Cooking Merit Badge

1. Health and safety Requirement

Five conversations with your counselor before anybody eats anything you have made.

5 parts

• 1(a). Hazards in cooking, and how to respond
• 1(b). First aid for burns, cuts, choking and allergic reactions
• 1(c). Storing, transporting and preparing food safely
• 1(d). Food allergies, intolerance and food-borne illness
• 1(e). Reading food labels, and spotting common allergens

2. Nutrition Requirement

The MyPlate food guide, which the three menu-planning requirements then ask you to plan against.

5 parts

• 2(a). Five examples from each food group
• 2(b). Why to limit oils and sugars
• 2(c). Track your activity and calorie need for five days
• 2(d). Discuss your own eating habits
• 2(e). The terms on a food label

3. Cooking basics Requirement

The ten cooking methods. Requirement 4 asks you to use at least five of them, so this is the list that one is counted against.

4 parts, 1 ticked

• 3(a). Discuss the ten cooking methods
• 3(b). Camp stove versus charcoal or wood fire
• 3(c). Managing your time so a meal arrives together
• 3(d). How taste, texture and smell affect what we eat

7. Careers and hobbies, one of the two Requirement

A piece of research, discussed with your counselor. Choose the branch that interests you.

2 parts

• 7(a). Research a career in cooking Optional May not apply
• 7(b). Research cooking as a hobby or a healthier life Optional May not apply

4. Cooking at home Requirement

Three full days of menus, then one breakfast, one lunch, one dinner and a dessert served to at least one adult.

The meals cooked for requirements 4, 5 and 6 count towards this badge only. They may not also be used for rank advancement or for another merit badge, and meals cooked for those may not be counted here. This is a deliberate exception: Guide to Advancement 4.2.3.6 otherwise allows one activity to satisfy more than one requirement.

The menus for requirements 4, 5 and 6 must not be repeated. Three requirements, three different sets of meals.

6 parts

• 4(a). Plan three days of menus, plus a dessert Often forgotten
• 4(b). Find the recipes, list the shopping, cost each meal Usually comes after 4(a). Plan three days of menus, plus a dessert.
• 4(c). Share the plan and shopping list with your counselor Usually comes after 4(b). Find the recipes, list the shopping, cost each meal.
• 4(d). Cook and serve four of the meals you planned Usually comes after 3. Cooking basics and 4(c). Share the plan and shopping list with your counselor.
• 4(e). Time each meal, and have an adult confirm it Usually comes after 4(d). Cook and serve four of the meals you planned.
• 4(f). Have each meal evaluated, and evaluate it yourself Usually comes after 4(d). Cook and serve four of the meals you planned.

5. Camp cooking Requirement

Four meals, a snack and a dessert for your patrol, cooked outdoors on three different kinds of heat.

8 parts

• 5(a). Plan four meals, a snack and a dessert for the patrol Often forgotten
• 5(b). Recipes, adjusted quantities, shopping list and per-person cost Usually comes after 5(a). Plan four meals, a snack and a dessert for the patrol.
• 5(c). Share the menus and shopping list with your counselor Usually comes after 5(b). Recipes, adjusted quantities, shopping list and per-person cost.
• 5(d). Cook the four meals outdoors, on three kinds of heat Usually comes after 5(c). Share the menus and shopping list with your counselor.
• 5(e). Prepare the snack and the dessert outdoors too
• 5(f). Have each meal evaluated, and evaluate it yourself Usually comes after 5(d). Cook the four meals outdoors, on three kinds of heat.
• 5(g). Lead the clean-up after every meal Often forgotten Usually comes after 5(d). Cook the four meals outdoors, on three kinds of heat.
• 5(h). Discuss how you followed Leave No Trace and the Outdoor Code

6. Trail and backpacking meals Requirement

A day of food that has to be carried, so weight and refrigeration decide the menu before taste does.

6 parts, 1 ticked

• 6(a). Plan a day of trail meals for three to five people Often forgotten
• 6(b). Shopping list and cost per meal Usually comes after 6(a). Plan a day of trail meals for three to five people.
• 6(c). Share the menu and list, including how you will repackage
• 6(d). On the trail, cook two meals and a snack from the plan
• 6(e). Have each meal evaluated, and evaluate it yourself Usually comes after 6(d). On the trail, cook two meals and a snack from the plan.
• 6(f). Explain sharing the load, cleaning up and storing food

Counselor signs it off Milestone

The completion date is the date you met the requirements, not the date of the signature.

Usually comes after 4(f). Have each meal evaluated, and evaluate it yourself, 5(h). Discuss how you followed Leave No Trace and the Outdoor Code and 2 others.

Merit badge requirements are republished annually. A Scout beginning work uses the requirements as they stand then; a Scout already working may finish under the ones they started with. Guide to Advancement 7.0.4.3 governs which applies. This page records the date its copy was read. Check it against the official page before relying on it.