Answer: When the Cooking MB becomes an Eagle required merit badge on January 1, 2014. To see the Guide for Merit Badge Counselors please click here.

1. Bsa Merit Badge Worksheets

Cooking Merit Badge to be Required for Eagle Scout Rank Effective Jan. 1, 2014, the Cooking merit badge will be required in order to obtain the Eagle Scout rank. Regardless of when a Scout earned the Life rank or began working on Eagle, unless he fulfills all the requirements—with the exception of his board of review—before Jan. 1, 2014, he must earn the Cooking merit badge to become an Eagle Scout. Cooking Merit Badge Revisions During 2013, the Cooking merit badge had a major revision. The process for implementing changes to merit badges is covered in the Guide to Advancement, topic 7.0.4.2, 'What to Do When Requirements Change.'

The changes to Cooking will first appear in a revised merit badge pamphlet that will be released during Decmber 2013. The new requirements then become effective Jan. 1, 2014, with the release of Boy Scout Requirements, No.

Bsa Merit Badge Worksheets

The Guide then allows the following options for the period of time between the release of the revised pamphlet and the Jan. 1, 2014, effective date: If Scouts have already started on the merit badge, they may switch to the new requirements or continue with the old ones until the badge is completed.

If Scouts have not already started on the merit badge, they may opt to use the new requirements and the new pamphlet. If work on the merit badge begins before Jan. 1, 2014, they may use the old requirements and old pamphlet until the badge is completed. The Guide to Advancement, under the same topic, goes on to say, 'There is no time limit between starting and completing a badge, although a counselor may determine so much time has passed since any effort took place that the new requirements must be used.' This will apply to Cooking as well. Regardless of the Requirements Used, Cooking Will Count Scouts completing the requirements for the Eagle Scout rank after Jan. 1, 2014, must earn the Cooking merit badge under either the existing requirements or under the requirements as revised during 2013.

Scouts are not required to earn the badge under the new requirement in order to qualify for Eagle. 18 December 2013 (reprinted from ) The sound of the kitchen timer can only mean one thing: The new Cooking merit badge requirements are done.

For the new Cooking merit badge, which becomes Eagle-required on Jan. 1, 2014, Scouts will prepare meals using the MyPlate food guide, understand and explain food allergies, and learn about cooking food indoors. This is important: there are two big, separate changes to Cooking merit badge as you know it. The first is that Cooking merit badge will become Eagle-required beginning Jan. The second is the new requirements, found below, which become mandatory for Scouts who begin the merit badge on or after Jan. The new Cooking pamphlets will be in Scout Shops by the end of January 2014. From now until Dec. 31, 2014, a Scout may use the old or new requirements — his choice.

All Scouts beginning Cooking merit badge on or after Jan. 1, 2015, must use the new requirements. Let me break it down:. Scouts who already started Cooking MB using old requirements: They’re fine and may finish with the old requirements.

They will not need to re-earn the merit badge with the new requirements, but they may switch to the new ones if they choose. There is no time limit between starting and completing a badge, although a counselor may determine so much time has passed since any effort took place that the new requirements must be used. Scouts who already earned Cooking MB: They may purchase or be presented with the new, silver-bordered Cooking MB patch (regardless which requirements were involved). They don’t need to re-earn it now that it’s Eagle-required. But they can’t wear both the green- and the silver-bordered versions. Scouts who begin Cooking MB in 2013 or 2014: They may use the old or new requirements — their choice.

Scouts who begin Cooking MB in 2015 or beyond: They must use the new requirements. Think of 2014 as a transition period for the merit badge. During this time, you’ll find both pamphlets in Scout Shops, and a boy may choose which to use. It’s easy to tell them apart: The new Cooking merit badge requirements Requirements. Do the following:. Explain to your counselor the most likely hazards you may encounter while participating in cooking activities and what you should do to anticipate, help prevent, mitigate, and respond to these hazards.

