10 yr old. Cub Cooking Challenge. Help and advice!

[Erebus]

DS2 has been chosen to 'lead' a team of 3, the other boys being 9 and 8 (rules) to prepare a meal for 4 for a total cost of £8 using a 2 ring gas burner- and no 'instant food' cheating!

The Cub leader (who won't be able to help on the day though another Cub leader will) strongly suggests sausages, mash and either beans or a veg (peas?) followed by a dessert which can't be shop-bought trifle but could be Angel Delight. He mentioned brandy snap baskets (presumably ready made!) and fresh fruit salad as something another troop did...

They have about 2 hours to prepare and serve. I believe they will supply all the tools, crockery etc.

Any one with any thoughts? we are going to do a trial run tomorrow evening, getting DS2 to peel spuds (which the Cub leader suggests will take the loooogest time...) and some 'timing' like heating through the beans whilst someone is mashing spuds.

a) anyone got anything to add in terms of organisation, and
b) any ideas for a simple but effective dessert?!

Bear in mind it's my intention to guide DS2, not 'do' as I can't be there on the day (nor would I want to!) and also bear in mind that DS2 has little food prep experience! I SO wish the Challenge had been directed at DS1 (12) who has a term of Food Tech and enthusiasm under his belt!

TIA

God, have these peopel no more imaginatin than that?
Useless!
How about as stew-something made with veggiesm, tomatoes, tinned plain beans and sausages.
Angel bleeding Delight??!
That's not bloody cooking!

What about a proper custard and stewed fruit?
Or a crumble (no oven involved or is there?)

I would do pasta and some sort of sauce - onions, tomatoes, peppers, garlic, herbs, mince if you feel so inclined (if you use vegetarian they can't get food poisoning, or not easily anyway)

For pud you could just do tinned peaches and cream.

We used to do chocolate swiss roll cut up, topped with chocolate angel delight, and sprinkled with chopped up mars bars. They loved it (in my opinion it is vile)

I am a guide leader and my patrol won some county scout thing a few years with a menu similar to this. The rules were very similar, apart from we had to do it over a fire, and provide a hot drink.

Fruit hedgehogs for pudding...give the task to the more disruptive of the 8 and 9 year olds to keep them occupied and out of trouble (leadership skills...)

Cut a small apple in half, then using cocktail sticks, stick two raisin eyes onto the 'face' +/- quartered glace cherry smile, and then small marshmallows on sticks all over the body for the prickles. Can make it ages before serving, so no juggling cooking times.

Oh, and gravy granules makes the first course look like a proper 'dinner' too

Angel delight and three Cubs just sounds REALLY messy!

our cubs did a chicken stir fry with noodles

Sausage with honey and wholegrain mustard glaze (super easy and v tasty). Dont peel the potatoes, dice them with skins on and 'smash' them with oil and herbs. I'd be tempted to serve with tinned sweetcorn which can be heated on the ring the potatoes have just been removed from.

Dessert - I'd recommend ready made meringue nests filled with whipped cream and chopped fruit, maybe drizzled with some caramel or strawberry sauce? Can be made to look quite impressive with little technical effort required!

Good luck!

Eton mess is an impressive but simple desert. Crushed meringue nests, extra thick cream and some raspberries... delish! :-)

I think eton mess is a good idea, but to make it cheaper use canned peaches instead of raspberries.

I would definately avoid anything which requires peeling potatoes.

Just had a thought - what about meatballs with spagetti. Dead easy to do, should appeal to the boys as they have to actually get their hands dirty, but looks much more impressive than pasta and sauce.

(explorer scout leader)
Sausages beans and mash is pathetic.

Mains:
Baked peppers (char them over the burner on a skewer) stuffed with cous-cous and a protein
Stir fry
kebabs made with lamb, peppers, mushrooms in pitta breads
curry (made with some meat and paste) and rice

Sweets:
pancakes with chocolate spread or syrup
Eton mess is always good
Bread twists (although better done over a fire)

Um- tbf, I'm guessing that what the boys aged 8, 9 and 10 cook should be something they might have some familiarity with seeing as, in an ideal world, they'd be coming up with the menu, not us parents!- i.e. not lifted out of the pages of Nigella! As an Explorer Leader, you must surely somewhere along the line come across kids at say Cub camp why cry because they're worried that they might get something as 'out there' and controversial as spaghetti sauce dolloped on top of the bowl of plain pasta they've chosen as 'dinner'. I certainly have. Bear in mind, too, that these boys, being pre-secondary, have probably never handled a gas flame before, let alone seared peppers over one!

Thanks for all the suggestions, though!

Just make sure you drill into them the importance of washing their hands immediately after they've handled raw meat, and NOT to use food they they've dropped on the floor.

lol! Yes, know where you're coming from! Actually, I was pleasantly surprised at the last Cub Camp how many DSs do hand-washing instinctively. I think that we're all better at doing it now than maybe our parents were? A peck of dirt and all that?!

It depends on the group - I have helped cubs cook all of the above on fire - they may not have enjoyed all of it, but hey it's a new experience for them. They were just suggestions, you don't have to use them.