History Main / CampCook

* Junior Stoke in ''VideoGame/ThePaleBeyond'' is the ''Temperence's cook, and is thus responsible for food preparation aboard the ship ([[spoiler:and at camp, once the crew is forced to move onto the ice]]). Cooking ingredients are given to him to feed the crew during any given week.

In RealLife, the skill of the camp cook is crucial to camp morale. A crew that is well-fed with appetizing, nutritious food will work harder and better. Cooks have to be up much earlier than the rest of the camp to prepare breakfast and bake for the day ahead. The head cook for a large camp will have junior cooks and food preparers who report to them.

During US history, cooks in the WildWest had to learn to improvise near the end of wagon trips, when supplies ran low. Some cooks would use locally-gathered game and produce to "pad" the ingredients pies and stews (one creative cook added cooked turtle meat to his apple pies when the apple barrel ran low).

May have the appropriate nickname of "Cookie".

A classic "bit" for the camp cook is ringing a metal triangle to announce that dinner is ready.

In RealLife, the skill of the camp cook is crucial to camp morale. A crew that is well-fed with appetizing, nutritious food will work harder and better. During US history, cooks in the WildWest had to learn to improvise near the end of wagon trips, when supplies ran low. When their supplies ran low, some cooks would use locally-gathered game and produce to "pad" their pies and stews.

In fiction, camp cooks tend to be a source of comic relief, with many a gag about their [[LethalChef horrible cooking]] or [[KlatchianCoffee coffee]], and their inability to take criticism on the subject. Many camp cooks are older folks, no longer able to do the main work of the camp, but often an ethnic minority is used instead. (In older works, this frequently is accompanied by [[UncleTomfoolery truly awful stereotype humor]].) Don't be surprised if the cook has a LetsGetDangerous moment near the end of the story--[[ChefOfIron many are quite deft with their cooking implements.]] Also a common element of summer camp stories, especially of the SummerCampy variety.

* A rather dark example is Pamela Voorhees, Jason's mother in the ''Franchise/FridayThe13th'' series and the killer in [[Film/FridayThe13th1980 the first movie]]. She was the cook at Camp Crystal Lake's initial term of service, and not really a bad one, but she sought revenge against the counselors for her son's death once the camp reopened.

* A rather dark example was Ms. Vorhees, Jason's mother in the ''Franchise/FridayThe13th'' series and the killer in the first movie; she was the cook at Crystal Lake, and not really a bad one, but she sought revenge against the counselors for her son's death.

In fiction, camp cooks tend to be a source of comic relief, with many a gag about their [[LethalChef horrible cooking]] or [[KlatchianCoffee coffee]], and their inability to take criticism on the subject. Many camp cooks are older folks, no longer able to do the main work of the camp, but often an ethnic minority is used instead. (In [[OnceAcceptableTargets older works]], this frequently is accompanied by [[UncleTomfoolery truly awful stereotype humor]].) Don't be surprised if the cook has a LetsGetDangerous moment near the end of the story--[[ChefOfIron many are quite deft with their cooking implements.]] Also a common element of summer camp stories, especially of the SummerCampy variety.

* Boris, from the remastered version of ''Fanfic/TheNightUnfurls''. He is one of the cooks in the company of the [[{{PMC}} Black Dogs]], though he is the only one [[NominalImportance named]]. Boris eventually becomes a DefectorFromDecadence and joins Kyril's GreatEscape party to bring Olga to the capital. His role as cook doesn't change during the trek across the [[{{Mordor}} Badlands]], but the others have to help as well.

* Charles "Chow" Winkler from ''The New Series/{{Tom Swift}} Jr. Adventures'' children's book series. From Wiki/TheOtherWiki's [[http://tinyurl.com/3zd4gf Tom Swift page]]: "A comic relief character...A roly-poly "former chuck wagon cook" born in Texas, he is an older man, beloved for his gaudy western shirts, cowboy hats, bizarre culinary concoctions (like Armadillo Stew), and for such expressions as "Brand my space biscuits!". He accompanies all Swift expeditions (even in outer space) as the Swifts' executive chef." Despite being a bit dumb (even if we weren't comparing him to the Swifts), he's an excellent cook, even when forced to improvise (e.g., when shipwrecked).

* During the [[UsefulNotes/Turkey Ottoman Empire]], the rank Chorbaji in the Ottoman Army during the time of Janissaries was the equivalent of a colonel army. It literally meant soup-giver in Turkish and originally served as the head chef of the unit.

