Tonight our party of 4, that's heading to Agnes in Sept., is getting together for a sample meal.  We'll be having spaghetti made of tomato powder & foil packaged hamburger.  I'm going to serve pita bread spread with garlic butter, wrapped in foil and warmed in the coals of the firepit.  For dessert we're having cinnamon apples cooked in foil on the coals and some Uncle Ben's rice pudding.  This will be the first attempt at some of these so we'll get together and see if everyone likes it.

Now for the question.  Does your party have a designated chef that plans, packs & prepares the food or do you all work together?  We all meet, prepare our menu & even shop together.  Like tonight, we also try out new meals together.  I think it makes for a more agreeable trip if everyone has a say & is allowed to choose some of his/her favorites to be included in the menu.  If distance allows, such a get-together can really help make a group more cohesive.  It's especially good for first-timers and gives them more of a perspective of what the trip will be like.

If I'm traveling with my long-time traveling partner, we will typically split the cooking duties (which includes meal planning).  About 2 months before we depart, we will share our selections so we can make adjustments so that we don't have too many similar meals.

If I'm traveling with almost anyone else, I usually make all the meal decisions and share a pre-trip menu with the participants.  This also generally means I do all the cooking.  (I guess I'm viewed as having some skill at it.)  Anyone has a veto on any meal choice (but they may be asked to suggest an alternative.)

dd

I will usually discuss with the group what they would like to eat on a trip, from there I will plan all meals secure any food items or meals that can be dried in advance, and repackage all other applicable items. The foods we will eat that are fresh are purchased at Zupps. All this prep work has become very time consuming and somewhat of a drag. Next years trip will done much differently with everyone supplying at least one dinner and all their own lunches turns will be taken with dinners preparation, I have become tired of being the Chef and cold prep person for every meal.  I foresee that there will be at least three freeze dried meals.
flp

wrote on Aug 16^th, 2004 at 5:31pm:

We all meet, prepare our menu & even shop together.  Like tonight, we also try out new meals together.  I think it makes for a more agreeable trip if everyone has a say & is allowed to choose some of his/her favorites to be included in the menu.  If distance allows, such a get-together can really help make a group more cohesive.  It's especially good for first-timers and gives them more of a perspective of what the trip will be like.

Pretty much the same plan here. Our whole group gets
together a couple of times each year to plan (make the
big decisions as to where and when). We don't test the
meals, although we are getting to know each others
tastes better each year (which is a chore for eight
trippers, including 2-1/2 vegetarians, who are all pretty
strong-willed  :)). There is a great deal of mutual respect
amongst the group that makes each trip better than the
last.

About two months before the trip, the planning is
complete, including every meal for every day. Then
it is shop, dry, and pack 'til you drop.

-aj

Here's an update:  The spaghetti turned out great but I made too much.  Leftovers isn't a problem around here but I'll have to scale back the amount I fix for camp.  The tomato powder was super simple - just add water!  The pre-cooked hamburger worked great.

Desserts turned out good.  Unfortunately, not everyone likes rice pudding.  The vote was a unanimous YES for the baked apples.

Experimenting paid off with the garlic pita bread.  I burned it.  I had pretty hot coals & left it too long.  I think we'll wrap it in foil & heat it in a skillet in camp.  It also needed more garlic.  But now we know.  

I’m not usually allowed to plan meals and when you hear my philosophy on canoe camping meals you’ll know why. Preparation, eating and cleaning up after meals takes time away from other things I would rather be doing. Therefore, meals I plan would be lightweight, simple, fast and boring with little or no cleanup afterward. Afterall, I can eat as much variety and spend as much time at it as I want at home. Usually though somebody in the group takes more of an interest in planning and cooking than I.
The exception to all this is fish meals. I’ve been the go to guy when it comes to fish and actually include quite a bit of variety in preparing it.

For trips with my wife, we plan meals together.  For group trips, I take a militant approach toward meal planning, in the tradition of old lumber camp cooks.  Everyone knows that the cook is the man in charge: as Norman Maclean wrote, "He's the man with the golden testicles."  Everything else about the trip is open to discussion, except the food.  So I plan it, buy it, pack it and cook it.  And if they don't like it, they know where they can go. Cookie has spoken. :-)

Not sure if there's educational value in this, but here's a typical menu for a week.  This is with lots of portaging and moving every day:

Sunday Lunch
Aji Tuna & Fresh Vegetable Pitas
Amish Potato Soup
Sunday Dinner
Spicy Venison Chili with
Stone-Ground Corn Chips & Aged Cheddar
Sunday Desert
Campfire-Baked Apples alá Anne

