FOOD ON KILIMANJARO
What food will you be eating on Kilimanjaro?
Kilimanjaro Experts can cater for pretty much any diet you require. Vegetarians, vegans, those with gluten intolerances, nut allergies, lactose intolerance, an aversion to baked beans etc etc – whatever your dietary requirement, as long as you let us know in advance (and there is room on the booking form for you to tell us), we’ll be able to construct a menu that’s suitable for you.
People are often amazed by what the cooks can conJure up on the mountain. Baking a birthday cake for example, 3500m above sea level and without an oven, is always something that earns my full respect!
To give you an idea of what you’ll be eating on the mountain, I have reproduced a couple of standard ‘menus’ for a trek at the foot of this page. The first is for someone with no dietary restrictions. The second is a typical menu that we would serve to a vegetarian trekker.
Of course, the actual menu that you’ll be served on Kilimanjaro will vary from these, depending on the talents of the cook and the ingredients available at the time. But they do at least give you some idea of what you’ll be eating on the mountain.
Finally, a couple of words of advice:
a) if you have a dietary requirement and have a favourite ingredient that you put into a lot of your cooking at home, let us know in advance and we’ll either try to source it in Tanzania, or ask you to bring it with you. We can also get the cook to liaise with you beforehand so you can maybe come up with some menu items that you’ll enjoy.
b) In addition to the food that we provide on Kilimanjaro, it’s very important that you bring your own favourite snack with you on the mountain too. Preferably it will be something that you can share (ie a packet of sweets), but most importantly it needs to be something that you know you’ll enjoy whatever the conditions. Do bring them from home, because it’s unlikely that you’ll find these snacks out in Tanzania, and even if you do, they probably won’t taste the same.
Such snacks are great for your morale, and also as a way of making friends amongst your friends and crew.
Sample menus for Kilimanjaro trekkers
Please note that the menu given here have been provided by our chefs, whose first language is not English. As such, you may find the summary below a little lacking in detail and the food may sound a little plain. It’s very rare for trekkers to complain about the food on Kilimanjaro, however, and the dishes that the cook’s conjure up on the mountain with some fairly basic cooking equipment is quite staggering. So please don’t be deterred if the descriptions below sound a little bland – rest assured, the food itself isn’t.
If you have any dietary requirements, restrictions or allergies, please let us know as soon as possible so we can adapt your menu accordingly.
A ‘normal’ Kilimanjaro menu
DAY 1
Breakfast Day 1: (This is taken at your hotel before you leave for the mountain and is included as part of your accommodation.)
Lunch Day 1: Lunch Box, Including an Apple & Banana, Fried Chicken, Vegetable sandwich, Fruit Juice, Water, Cake, Boiled Egg and Chocolate. Tea / Coffee / Chocolate
Dinner Day 1: Avocado Vinaigrette, Fresh Zucchini Soup with bread roll/bread, Beef with Boiled Potatoes, Avocado Salad. Fresh Fruit. Tea / Coffee / Chocolate
DAY 2
Breakfast Day 2: Porridge, Bacon, Sausages, Omelette and Toast. Fresh Fruit. Tea / Coffee / Chocolate
Lunch Day 2: Fresh Cucumber Soup with bread roll/bread, Burger and Chips, Fresh Salad, Fresh Fruit, Tea / Coffee Chocolate
Dinner Day 2: Fresh Leek Soup with sweet bread, Chicken with Zanzibar Rice, Tomato & Sweetcorn Salad. Fresh Fruit. Tea / Coffee / Chocolate
DAY 3
Breakfast Day 3: Porridge, Bacon, Sausages, Spanish Omelette and Toast. Fresh Fruit. Tea / Coffee / Chocolate
Lunch Day 3: Fresh Broccoli Soup with bread roll, Vegetable Pizza, Vegetable Sandwich, Tomato Salad with Barbequed Fruits. Tea / Coffee / Chocolate