* ''Film/StarshipTroopers3Marauder''. Captain Beck stops to talk to the cook while doing her rounds on the ''Rodger Young''. Turns out even in TheFuture the military will still be serving "shit on a shingle" (chipped beef on toast).

* ''Film/StarshipTroopers3Marauder'' reveak that in TheFuture the military will still be serving "shit on a shingle" (chipped beef on toast).

* During the [[UsefulNotes/Turkey Ottoman Empire]], the rank Chorbaji in the Ottoman Army during the time of Janissaries was the equivalent of a captain in today's army. It literally meant soup-giver in Turkish and originally served as the cook of his own troops.

* Ratlings in ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' often act as cooks for the regiments they are attached to. However, being essentially [[RecycledInSpace Hobbits in Space!!]], they are actually pretty good.

* The ''Literature/PhulesCompany'' books by Creator/RobertAsprin had [[KnifeNut Sergeant Escrima]], whose grasp of English seemed to vary wildly between books. Short, [[HotBlooded short-tempered]], [[FunnyForeigner comedically "foreign"]], master chef and master escrima fighter. Did we mention short-tempered? For the love of {{God}}, [[BerserkButton don't criticize his cooking]].

* In ''VideoGame/MonsterHunterWorld'', the chef for the Hunter's camp is the Meowscular Chef; a scarred muscular cat person who cooks the player, and presumably other people who live in the camp, delicious meals. Despite not seeming to be able to talk beyond meows, he'll cook the player various power enhancing meals in a fun fancy animation.

-->--''ComicBook/{{Asterix}} [[Recap/AsterixTheLegionary the Legionary]]''

* Fred from ''Webcomic/CampWeedonwantcha''. He's actually a very good cook for his age (he considers it therapeutic), especially in comparison to [[LethalChef the last cook]], who refused to serve anything besides imitation sardines.

* Chef [=McMuscli=] from ''WesternAnimation/CampLazlo'' is Camp Kidney's NewAgeRetroHippie cook who makes horrendous vegetarian dishes for the Bean Scouts.
* ''WesternAnimation/CampLakebottom'' has Rosebud, a surly old lunchlady who uses all manner of revolting ingredients when cooking up meals for the campers at the eponymous summer camp.
* In ''WesternAnimation/GIJoeARealAmericanHero'', one episode had the heroes encounter B.A. [=McCarr=], who worked for Cobra as a cook, until they left him to die when the FLAGG sank. (He managed to survive, but ''really'' wasn't happy about them abandoning him.) Supposedly, his food wasn't all-too good, as it gave a whole unit of Vipers food poisoning.

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[[quoteright:350:[[ComicStrip/BeetleBailey https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/beetle_bailey_and_cookie.png]]]]

* MasterSwordsman Eishun of ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'' took this role while travelling with Nagi's Ala Rubra. [[LostFoodGrievance He is very particular about people wasting the food he prepared]].

* "Biscuits" Baker was the camp cook for the Dogiron Crew in the ''Trail Boss, Matt Savage'' western comic from Creator/DCComics.
* A recurring character in ''ComicBook/LuckyLuke'', one example being in "The Singing Wire". One gives this advice for making coffee: Grind the beans, add water in the mug and set a horseshoe on top. If the horseshoe sinks, add more coffee grounds.

* ''ComicBook/{{Asterix}}'': In ''Asterix the Legionary'', the cook is first met when Asterix and Obelix go to complain about the food (bacon, cheese and corn, cooked together to save time; [[ForeignQueasine only the Briton likes it]]) and end up dumping him in his own cooking pot. After that, he gets much more imaginative with his menus (somehow managing to cook up seafood soufflé while in the African desert), while the two Roman officers stick to the traditional grub.

* "Charlie" in the original ''Film/{{King Kong|1933}}'', a particularly painful faux-Chinese performance.
* Gabby, the chef from the 1947 B-movie ''Film/QueenOfTheAmazons''. Spends most of his time reciting odd poetry and talking with his pet monkey until [[spoiler:he turns out to be the head of an ivory-smuggling operation]].

