A group of RVers created their own version of “Hell’s Kitchen” at a campground on Virginia’s Eastern Shore.
By Nicholas Meremianin, F474868
July 2022
It all started when Jason Dudley, also known as “Chef Very Windy,” was cooking a hibachi grill meal for family and friends camping together on the shores of Chesapeake Bay. As a storm rolled into Cherrystone Family Camping Resort, Jason hurried to beat the winds and hence earned his chef name. The following year, we had six campsites and three cabins reserved at the same campground.
My wife, who has outstanding culinary skills, and I, with no culinary skills, decided it would be a great idea to take advantage of the four great cooks who were camping together. We came up with the idea of a Gordon Ramsay-style “Hell’s Kitchen” or “MasterChef” cooking night to serve the 30-plus campers in our party. (Ramsay is the celebrity chef known for his fiery temper on these TV cooking shows.)
The RV chefs made sure no one at the rally went away hungry.
The first order of business was assigning names and ordering jackets for our culinary campers. For my wife, Maria, we came up with the name “Chef Stick-em.” She is a registered nurse, so it was a no-brainer. Next was Walter Meremianin, who was dubbed “Chef Song.” As you may have guessed, he is a musician. And, finally, Brian Murray was given the name “Chef Coach,” as he coaches his daughter’s softball team. Add these three outstanding cooks along with Chef Very Windy, and we were in business.
We set up four griddles in a row in front of our coach, tables to one side, and a slushy machine to the other, and we were ready for the fun to begin. Chef Stick-em created a fried-rice masterpiece using her homemade garlic butter, rice, eggs, onions, bean sprouts, and secret sauce. Chef Song was assigned to create a delicious chicken stir-fry.
Per usual, he did not disappoint. Chef Coach was commissioned to cook his famous steak stir-fry. And Chef Very Windy delighted the guests with an onion volcano, followed by stir-fried veggies that included broccoli, mushrooms, zucchini, and squash. Finally, Chef Very Windy created a beautifully cooked shrimp stir-fry.
My duties were to attend to the slushy machine and play the part of Gordon Ramsay. The slushy machine worked out well, but screaming at the chefs? Not so much. All I can say is that there were plenty of goodies on the grass for the plethora of pups that were camping with our group!
Everyone in attendance had a great time, and most of the crew needed to be carried back to their sites. I sure am glad the event took place on our site! I can’t wait ’til we do it again!