Dinner Day 3: Toast with Guacamole, Chicken Piccata (chicken breast cutlets, dredged in flour, browned, and served with a sauce of butter, lemon juice and capers) with Sweet Potato & Corn Fritter. Fresh Salad and Fruit. Tea / Coffee / Chocolate
DAY 4
Breakfast Day 4: Porridge, Boiled Eggs, Bacon, Sausages and Toast. Fresh Fruit. Tea / Coffee / Chocolate
Lunch Day 4: Fresh Ginger & Carrot Soup with bread roll. Cheese Sandwich with Vegetable Pie. Mixed Fresh Fruit, Tea / Coffee / Chocolate
Dinner Day 4: Fresh Vegetable Soup with bread roll. Sautéed Cornflour and Vegetables with mashed Potatoes. Fresh Fruit. Tea / Coffee / Chocolate
DAY 5
Breakfast Day 5: Porridge, Scrambled Eggs, Pancakes, Fried Tomatoes and Potatoes. Fresh Fruit. Tea / Coffee / Chocolate
Lunch Day 5: Fresh Aubergine Soup with bread roll. Quiche, Tomato and Cucumber sandwiches. Vegetable Salad. Fresh Fruit. Tea / Coffee / Chocolate
Dinner Day 5: Fresh Vegetable Soup with bread roll. Spaghetti bolognaise. Pineapple and Watermelon. Tea / Coffee / Chocolate
DAY 6
Breakfast Day 6: Summit – taken on the trail to the summit: Toasted Bread, Fruit, Juice, Pancakes, Snack foods. Hot and cold drink
Lunch Day 6: Fresh Minestrone Soup with pancake. Fried Chicken and Chips, Cucumber Salad, Fresh Fruit. Tea / Coffee / Chocolate
Dinner Day 6: Fresh Vegetable Soup with bread rolls. Rice with beef sauce
DAY 7
Breakfast Day 7: Porridge, Scrambled Eggs, Pancakes, Fried Tomatoes and Potatoes. Fresh Fruit. Tea / Coffee / Chocolate
Lunch Day 7: (This is usually taken in Moshi after the trek has ended but before we return you to your hotel. It is included in the trek package.)
A vegetarian Kilimanjaro menu
DAY 1
Breakfast (provided by your hotel)
Hot lunch Fresh cucumber soup, bread rolls, Cheese burgers, vegetables with french fries. Dessert – fruit salad.
Dinner Fresh celery soup, bread rolls, Vegetable curry with rice, Dessert – banana fritters. Fresh Fruit. Tea / Coffee / Chocolate.
DAY 2
Breakfast Coffee/tea, Porridge. Fresh fruit, toast, egg omelette, beans. Fresh Fruit. Tea / Coffee / Chocolate
Hot lunch Fresh carrot soup, bread rolls, vegetable pie with pasta salad. Dessert – fresh fruit. Tea / Coffee / Chocolate.
Dinner Fresh Leek soup, bread rolls, basil & butter potatoes with carrots and pea sauce. Dessert – cake with chocolate sauce. Tea / Coffee / Chocolate.
DAY 3
Breakfast Coffee/tea, Porridge. Fresh fruit, toast, over easy eggs. pancakes. Tea / Coffee / Chocolate.
Hot lunch Fresh tomato soup, bread rolls, french fries, white sauce, peas and carrots salad, Dessert – fresh fruit. Tea / Coffee / Chocolate.
Dinner Fresh Vegetable soup, bread rolls, vegetable stroganoff with rice. Dessert – crepes & Jam. Tea / Coffee / Chocolate.
DAY 4
Breakfast Coffee/tea, Porridge. Fresh fruit, toast, poached eggs, beans. Tea / Coffee / Chocolate.
Hot lunch Fresh broccoli soup, bread rolls, vegetable puff fry with sweet corn avocado salsa, Dessert – fruit salad. Tea / Coffee / Chocolate.
Dinner Fresh vegetable soup, bread rolls, vegetables cottage pie with hot salad, Dessert – chocolate creamed custard. Tea / Coffee / Chocolate.
DAY 5
Breakfast Coffee/tea, Porridge. Fresh fruit, toast, scrambled eggs, pancakes. Tea / Coffee / Chocolate.
Hot lunch Fresh vegetable soup, bread rolls, macaroni celery carbonara, Dessert – fruit salad. Tea / Coffee / Chocolate.
Dinner Fresh pumpkin soup, bread rolls, Rosemary potatoes with zucchini and carrot sauce. Dessert – cinnamon cold rice. Tea / Coffee / Chocolate.
DAY 6
Breakfast Coffee/tea, Porridge. Fresh fruit, spanish omelette, beans. Tea / Coffee / Chocolate.
Hot lunch Fresh pepper soup. Bread rolls. French toast, Hot salad, french chips. Dessert – Fresh Fruit. Tea / Coffee / Chocolate.
Dinner Fresh sweet potato soup, toast, spaghetti & basil bolognese. Dessert – crepes with honey dressing. Tea / Coffee / Chocolate.
Day 7
Breakfast Coffee/tea, Porridge. Fresh fruit, toast, pancakes & beans. Tea / Coffee / Chocolate.
Hot lunch (taken in Moshi)