Inside California's 'meat camp,' where women learn to butcher and grill what's for dinner

pulse

June 12, 2017 5:21 PM

Belcampo's Meat Camp teaches women to become grill masters.

null

Summer camps for grown-ups have surged in popularity in recent years, with more than one million adults going to camp each year. These getaways often combine sing-a-longs and bonfires with " allowing people to revive childhood memories or .

But Meat Camp is neither the Founded in 2015, the three-day retreat in

Meat Camp welcomes people of all experience levels. Past attendees include a Google engineer who built his own sous vide machine and a woman who was afraid to cook meat on her own.

With the women-only session, Anya Fernald, founder of Meat Camp, says she wants to change the perception that grilling is a "man's job."

Fernald's farm sits at the foot of Mount Shasta, 24 miles from the Oregon border. Her company uses sustainable practices to raise livestock and process it for butchers.

Fernald opened the space to overnight guests for Meat Camp in 2015.

Meat Camp attendees learn a wide range of skills, from basic cutlery to butchering whole chickens and lamb shoulders. There's also a focus on learning to trust your instincts over the grill.

Fernald sees the camp as a way for women to claim a different type of role in the kitchen. "The feminist movement was so much about getting out of the kitchen," Fernald said. But the kitchen is where she feels most calm and creative. "It's my meditation."

On the night of their arrival, guests enjoy a farm-to-table dinner under the stars.

They sleep in luxury, "glamping" tents. (A permanent bathroom is located steps away.)

Saturday morning starts with a simple lesson: How to cook bacon in a cast iron skillet.

There are also sessions on making spices, crafting the perfect bolognese, and learning to cook using your five senses. Attendees rely less on recipes and more on smell and taste.

Women also make sausages — a practice that Fernald said is very "Instagrammable."

The day culminates in a "chop extravaganza," in which guests can grill as much steak as they want. "It's a chance to play with the product and not feel worried if it goes wrong," Fernald said.

Women also make time to hang out and drink rosé on the lawn overlooking the valley.

The last day features a picnic-style lunch prepared by chefs at Belcampo Meat Co.

This year's camp will have a greater emphasis on stovetop cooking, since few urban dwellers have access to a wood fire grill. Most campers come from Los Angeles.

By the end of the camp, Fernald hopes women feel confident and prepared to take their meat-cooking skills into the real world. She said she wants women to leave saying, "You can give me the most expensive cut of meat in the world and I'm not scared of it."

pulse