Show that you know first aid for and how to prevent injuries or illnesses that could occur while preparing meals and eating, including burns and scalds, cuts, choking, and allergic reactions. Describe how meat, fish, chicken, eggs, dairy products, and fresh vegetables should be stored, transported, and properly prepared for cooking. Explain how to prevent cross-contamination. Describe the following food-related illnesses and tell what you can do to help prevent each from happening:. Salmonella. Staphylococcal aureus.

Escherichia coli (E. Coli). Clostridium botulinum (Botulism). Campylobacter jejuni. Hepatitis.

Listeria monocytogenes. Cryptosporidium.

Norovirus. Discuss with your counselor food allergies, food intolerance, food-related diseases, and your awareness of these concerns. Do the following:.

Using the MyPlate food guide or the current USDA nutrition model, give five examples for EACH of the following food groups, the recommended number of daily servings, and the recommended serving size:. Fruits.

Vegetables. Grains. Proteins. Dairy. Explain why you should limit your intake of oils and sugars. Determine your daily level of activity and your caloric need based on your activity level. Then, based on the MyPlate food guide, discuss with your counselor an appropriate meal plan for yourself for one day.

Discuss your current eating habits with your counselor and what you can do to eat healthier, based on the MyPlate food guide. Do the following:. Discuss the following food label terms: calorie, fat, saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, sodium, carbohydrate, dietary fiber, sugar, protein.

Explain how to calculate total carbohydrates and nutritional values for two servings, based on the serving size specified on the label. Refer to “How to Read a Food Label” in the Cooking merit badge pamphlet, and name ingredients that help the consumer identify the following allergens: peanuts, tree nuts, milk, eggs, wheat, soy, and shellfish. Do the following:. Discuss EACH of the following cooking methods. For each one, describe the equipment needed and name at least one food that can be cooked using that method: baking, boiling, pan frying, simmering, steaming, microwaving, and grilling. Discuss the benefits of using a camp stove on an outing vs.

A charcoal or wood fire. Discuss how the Outdoor Code and no-trace principles pertain to cooking in the outdoors.

Note: The meals prepared for Cooking merit badge requirements 5, 6, and 7 will count only toward fulfilling those requirements and will not count toward rank advancement. Meals prepared for rank advancement may not count toward the Cooking merit badge. You must not repeat any menus for meals actually prepared or cooked in requirements 5, 6, and 7.

Using the MyPlate food guide or the current USDA nutrition model, plan a menu for three full days of meals (three breakfasts, three lunches, and three dinners) plus one dessert. Your menu should include enough to feed yourself and at least one adult, keeping in mind any special needs (such as food allergies) of those to be served. List the equipment and utensils needed to prepare and serve these meals. Then do the following:. Create a shopping list for your meals showing the amount of food needed to prepare and serve each meal, and the cost for each meal. Share and discuss your meal plan and shopping list with your counselor. Using at least five of the seven cooking methods from requirement 4, prepare and serve yourself and at least one adult (parent, family member, guardian, or other responsible adult) one breakfast, one lunch, one dinner, and one dessert from the meals you planned.

Time your cooking to have each meal ready to serve at the proper time. Have an adult verify the preparation of the meal to your counselor. After each meal, ask a person you served to evaluate the meal on presentation and taste, then evaluate your own meal. Discuss what you learned with your counselor, including any adjustments that could have improved or enhanced your meals. Tell how better planning and preparation help ensure a successful meal. Explain how you kept foods safe and free from cross-contamination.

Using the MyPlate food guide or the current USDA nutrition model, plan a menu for your patrol (or a similar size group of up to eight youth, including you) for a camping trip. Include five meals AND at least one snack OR one dessert. List the equipment and utensils needed to prepare and serve these meals. Then do the following:. Create a shopping list for your meals showing the amount of food needed to prepare and serve each meal, and the cost for each meal. Share and discuss your meal plan and shopping list with your counselor. In the outdoors, cook two of the meals you planned in requirement 6 using either a lightweight stove or a low-impact fire.

Use a different cooking method for each meal. The same fireplace may be used for both meals.

