While the days of Girl Scout camp and soccer camp may be over, you can still enjoy the hallowed tradition of roasting marshmallows and sneaking out of your cabin at midnight as an adult. There are plenty of summer camps for grown ups in California, but if you're looking for something a little, uh, juicier, consider Belcampo's Meat Camp. Yeah. Meat Camp.
You may know Belcampo from its fantastic burgers at Grand Central Market or its new restaurant in Santa Monica, but the company based in the Shasta Valley is now offering multiple meat camps for those who want to learn how to cut, grill, serve and sauce meat in time for summer grilling. Just don't think it's a bunch of co-eds getting together and turning up the heat. The camps are broken up into various demographics: Women's Meat Camp (Aug 6-9), Gay Men's Meat Camp (Aug 13-16), Couple's Meat Camp (Oct 16-18) and Men's Meat Camp (Oct 23-25). "In my experience, learning a new skill in a new setting works better if you have common ground among the participants," says Belcampo co-founder and CEO Anya Fernald. "I’m betting that the women, men, couple’s and gay men’s grouping will make that common ground happen faster and the experience will be more relaxed and enriching."
Led by Fernald and company president Bronwen Hanna-Korpi, the camps will focus on the basics of wood fire cookery, techniques such as knife skills and meat cutting, and cooking courses. Because this is California, there will also be daily fitness boot camps, yoga, and stretching classes with the serene Shasta Valley as a backdrop. "The farm itself is so beautiful," says Fernald. "I'm so happy to start sharing what we've built with more and more people this summer!"
Meat camp isn't cheap; fees range from $2500 to $3750, which includes accommodations in a luxury tent with a private bathroom and shower. And yet: at the end, you'll know how to deconstruct a duck, braise a bird and chop a (tomahawk) chop. We're hoping there are s'mores involved, too.
Find out more info and sign up for Meat Camp here.
Have you had a Belcampo burger yet? It made our best burgers list—check it out here, along with 13 other amazing LA burgers.