty much whatever you want, there will be no “meat-shaming” at Intention! and no "vegan-baiting" either, please and thank you! :-)
6) There is no potable water on site - bring your own water, or boil the creek water (via the communal stoves). There is also a large container of hot water (creek water heated by a propane burner) that will be available at certain times, ask the Dinner Prep Team or someone from kitchen pod for assistance. Do not attempt to light the burner yourself if the water is cold, please find someone from kitchen pod.
7) You may use the sinks in the Dinner Prep Area at any time, but please give priority to the Dinner Prep Team if they are there.
8) This may seem like a lot of "rules" but don't forget, the kitchen area is also a PARTY ! It's a Kitchen Party all the time! We just need to set a few guidelines so that we don't have conflicts, or a few people ending up having to wash everyone else's dishes, and clean up their mess.
Food Storage:
Remember, there are bears in this neighbourhood, you really do NOT want to keep food in or directly near your tent (the further back you are in the woods, the more this applies). We suggest having a small tupperware bin or similar (to keep out rodents and slugs) that you can keep in the kitchen area. Please be mindful that there will be many others doing the same so try to stash things in a way that leaves room for others, and doesn’t block others.
If you have a cooler, one of the best places for it is down in the creekbed, partially submerged in the water (this is directly behind the kitchen, very handy). Placing a large rock on top of the cooler will deter any raccoons from getting in (they are rarely a problem at this site but we can’t guarantee that they aren’t around). Note that the family camping area may make a separate arrangement about how to safely store food, please check with family[at]intentiongathering[dot]org if this applies to you!