Porkcamp for Foodies

More than 40 people, ranging from professional chefs and food bloggers to filmmakers, software developers—and even a German pop star—traveled to Neuruppin-Lichtenberg, in Germany, for the inaugural Porkcamp. The adult camp for foodies, created by Berlin’s Florian Siepert, was established to give people the opportunity to get in touch with the animal products they consume and enjoy some great food.
    
Siepert’s inspiration for the camp came from his local butcher. “My butcher at the time, one of the last remaining traditional butcher shops in Berlin, always had pig heads or feet, sometimes even whole piglets, hanging in his shop window, and I loved his boldness in communicating where his product came from,” he says.

Siepert’s took his idea for Porkcamp to Gut Hesterberg, a family-run farm near Berlin, who allowed the campers to work with their staff in slaughtering, butchering and processing six pigs. “Being so close to the animal in its final stages made turning it into sausages, roasts and the like a very intense experience,” he says. “The day started at 5:30 a.m. and the last dessert course that night was served close to 10 p.m., all experienced, cooked and eaten by us,” he recalls. “Never before had I witnessed such an incredible team-building process and so much shared love for food.”

For the first camp, participants were encouraged to engage in submitting recipe ideas and workshop topics, which ranged from old-time German blood puddings to variations on the Italian classic porchetta. Siepert is planning a wider themed Foodcamp in Italy that will be set up using the same methods but focusing on the Mediterranean diet and its local traditions. There are plans for a Porkcamp in the U.K. later this year and he is seeking partners to set up a U.S. Porkcamp (interested parties can email him at florian.siepert@googlemail.com). “I just love people and food and this has proven to be a great way of bringing the two together,” he says.—Denise Shoukas

Denise Shoukas is a regular foodspring.com contributor and is the author of foodspring’s food forager blog.

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