Monday Breakfast
Oatmeal with Tart Apples & Cinnamon
Monday Lunch
Oriental Ramen Noodles
Cheesy Cheddar & Broccoli Soup
Monday Dinner
Jack’s Trail Jambalaya with Smoked Beef Sausage & Jalapeño Skillet Cornbread
Monday Desert
S’mores with Fire-Roasted Marshmallows

Tuesday Breakfast
Oatmeal with Cinnamon & Secret Spices
Tuesday Lunch
Aji Tuna Pita Trail Sandwiches
Roasted Vegetable and Rice Soup
Tuesday Dinner
Campfire-Roasted Potatoes & Onions
Pasta Parmisano
Fried Fresh Walleye (if available)
Tuesday Desert
Campfire-Baked Apples alá Anne

Wednesday Breakfast
Cinnamon Roll Oatmeal
Wednesday Lunch
Ramen Noodle Surprise
Chicken and Noodle Soup
Wednesday Dinner
Almond-Crusted Walleye Fry
Wednesday Desert
S’mores with Fire-Roasted Marshmallows

Thursday Breakfast
Oatmeal with Maple Syrup & Brown Sugar
Thursday Lunch
Macaroni in a Delicate Cheesy Sauce
Navy Bean Soup
Thursday Dinner
Amish Beef and Noodles with
Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Thursday Desert
Hershey’s Chocolate Bars (4 Flavors!)

Friday Breakfast
Oatmeal with Apples & Cinnamon
Friday Lunch
Ramen Noodles alá Jacques
Mom’s Chicken and Noodle Soup
Friday Dinner
Spicy Spanish Rice with
Campfire-Roasted Potatoes and Onions
Friday Desert
Hershey’s Chocolate Bars (4 Flavors!)

Saturday Breakfast
Oatmeal with Maple & Brown Sugar
Saturday Lunch
Ultimate Ramen Noodles
Minestrone Soup

wrote on Aug 17^th, 2004 at 2:18am:

The spaghetti turned out great but I made too much.

Leftover spaghetti makes a great skirt for your buzz baits and Mepps spinners. The sauce gives a bloody appearance and is a good trigger, especially on pike. (Just dip your black/silver Rapalas into it and see for yourself.)  ;)
-YB

I like the simple plan. 1) If Snowdog is on the trip, he plans and cooks ALL the meals. Never heard a complaint other than a lack of onions and mushrooms in the diet. 2) If Snowdog is not on the trip, I do it. Never heard a complaint other than a surplus of onions and mushrooms in the diet. 3) If neither of us is on the trip, who cares?? ::) ;)

Since canoejack provided a sample menu, here is the one we used on our last trip.  These are dinners only.  Each person is responsible for their own breakfast and lunch choices.