Serve this meal to your patrol or a group of youth. In the outdoors, cook one of the meals you planned in requirement 6. Use either a Dutch oven, OR a foil pack, OR kabobs. Serve this meal to your patrol or a group of youth. In the outdoors, prepare a dessert OR a snack and serve it to your patrol or a group of youth. The meals for requirement 5 may be prepared on different days, and they need not be prepared consecutively.

The requirement calls for Scouts to plan, prepare, and serve one breakfast, one lunch, and one dinner to at least one adult; those served need not be the same for all meals. Where local regulations do not allow you to build a fire, the counselor may adjust the requirement to meet the law. The meals in requirements 6 and 7 may be prepared for different trips and need not be prepared consecutively.

Scouts working on this badge in summer camp should take into consideration foods that can be obtained at the camp commissary. After each meal, have those you served evaluate the meal on presentation and taste, and then evaluate your own meal. Discuss what you learned with your counselor, including any adjustments that could have improved or enhanced your meals. Tell how better planning and preparation help ensure successful outdoor cooking. Explain how you kept foods safe and free from cross contamination. Using the MyPlate food guide or the current USDA nutrition model, plan a menu for trail hiking or backpacking that includes one breakfast, one lunch, one dinner, and one snack. These meals must not require refrigeration and are to be consumed by three to five people (including you).

List the equipment and utensils needed to prepare and serve these meals. Then do the following:. Create a shopping list for your meals, showing the amount of food needed to prepare and serve each meal, and the cost for each meal. Share and discuss your meal plan and shopping list with your counselor. Your plan must include how to repackage foods for your hike or backpacking trip to eliminate as much bulk, weight, and garbage as possible. While on a trail hike or backpacking trip, prepare and serve two meals and a snack from the menu planned for requirement 7. At least one of those meals must be cooked over a fire, or an approved trail stove (with proper supervision).

For each meal prepared in requirement 7c, use safe foodhandling practices. Explain how you kept foods safe and free from cross-contamination.

Clean up equipment, utensils, and the site thoroughly after each meal. Properly dispose of dishwater, and pack out all garbage.

After each meal, have those you served evaluate the meal on presentation and taste, then evaluate your own meal. Discuss what you learned with your counselor, including any adjustments that could have improved or enhanced your meals. Tell how better planning and preparation help ensure successful trail hiking or backpacking meals. Find out about three career opportunities in cooking. Select one and find out the education, training, and experience required for this profession.

Discuss this with your counselor, and explain why this profession might interest you.

The merit badge counselor is a key player in the Boy Scout advancement program. Whatever your area of expertise or interest—whether it is a special craft or hobby (basketry, leatherwork, coin collecting), a profession (veterinary medicine, aviation, engineering), or perhaps a life skill (cooking, personal management, communications)—as a merit badge counselor, you can play a vital role in stirring a young man’s curiosity about that particular topic. By serving as a merit badge counselor, you offer your time, knowledge, and other resources so that Scouts can explore a topic of interest.

If you are not yet a merit badge counselor, it is easy to become a volunteer. You will need to register with the Boy Scouts of America, through your BSA local council. This entails contacting the local council, then obtaining, completing, and turning in the “Adult Application.” The council will then process the application. (Every applicant is screened.) In order to register, merit badge counselors are expected to complete BSA Youth Protection. This training can be done through The BSA’s.

The Boy Scouts of America seeks to create a safe environment for young people and adult leaders to enjoy the program and related activities. BSA Youth Protection training helps preserve that environment. For more information, consult the Guide for Merit Badge Counseling, No. 34532 or. To learn more about the merit badge program, see section 7 of the Guide to Advancement, “.” Understanding the Scouting Program The Scouting program emphasizes helping young men develop character, citizenship, and mental and physical fitness. Among the handful of methods used to build on these aims of Scouting are adult association, leadership development, and advancement.

