Chefaway Foods

[rogo]

I have just got back from a few days on the Bib track here in WA. My friend found Chefaway meals at a local camping store. We are doing the Overland Track in Jan and I quite liked the meals she had. Can I get this in Tasmania at camping or wilderness stores? We are flying in Devenport and have 2 days before we walk. I don't seem to be able to get a lot of info on this food.

Rogo

[photohiker]

Do you mean Chefsway? Pretty good tucker, made in Hobart.

Rucksack supplies is the distributor, they have a Store Locator

Be best to ring your local store, they may have to order stock in.

[Joe]

I know for sure you can certainly get it in Burnie I love the stuff. So much nicer than any of the other bag meals I have tried. If you don't have any luck getting any PM me and I can organise some to be in Devonport for you

[Amanda]

Jolly Swagman and Hobart MDs have it

[tasadam]

I tried a Chefaway Food product, Beef curry & rice, last walk I went on.
The disadvantage for this meal is the extended cooking time, and the need to simmer. The MSR Simmerlite stove is hard to get to simmer, so it's easily to burn the bum of meals like this that need simmering / stirring all the time.
Also I think I need a bigger pot, a 1 litre pot wasn't really big enough - very full by the time the rice went in.
The taste was great - a really nice meal. Though I don't mind most of the normal BackCountry ones either so perhaps I'm not a good judge.
One other advantage for this meal is its size, it was a generous serve and we were well fed after it.

Yes, I bought some more, and next time I am going to experiment with different cooking techniques, such as bring to boil, stick lid on and let it sit for 10 mins, then light the stove again and bring back to the boil, see whether that works - wouldn't take much longer, would save fuel, would save the work stirring it while it cooks.

Anyone else got any tips on preparing these meals?

[north-north-west]

I always add a bit more water than they suggest, then it simmers nicely with only a couple of stirs. Never burnt one (yet).

[tas-man]

Their tucker is good! - here is their full range menu. http://www.rucsacsupplies.com.au/files/ ... efsway.pdf

[stu]

I'm sorry but I'd have to agree with the initial 'Chefs-away' on these;
me & a mate took them on the Southern Ranges / SCT recently, I found most of them to be bland & or too salty, definitely not 5 star as they are billed as.
Also with the extra prep / boiling time required they probably run second best to Backpackers Pantry / Backcountry brands, which are also bland I think.

We had the following ones : MUSHROOM RISOTTO, TOMATO BOWTIE PASTA, SPAGHETTI BOLOGNAISE, BEEF CURRY & BASAMATI RICE, LAMB & COUS COUS
The Lamb & Cous Cous was very tasty, the others I couldn't stomach more than once on the trip, tho with a little parmesan cheese & chilli sauce they became a little more palatable. Maybe I'm just fussy, but at nearly $17 per meal package (a good sized feed for 2) they are WAY over-priced IMHO.

I just got a dehydrator so I think I'll prepare my own meals for my next trip to The Spires / POW's;
I really look forward to a tasty feed at the end of a long hard day & it can be the difference between high or low morale when things get tough.

Stu.

[stepbystep]

Yep, have to agree with Stu, the Beef curry and rice was v. bland, mind you better than the Backcountry Tikka Masala, that was probably the worst thing I've never finished eating!
The Backcountry Nasi-Goreng was pretty good though - the pick of the three IMO.
I have a theory that meat just doesn't stand up flavourwise to dehydration compared to vegies, but I'm prepared to be proven wrong.
Dehydrator has to be a good move, especially if you can grow your own fruit and vegies. You can't buy dried apricots without preservative220 added.
sbs

[dee_legg]

Stepbystep... You can get sulphur dioxide free dried apricots from Eumarrah... they look pretty ugly but they taste just as good.

Also good to know that the chefsway stuff isn't great. I'd have to see some rave reviews to pay that much!
My favourite home dehydrated meals are a mexican bean stew and dahl... going to play around with some tomato based pasta sauces soon too. Definitely agree with Stu though when he says that a good dinner can affect morale... knowing i have a good (and healthy and quick) meal soon certainly helps battle through the pain at the end of a hard day!!

[Michael_Kingston]

I agree Dee - dhal is hard to beat and would be my favourite bushwalking meal (make it on my dehydrator). A very close second would be Thai green vege curry. You can either make your own (as I do) or buy a green curry paste. Fry it off (then add a squeeze of lime juice if you buy a commercial one), add a tin of coconut milk, beans, mushrooms, potato, carrots and brocolli. Put it on the dehydrator and it tastes brilliant when rehydrated.

[dee_legg]

Thai green curry sounds really good! Must try it out on the dehydrater.
We've just recently tried dehydrating satay sauce... turned out really well. Great reconstituted and poured over vegies and rice.

[flatfoot]

Great find! The food looks wonderful. There seem to be a few online suppliers too.

Has anyone had success taking these meals overseas? I was thinking that in some locations stores might be hard to find or the schedule just won't allow and expedition to an obscure outpost.

[Michael_Kingston]

dee - I wil ltry satay sauce as i love satay style dishes. That is a great idea!

[rohjoe]

My favourite is the Lamb & Winter Vegetables. Just add your own cous-cous or whatever for a very hearty & tasty meal.
The Chefsway products taste closer to home-made than any of the other brands IMHO. Agree they're a bit exxy but sometimes it's worth paying for convenience. I find that pre-soaking can cut down on cooking time substantially. Having said that, I've also just joined the dehydrator club and look forward to experimenting with the tips on here!

Good food comes a close second to good views on a walk, I reckon. It's certainly nice to end a hard day in the scrub on a high note, gustatorially speaking!

[Funky_Bunch]

I tried a Chefaway Food product, Beef curry & rice, last walk I went on.
The disadvantage for this meal is the extended cooking time, and the need to simmer. The MSR Simmerlite stove is hard to get to simmer, so it's easily to burn the bum of meals like this that need simmering / stirring all the time.
Also I think I need a bigger pot, a 1 litre pot wasn't really big enough - very full by the time the rice went in.
The taste was great - a really nice meal. Though I don't mind most of the normal BackCountry ones either so perhaps I'm not a good judge.
One other advantage for this meal is its size, it was a generous serve and we were well fed after it.

Yes, I bought some more, and next time I am going to experiment with different cooking techniques, such as bring to boil, stick lid on and let it sit for 10 mins, then light the stove again and bring back to the boil, see whether that works - wouldn't take much longer, would save fuel, would save the work stirring it while it cooks.

Anyone else got any tips on preparing these meals?

yeah the best cooking tip i have is to leave them at home, i used one on a search in the sentinel range and the sheer volume of fuell used to make it was anoying, yes tasted better than any other meal ive had but except the back country thai chicken curry. could eat them every day