* Jebediah Nightlinger from ''Film/TheCowboys'', who also acts as TeamMom. Notably, his food is actually pretty good.
* ''Film/LandAndFreedom'' by Ken Loach. The protagonist joins a communist unit where the women fight alongside the men. Halfway through the movie the unit is incorporated into the regular forces and [[StayInTheKitchen the women are forced to take non-combatant roles]]; one of them becomes the cook despite not knowing how to cook anything but beans.
* Subverted, inverted, and averted, simultaneously, by ''Film/MenOfHonor''. The main character is a Black American man who is one of the cooks on a Naval ship because at that time (the 1950's) racism wouldn't let a Black person be anything else in the navy. Even when his act of defiance gets him reassigned as a rescue diver on the ship, TheCaptain won't allow him to bunk with the divers, ordering him to remain with the cooks. When the same captain recommends him to be a deep sea diver, the [[DrillSergeantNasty racist instructor]] demeans him by calling him "cookie".

* Casey Ryback is the cook aboard the USS Missouri in ''Film/UnderSiege''. While not much is said about his cooking, the fact that he used to be a Navy SEAL helps him use various kitchen implements to neutralize the mercenaries who have taken over the ship.
* In ''Film/RobinHoodMenInTights'' Latrine is at first mistaken for a witch, she's using all sorts of gooey ingredients, including "eyeballs of a crocodile". A moment later the viewers learn [[LethalChef she's actually the cook.]]
* ''Film/BigJake'': The opening scene shows two cooks at the [=McCandles=] ranch, an aging black man named Moses Brown and a younger, unnamed white man preparing a meal for the household and ranch hands. Both of them attempt to fight back and are shot down when the ranch is attacked by outlaws.
* In ''Film/TheOddAngryShot'', Harry has an ongoing verbal feud with the squadron cook over the questionable quality of the food.

* Charles "Chow" Winkler from ''The New Series/{{Tom Swift}} Jr. Adventures'' children's book series. From Wiki/TheOtherWiki's [[http://tinyurl.com/3zd4gf Tom Swift page]]: "A comic relief character...A roly-poly "former chuck wagon cook" born in Texas, he is an older man, beloved for his gaudy western shirts, cowboy hats, bizarre culinary concoctions (like Armadillo Stew), and for such expressions as "Brand my space biscuits!". He accompanies all Swift expeditions (even in outer space) as the Swifts' executive chef." Despite being a bit dumb (even if we weren't comparing him to the Swifts), he's an excellent cook, even when forced to improvise (e.g., when shipwrecked).
* The ''Literature/PhulesCompany'' books by Creator/RobertAsprin had [[KnifeNut Sergeant Escrima]], whose grasp of English seemed to vary wildly between books. Short, [[HotBlooded short-tempered]], [[FunnyForeigner comedically "foreign"]], master chef and master escrima fighter. Did we mention short-tempered? For the love of {{God}}, [[BerserkButton don't criticize his cooking]].
* A saying from a Literature/KnownSpace short story: "Food will win the war, but how do we get the enemy to eat it?" [[spoiler:And then, the main character of the story proceeds to win a battle by hacking the autochef after her ship gets taken.]]
* Corporal Scallot, the quartermaster in ''Literature/MonstrousRegiment''. His specialty is "scubbo", a stew made from whatever's available, but if ''nothing's'' available, he can also cook legs. (Although he thinks eating your ''own'' legs probably makes you blind.) The role is later taken by Shufti, who turns out to be a lot better at it.
* Greasy Sae of ''Literature/TheHungerGames'' series becomes the Camp Cook for Area 13. Her specialty is beef stew made from dog meat.
* Zachariah, the African-American ship's cook in ''Literature/TheTrueConfessionsOfCharlotteDoyle''. Not a comic figure; the mentor role he plays toward young Charlotte skirts MagicalNegro territory.

* When The Literature/TimeWarpTrio are sent back to TheWildWest, the first human they meet is known only as "Cooky." Given his description and personality, it seems quite possible that he, or one of his close relatives, lived through the TwilightOfTheOldWest and eventually took a job with one [[WesternAnimation/AtlantisTheLostEmpire Lyle Tiberius Rourke]].
* ''Literature/TheSeaWolf'': Thomas "Cooky" Mugridge, heavy Cockney accent, filthy habits, not a good cook.

* In a ''Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar'' short story, a tower is under siege, and the soldiers guarding it know [[HeroicSacrifice they won't last more than a few days]]. They also know- because of the [[BondCreatures Companion]] hanging around outside- that ''one'' of them will be saved and [[KidnappedByTheCall taken away from the tower]]. To [[BlackComedy lighten the mood]], somebody snarks that they hope the one leaving will be the cook.

