Sam Friedman organized camp cooking competitions for five summers while living in Alaska. So he shared some of his tips on how to hold a camp cooking competition of your own. Tips The more the merrier: Make a broad guest list that includes people who like camping and food. Location: Pick a fun campsite, but one that’s not too far afield. Our six-mile walk-in cabin contest was too far away to get a critical mass of people. An urban campsite on a weeknight was too boring. Timing: Consider hosting in the spring when it’s warm enough to camp but the ground is still thawing. People tend to be very busy in the summer in Alaska. Breakfast is optional: Let a few folks make breakfast dishes but encourage people to focus on dinner. In the morning, there will likely be lots of leftovers from the night before.