JoeSmith

Thanks all. To clarify, DS was told to prepare to cook for three people (himself, the SM and one unspecified other individual to be identified at the campout -- turned out to be me, although I'd been assigned to another group). No patrols at this campout as there were so few Scouts attending. Reading the responses, I think SM should probably have checked with the MBC before putting his own interpretation on the requirements, but his interpretation will trump MBC's in any event (that's the way this Troop goes -- it's not okay to question the SM if he's made up his mind). So I guess my issue with this is substantive in that the question is whether DS did meet the requirements (will check with MBC in any event) and procedural, in that I am not crazy about SM's refusal to sit down with DS and explain why his interpretation of "youth or patrol" is different from DS's, despite DS's polite request. 

Hi, I am new to the forum but have been involved in Scouting as a parent for a number of years. My son has been working toward his Cooking MB, but because our Troop does few campouts, has had to plan carefully to try to get the requirements for camping cooking done. He thought he had the opportunity at a recent campout, but others had the same idea. The SM therefore divided the few boys into groups of 3, including adults in each group. My son did the planning and got that signed off by the MB counselor. But at the actual campout, he was in a cooking group of himself and the SM. When he asked about needing to cook for 3 (which is what he was told the requirement was) he was told to cook for me, his parent, as well, and that would make up the group. As I read the MB requirements, though, Req 4d reads  " Serve all of these meals to your patrol or a group of youth."  My son (and then I) tried to ask about this with the SM but were shut down and told that the requirement was met. Maybe I'm being dim, but I don't get how this approach (serve all of these meals to yourself and two adults) squares with the wording in the requirement. I was told I was wrong, so I may be missing something, and I don't want to raise this with the MB counselor without additional input.  Suggestions welcome -- I admit I'm a relative newbie to all this but I'm doing my best to understand how it all works.