%%* Hop Sing of ''Series/{{Bonanza}}''.
%%* George Washington Wishbone of ''Series/{{Rawhide}}''.

* Salty in ''Literature/{{Huge}}''. He manages to make "fat camp" diet food actually taste good.
* In the ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'' episode "The Fatigues", it's revealed that Frank Costanza was a camp cook in Korea. He was the best cook in the army, until one day his platoon received a supply crate of meat that was expired. In his hubris, the thought he could salvage the meat with the perfect combination of spices, but went too far and made the food too spicy, making all of the soldiers sick. He is plagued by [[ShellShockedVeteran PTSD-like flashbacks]] of that night, and refused to ever cook again.
* In the backstory of ''Series/HappyDays'' Howard Cunningham was his platoon's cook during World War II.
* Cookie was the circus cook in ''Series/FrontierCircus''. He plays a major role in "The Shaggy Kings" when the circus' food supply is poisoned.

* Utah Phillips:
** His song "The Goodnight-Loving Trail" subverts the comic aspects of this trope by taking a sad and sympathetic view of cowboys who are too old to do anything but cook on the drives, despite lyrics like "With your snake oil and herbs and your liniment too/You can do anything that a doctor can do/Except find a cure for your own goddamn stew." The cowboys dub the cook "The Old Woman"; it's bad enough getting old, without being ridiculed too.
** In a more humorous vein, there is his spoken-word piece "Moose Turd Pie", which is his re-telling of a ShaggyDogStory concerning a man's attempt to get replaced when he is unwillingly made camp cook of his railroad work crew.
* The Australian folk song "Thargomindah Road" is about a cattle drive told from the point of the view of the camp cook.

* An aversion to the notion that a camp's cook must be some sort of a wacky, harmless goof. ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' has Cook-Cook, the, well, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin cook]] for the drugged-up and psychotic Fiends. He cooks up a surprisingly good stew, which is [[HyperactiveMetabolism quite healthy]] for the Courier. He also is a [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil twisted, perverse]], AxCrazy [[ImAHumanitarian cannibal]] who [[UnsexySadist tortures people for fun]]. With a [[KillItWithFire flamethrower]]. Noted by the ReasonableAuthorityFigure who [[BountyHunter sends the Courier after the Fiend leaders]] to be an utter PyroManiac with seemingly no morals whatsoever. He also implies that Cook-Cook [[BestialityIsDepraved is a little too into his favorite Brahmin, Queenie]], in the most {{Squick}}tastic way possible. So reviled is Cook-Cook that there are a couple of non-quest [=NPCs=] who will pay the Courier good money upon being informed that he's dead.
* In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'', Alistair immediately asks Morrigan if she can cook once finding out she's going to join the party. After being angrily chewed out by her (and snarked at by the player character), he [[VerbalBackspace quickly says]] that it's because his cooking would kill everyone. Who precisely ends up as the actual camp cook is never revealed.
* ''Franchise/MassEffect'':
** Mess Sergeant Rupert Gardner of the ''Normandy SR-2'', from ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'', is a classically incompetent, over-the-hill military cook. His food is universally ridiculed by the crew, although he claims it has more to do with the rations Cerberus provided (buy him some ingredients, and the crew's morale increases noticeably). He's also voiced by the same actor as resident ButtMonkey StrawmanPolitical Donnel Udina, for extra humor value.
** In ''VideoGame/MassEffectAndromeda'', this role is taken by Drack, the resident krogan. He takes up residence in the ship's kitchen, and apparently his roasts are considered amazing by the rest of the crew.
* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade'':
** Lowen is implied to have this role in supports. [[AnyoneCanDie No explanation for how people eat if he happens to die.]] Justified since he's also implied to be the son and grandson of former Pheraean royal cooks.
** He's not the only cook in the cast, Rebecca is a pretty good one too. [[BirdsOfAFeather Predictably, Lowen is one of the her potential boyfriends.]]
* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'', Ignis cooks meals for the party when they're camping outdoors, with his cooking being a skill that can be leveled so that he can provide better meals to provide better resting bonuses.
* Simon Pearson from ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption2'' is the cook for the Dutch Van Der Linde gang, a former Navy man at that. He'll happily accept any meat and game that Arthur brings back to camp so he can cook it, and he'll even help craft valuable items for the player or the camp. Once [[TragicVillain Dutch]] starts going insane, Simon quietly leaves the gang and eventually gets married and becomes the shopkeeper for Rhodes' general store.