Camp kitchen calculator
The drinks calculators on the web are built for a party on one afternoon. A camp differs in three ways, and each one changes the shopping list: it runs for days, the people are doing physical work in costume, and a third of them eat no meat.
This calculator takes all three seriously and outputs what you need to go shopping: quantities per ingredient group, pack sizes to order, chilled volume in litres, and the cost per head per day. Plus a tavern module and the hygiene points an inspection will ask about.
What gets poured at the bar is a separate calculation in the Tavern and drinks calculator; the costs from here belong in the Cost and funding plan.
Shopping list
| Group | needed | Packs | order | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meat (kg) | 133.1 | 27 × 5.0 | 135.0 | €0.00 |
| Meat substitute (kg) | 51.3 | 26 × 2.0 | 52.0 | €0.00 |
| Sides (kg) | 190.1 | 39 × 5.0 | 195.0 | €0.00 |
| Vegetables and salad (kg) | 166.3 | 34 × 5.0 | 170.0 | €0.00 |
| Bread (kg) | 71.3 | 72 × 1.0 | 72.0 | €0.00 |
| Spread (kg) | 19.0 | 38 × 0.5 | 19.0 | €0.00 |
| Drinks (l) | 990.0 | 165 × 6.0 | 990.0 | €0.00 |
- of those meat eaters / vegetarian / vegan: 84 / 36 / 12
- hot meals in total: 6
- Drinks per person per day: 2.5 litres
- Chilled volume: 373 litres
- Shopping in total: €0.00 · per person: €0.00 · per person per day: €0.00
Hygiene: what an inspection asks
- Kitchen leads with § 43 IfSG instruction, proof available on site
- Cold chain from shop to serving point, perishables at no more than 7 °C
- Hot holding at at least 65 °C, frozen goods at no more than -18 °C
- Raw and cooked kept apart: separate boards, knives and surfaces
- Handwashing at the kitchen with warm water, soap and single-use towels
- Allergens labelled at the serving point, allergies asked for at registration
- Retained samples where cooking for many over several days
- Waste and waste water arranged, no grey water onto the site
Guidance, not a permit. Whether and how food law applies to your event is for your local food safety authority to settle.
How this is calculated
The portion sizes are experience values from LARP kitchen practice, not standards — they are visible in the calculator and can be changed. A kitchen crew that has cooked for its own people knows them better than any table.
The activity factor accounts for about a fifth: a day of shield walls and carrying tents is not a day of sitting in a hall. The contingency goes on top of everything.
Vegans count inside the vegetarian share, not on top of it. Asking for both separately is why kitchens end up cooking for 130 % of the camp.
The chilled volume counts only what actually has to stay cold. Bread and dry sides need no fridge, and counting them makes the cooling order needlessly expensive.
- Portion sizes: experience values from LARP kitchen practice, adjustable in the calculator
- Tavern volumes: event-catering rules of thumb (about half a litre per guest per serving hour, 30–50 % of it alcoholic) — not norms
- Order-of-magnitude check: the City of Munich's Oktoberfest balance 2025, about 6.5 million Maß against about 6.5 million visits
- Hygiene: German food hygiene regulation; § 43 IfSG instruction for kitchen leads
Every figure with its source and review date is in the metrics register — including when it was last checked against the regulation.
Common questions
Because your camp eats differently. Young people after eight hours of battle eat differently from a theatre ensemble, and a tavern serving dinner changes breakfast. Take the figures as a starting point, note what was left over afterwards, and change the portion sizes for next time.
No tool works those out. Ask at registration, label allergens at the serving point, and plan a separately prepared portion for every known intolerance. The hygiene list here reminds you.
Anyone handling unpackaged food commercially needs the § 43 IfSG instruction. A closed event for participants is a different situation from selling to the public — settle it with your local food safety authority before assuming it does not apply to you.
Enter your purchase prices per pack and the tool works out the cost per head per day — the figure you need for the ticket calculation. It transfers straight into the funding plan.
Organiser briefing
Roughly monthly: funding deadlines, new tools, practical knowledge for organisers. Nothing for sale, unsubscribe any time.
Related tools
- Tavern and drinks calculatorDrink volumes from head count and hours, your shopping list checked against them, a minimum price per drink.
- Cost and funding planExpenditure, income and the funding gap in the format funders expect — with ticket pricing and drawdown.
- Ticket price and break-even calculatorWhat a ticket has to cost to carry the event — with free places, batches and a grant share.
- Toilet and camp supply calculatorToilets, washbasins, showers, water and waste — and which of it the regulation actually prescribes.
Orientation value. This calculator is no substitute for talking to the licensing authority, the building inspectorate, the fire service or a qualified planner. The German states each adapt the model regulation, so what binds your event is your state's version plus the conditions in your own permit.
Figures as of: 1.0 · last reviewed: 2026-09-18