Review: Back packing food from 'Summit to Eat'

This summer has been perfect for adventures, lots of adventures, but a hectic few months on the work front means that I've actually done very little since our Bikepacking trip to the Outer Hebrides. Before you start to feel sorry for me, I'll hold my hand up and say that much of my work has meant going out on some amazing walks so it's not all work and no play ;)

When Ride Holme and I realised that our wedding anniversary fell on a weekend, there was really only one way for us to celebrate. Packing up our rucksacks, we headed onto the moors for an overnight stay in our 5-star tent and a slap up meal courtesy of Summit to Eat.

It was earlier this year when a Summit to Eat representative contacted me about testing and reviewing their freeze dried food. After a discussion to check that they did gluten free options (they do), they posted out a main meal and dessert for each of us.

With the nights starting to draw in, it was dusk by the time we'd walked to our overnight camp and dark by the time we sat down for our celebratory meal. First things first, the wine came out and we toasted our anniversary as the water boiled for our first meal.

Chicken Fajita and Rice
This was a tasty and filling meal, with lots of flavour. Even the dehydrated chicken chunks were good. It was my favourite of all the ones we tried out and definitely one that I'll buy for future trips.

Vegetable Chipotle Chilli with Rice
If I'd not tried the chicken fajita first, I'd have been more than happy for this to be my meal. There were plenty of kidney beans and a smokey flavour. It was a little 'mushier' than the previous one (maybe less rice or too much water?) but after a long day on the hill it does the trick.

Rice Pudding with Strawberries
I was really looking forward to trying this as I love rice pudding and I love strawberries. However, it just didn't work for me. Maybe we put too much water in, maybe we didn't leave it long enough for the strawberries to hydrate, but I found it really sloppy with an overly strong milky taste. That said, Ride Holme enjoyed it, so maybe it was just me!

Chocolate Mousse with Granola and Cherry
This was the only cold food which we sampled and I had mixed feelings about it. You really want a warm meal on cold nights, so it felt strange to be eating something made with cold water. It also had a very disconcerting consistency - brown stuff smeared all over the inside of the packet, I'll let you work out what I mean! However, looks aside, I really loved the taste. I wonder if it could be made with hot water?

Ride Holme was our chef for the night so I checked with him for a few comments about usability:

The packets had to be leaned against something after adding water as they didn't stand up well on their own (maybe Summit to Eat could look at amending the design).

However, they sealed well after the water had been added and so, for the hot food, we were able to use them as hot water bottles under our jackets. Bonus!You also really need a water bottle or cooking pot with measurement markings as the fill lines inside the packets were not very user friendly (the food came up above the fill lines).

Taking all the above into consideration, it's fair to say that we were both very impressed with the Summit to Eat meal samples we tried. The were easy to do and easy to mix, so thanks to the team for sending them through for us to review.

Would we buy them for our adventures in future? Yes, absolutely, especially now we've given them a go and know that we can trust the taste and flavours.

Chicken Fajita with Rice

Vegetable Chipotle Chilli with Rice

Disclaimer: The Summit to Eat samples were provided free of charge. However, as with all my reviews, this is a 100% impartial summary of my own thoughts, opinions and experiences.