Although it takes extra time and effort to have a great cook out, students will remember it forever! If you have any questions, or require clarification about our cook-out procedures, please don’t hesitate to call us at 905-794-2171.

Required Supervision:

 A minimum of 2 adults are required for a cook out with Intermediate/Senior (7-12) students.

Student Safety: EFSC Staff will conduct a fire safety chat with your class and light the fire. Students are not permitted to add anything to the fire, but are responsible for roasting their own hot dogs/marshmallows. For safety reasons, only eight I/S students can cook around the fire at one time. The EFSC staff will start a fire in our outdoor fire pits. We will also provide metal hot dog skewers and wooden marshmallow sticks. We will discuss fire etiquette and safety with students prior to cooking.
While some students may not wish to participate in the cook out lunch, all students will eat outside at the picnic tables.

Food: Teachers are responsible for purchasing and bringing all required food (hot dogs, buns, condiments, drinks, paper towels or cloths in case of emergencies). Cooked food must be hot dog based. Marshmallows can be cooked as a dessert. Teachers may choose to bring additional food items such as apples, celery sticks…etc. Often, teachers ask students to bring their own drinks. Please note that we do not have garbage or recycling so all waste will need to go back to school with you.

We encourage you to be conscience of your environmental impact and bring refillable water bottles instead of plastic water bottles or juice boxes.

Students with dietary restrictions can either enjoy another hot dog option (teachers can look for halal or veggie options), or can bring their own lunch. We can set aside skewers for specific hot dogs.

Provided Items: The Etobicoke Field Studies Centre will provide skewers for cooking hotdogs, wooden sticks for marshmallows, and wood for the fire.

Adverse Weather: If weather conditions eliminate the possibility of using a campfire site, then you will have access to our kitchen stove, and students can eat inside.

Some Tips and Suggestions for a Successful Cookout Lunch:

• As only a limited number of students can cook over the fire at one time, ask the students to bring a light lunch or snack to eat while they are waiting to cook.
• Ensure that veggie or chicken dogs are available for students with special dietary concerns. If you are unsure about individual dietary needs, ask each student to bring his or her own hot dog/s from home.
• If a class wishes to roast marshmallows, we ask that students do not use the metal skewers provided. We will provide wooden sticks for roasting. As an alternative, visiting classes may want to bring bamboo shish-kebab sticks for marshmallow roasting.
• Most marshmallows contain gelatin made from pork by-products. If there are dietary concerns involving pork products, marshmallows with fish or beef gelatin or other alternatives can usually be found at Kosher and Halal stores.
• Cookout Lunches often require more time (approx. 60 min) than regular lunches. EFSC Staff can modify both the content and the time of your afternoon program.