1. Santa Fe Chipolte Soup plus dehydrated chicken
    Betty Crocker Ranch Potatoes
    3 Berry cobbler

2. Fried Lake Trout                  
    Couscous w/pine nuts
    Biscuits      
    Lemon Cream Pie      

3. Vegetable beef soup plus dehydrated hamburger
    Vigo Jambalya cajun rice
    Cinnamon apple crisp                        

4. Fish Tacos (veggies/tortillas/salsa/cheese)
    Banana Cream Pie            
                 
5. Navy Bean Soup
    Red beans and rice
    Wild Rice pudding

6. Lake Trout poached in onion soup      
    3 Cheese Potatoes
    Biscuits      
    Strawberry Cheese Cake
                       
7. Chili Mac plus dehydrated beef
    Arborio Rice with Mushrooms            
    Hershey Milk Chocolate candy bar            

8. Pasta combo w/spaghetti sauce                  
    Mocha Mousse Pie                        

9. Refried bean burritos (w/cheese & salsa)      
    Betty Crocker Ranch Potatoes
    French Vanilla Mousse
     
10. Teriyaki Noodles (w/Chicken)            
    Blueberry Cheese Cake
                             
11. Fried Walleye
    Cheddar and Broccoli Flavored Rice
    Hershey Milk Chocolate candy bar            

12. Tortellini w/pesto sauce                        
    Crepes w/Peach Topping            
           
13. Fried Walleye
    Chicken Broccoli Rice
    Hershey Milk Chocolate candy bar
                       
14. Mac and Cheese
    Veggie-Chicken Noodle soup (w/Chicken)
    3 Berry cobbler

dd

Some good ideas here, thanks guys!  Here's ours:
1.) Breakfast - restaurant
    Lunch - day pack (sandwiches, etc.)
    Supper - chili, cheese & crackers, pudding
2.) Breakfast - sausage & eggs
    Lunch - day pack (still traveling)
    Supper -spaghetti, garlic/cheese biscuits, baked apples
3.) Breakfast - bacon & pancakes
    Lunch - snacks (busy fishing)
    Supper - fried fish, mac & cheese, cornbread
4.) Breakfast - biscuits w/sausage gravy
    Lunch - snacks (you guessed it - fishing)
    Supper - chicken & noodles, 4 cheese potatoes, corn
5.) Breakfast - skillet hash (potatoes, eggs, cheese, bacon)
    Lunch - snacks (yep, fishing)
    Supper - fish, chicken fried rice, peas, hush puppies
6.) Breakfast - bacon & pancakes
    Lunch - snacks (why change a good thing!)
    Supper - chicken tacos, applesauce
7.) Breakfast - boiled eggs, maple & brn sugar oatmeal
    Lunch - day pack (gotta leave :()
    Supper - ham & scalloped potatoes, corn
8.) Breakfast - pop tarts
    Lunch - day pack & leftovers
    Supper - steak in Ely!

We usually take homemade cookies packed in Pringles cans for desserts, we make an apple cream pie one night, sometimes cheese cake, plus there's always marshmallows to roast & popcorn to pop!        

I don't do fungus.  I will eat nothing related to that which grows between my toes.

Onions are fine.  However, unlike old_salt I prefer to have a little food with my onions too.

I think there are some advantages to having one person plan meals and buy food.  It's a lot of work, but there's less chance of missing items, duplicated items, too much/too little food, etc.

Day 1: breakfast: Fish n' Onions
         lunch:      Fish n' Onions
         dinner:     Fish n' Onions

Remainder of trip: Fish n' Onions
Simple, well balanced meal plan.
Saves time otherwise wasted debating over what to add to the oatmeal. ;) ;D ;D
BTW, I agree with paragraph 3 in previous post by Snowdog. No better cook in Q in my opinion. :o

Seems this thread ''got lost'' on the subject of ''trip meals''. While that is a worthy topic, I'm sure there must be some pre-trip meal traditions that may influence whether or not the fish bite, or only the bugs.

I like to stop at Gordy's Hi Hat in Cloquet. Before you get there, be sure to talk up the ''to die for'' onion rings, especially if you have rookies in your party. They melt in your mouth. They also serve huge orders. Offer to split a box with the intended victim, just make sure he gets most of them. Along about the first significant portage, the desired ''cleansing effect'' begins. ;D ;D Keep the TP handy. ;D ;D  He'll 'thank you' the rest of the trip. ::) ???

I like their fish burger, and blueberry malt. If the blueberry malt can be ordered to ''wash down'' the onion rings...  ;D ;D

Gee Old_Salt...
And, I love onion rings so much!!! ;)  I will remember to try Gordy's Hi Hat next trip... I remember you and Dan, telling how good their fish burger was!!  
    As for pre-trip meals, I like to have a simple meal that gives you energy, either Chicken or steak with a potato... the night before.  Last year for breakfast before we left we had blueberry pancakes and bacon at Smitty's on Snowbank...  darn good stuff!!!!
    In regards to meal planning since I do most of the planning, and the outifitting and purchasing of supplies... I generally plan the menu also.  I prefer quick easy good tasting meals that are full of those terrible Carbs... Pasta, Rice, Potatoes, for energy.  There are a couple of traditional meals I started a couple of years ago when I started doing my own outfitting... for example, first night out we don't do steaks, we do Jambalya and Pita bread, with good Petit Jean smoked Italian sausage (local brand) brought from Arkansas... good and spicy to get your system reved up :o :o
    Then of course there is the fish we catch (hopefully)... I learned to cook those from an old family recipe... naw, actually Old_Salt showed me the best way several years ago... The thing I changed was the seasoning...  Cajun Walleye, or even Cajun Northern is pretty darn good to eat, or course the lemon-pepper is not too bad either... other than that simple add meat and water prepackaged meals are the way I go.  Other than the trail mix I make... which is rather well liked too... the  4 gallon bags I made to take last year... lasted 5 days between 4 people...  ;D ;D ;  
    Oh, I guess my favorite is enjoying a good breakfast of pancakes or bannock, with butter and squeeze strawberry Jam, with a good hot cup of Irish Creme flavored coffee in the morning...  I got to quit talking about food... I am getting hungry ;D ;D

Bruce