DINNER'S IN THE BAG

Helen Tidy creates cruising memories with a DIY thermal cooker

In these days of lockdown restrictions, while we are housebound, I have found myself reflecting back to happy days of carefree cruising. My creative energy has been lately spent making face masks and while I churn these out, I have enjoyed remembering last year’s experiments with alternative energy for cooking.

I have been the happy possessor of a thermal cooker for some years now and it is in regular use aboard Wand’ring Bark. I particularly enjoy using it on those days when lock flights seem endless and days are chilly. Collapsing, exhausted after such a day, I never feel like starting to cook a meal so being able to serve one up from my thermal cooker makes it feel like someone else has cooked for me. And of course, from an ecological standpoint, thermal cooking is a way to save on energy consumption. Recently, I decided it would be fun to experiment with a home assembled one.