Besides parents and relatives, school teachers, religious leaders, and possibly coaches, most Scout-age youth don’t have much contact with many other adults or professionals. A Scout’s association with his merit badge counselors provides an excellent way for him to grow and gain confidence through exposure to quality adults who serve as positive role models and mentors. Meeting people from business and community leaders to trained specialists and enthusiastic hobbyists, a Scout can experience personal growth and a positive life-altering experience while in pursuit of a merit badge. A Merit Badge Counselor Is As a merit badge counselor, your mission is to join fun with learning. You are both a teacher and mentor as the Scout works on a merit badge and learns by doing. Your hands-on involvement could inspire a Scout to develop a lifelong hobby, pursue a particular career, or become an independent, self-supporting adult. A Scout first expresses an interest in a particular merit badge by letting his unit leader know.

To get him started, the leader gives him a signed Application for Merit Badge (blue card) along with the name and contact information for a district/council approved merit badge counselor. The Scout then contacts the merit badge counselor and makes an appointment.

The merit badge counselor sets a date and time to meet with the Scout and his buddy, and may suggest the Scout bring the merit badge pamphlet along with the blue card. The blue card is the nationally recognized merit badge record. This tool makes the recordkeeping easier for the Scout, the merit badge counselor, and the unit leader.

At summer camp, a Scout may receive partial credit for completion of a merit badge on the blue card, which goes to the Scoutmaster at week’s end. Back home, the Scout would need to contact a merit badge counselor for assistance with completing the rest of the requirements. At the first meeting, the Scout and his merit badge counselor review and set expectations for completing the requirements. In some cases, the Scout may share with the merit badge counselor the work he has already started or accomplished. As the merit badge counselor, you and the Scout work out a tentative schedule for completing the merit badge. You should consider both short-term and long-term goals, keeping other obligations (school, Scouting, sports, and so on) in mind, and set dates, times, and a location for future meetings. The number of meetings will depend on the difficulty of the requirements and the preparation and ability of the Scout.

Remember, the Scout must always have a buddy with him at these meetings. Your duty is to be satisfied that each Scout who comes to you meets all the requirements for the merit badge you are coaching. You do this by helping Scouts overcome the different hurdles of the requirements and making them aware of the deeper aspects of the subject through their learning experience.

You may tell about your own experiences to help positively reinforce the subject matter. However, you may not tack on new requirements or extra work.

While you may guide and instruct a Scout on the subject matter, he must do the work himself. As each requirement is completed, you will test the Scout individually, with his buddy present.

Update the blue card as the Scout completes each requirement. When the young man has completed all the requirements, you sign off on the card and the Scout returns the completed card to his unit leader. You may wish to seek additional training from your local council/district on local policies and procedures for merit badge counselors. Summer Camp Merit Badge Counselors The same qualifications and rules for merit badge counselors apply to council summer camp merit badge programs. All merit badge counselors must be at least 18 years of age.

Camp staff members under age 18 may assist with instruction but cannot serve in the role of the merit badge counselor. The merit badge counselor assesses the Scout’s knowledge to ensure he has completed all the required work—no more, and no less. You may not add to, delete from, or modify the merit badge requirements in any way. Helpful Hints Here are some simple tips that every merit badge counselor should keep in mind.

Make the Scout feel welcome and relaxed. Stimulate the Scout’s interest by showing him something related to the merit badge subject, but don’t overwhelm him; remember, he is probably a beginner. Carefully review each requirement, start with easy skills or questions, and encourage practice. Insist that the Scout do exactly what the requirements specify.

Many of the requirements involve hands-on activities that call for a Scout to show or demonstrate; make; list; discuss; or collect, identify, and label—and he must do just that. Don’t make the requirement more difficult—or any easier—than stated. A Scout may undertake more activities on his own initiative, but he cannot be pushed to do so.

During testing, the Scout might need help in a particular area or with a certain skill, and may need to be retested later to ensure the requirement has been fulfilled. Encourage self-evaluation and self-reflection, and establish an atmosphere that encourages the Scout to ask for help. Take a genuine interest in the Scout’s projects, and encourage completion.