Jim Fehrman from Gander Mountain approached us concerning training classes at their Lodge at the store in Tonawanda. Keith Lang and I met with him and set dates for February 14, and March 27 with future dates to be determined depending on the success of the first two classes. If the attendance at the first class is to be an indicator then we will be doing many more of these classes for Gander Mountain. There were 35 participants present and we had 7 members of the Chapter there to assist.
The accompanying pictures will tell the story better than
I can. We began with introductions of the staff and of each participant
and their experience with a Dutch Oven. We then began with our instruction;
Why cook in a Dutch oven?
Which Brand should I purchase?
We then passed out the recipes and set a Dutch oven on each
table and passed out the ingredients. The class prepared a Beef Stew,
a Chicken Pot Pie, two pans of Corn Bread, and two Peach Cobblers. We
then carried the Dutch ovens outside and instructed on how to use a Charcoal
Starter. We will do this in advance next time; it was very cold outside
and took some time to get this started. We then explained;
How to regulate temperature?
After the Charcoal was going good and all of the Dutch ovens were going we went back inside where it was warm. The training then included;
| What size should I purchase? | What do I do next? |
| Seasoning. | What can I cook in a Dutch oven? |
| Which Charcoal is recommended? | How do I store a Dutch oven? |
| What tools will I need? | Table of some sort |
| Leather Welding Gloves | Charcoal Starter |
| Propane Stove to heat water | Small Shovel |
| Buckets for the water | 16” Tongs |
| Dutch oven Carrier | Lid Lifter |
| Wisk Broom | Lid Holder |
At the conclusion of this discussion and a question and answer session we brought the Dutch ovens inside and let everyone sample the dishes they prepared. The food all disappeared so it must have tasted all right.
One couple signed up as members of the local Chapter and others expressed that they would be joining us at our local DOGs and joining the Chapter. We had a great time. Thanks to Ron Wagner, David Newton, Hyde Hitchcock, Stan Kowalski, Jack Brown and John Jones for their assistance.
We are looking forward to March 27th at the next Gander Mountain training session.
Dave Horton
Director - WNY Chapter - IDOS
