We made it official in April of 2015
The Noodle has always been into camping
Our first camping trip where the obsession began
It all began with this cast iron skillet
Top photo courtesy of Adriana Reyes Newell
Bottom photos shot by Jo Stein
CampEats is a family business. But to explain how my husband -- the self proclaimed "bookworm" -- and I decided to start a company with the simple mission of "connecting families with nature using food" you need a little bit of the backstory.
I moved to San Francisco from Santa Fe in 2012 to join the tech industry and change the world using software. Before that I was a brand manager for a natural products company and spent a lot of time playing outside, which by the way is what you "do" in Santa Fe. It is a small town. There is not a lot else going on. Plus it also is widely regarded as one of the most naturally beautiful places on the planet for a reason. It was the perfect place for me and the dogs to go backpacking.
Back to our journey, my life completely changed when I moved to the Bay Area. It became fast-paced and demanding, and I also quickly met this quirky guy who had been in the mix for a while. He loved food, travel, and tech-nerdery I finally felt like I met my match. But I also felt a little over my head. He talked about how he was early at TechCrunch and how he was selling his first company. Then he got into YCombinator and started another one. I thought that was awesome and I wanted to support him even though I wasn't sure that tech was for me.
While I was questioning if I really wanted to be a part of the tech-industrial complex that is San Francisco we also decided to make our family official and had this big party with all of our friends. It was awesome, but I felt like something was missing in our lives.
First I thought maybe it was that we weren't working out enough. So we added the gym to our routine. It helped, but something was still off. Then one night while we were walking our dogs on the Embarcadero I said to my husband who at this point was selling his second company, "when your deal closes we should go camping". Now this wasn't the first time I'd mentioned wanting to get outside more. And I had been subtly sneaking outdoor fun into our lives -- like hiding the veggies in mac and cheese. My husband was happily eating what I was serving.
He sold his company and we followed through on the idea of camping. As a thank you gift for putting up with his shenanigans he bought us a badass new double sleeping bag and the world's fanciest cooler - then my nerd went camping for the first time. And then he got a just a tiny bit obsessed with camp cooking and I realized what was missing in our lives was more time in nature. The idea for CampEats hatched naturally after that.
I can't tell you right now exactly what CampEats will be as a company. But what I can tell you is that it will focus on a very clear vision. I want to make the world less hectic by providing families with delicious ways to recharge in the outdoors. It is an important way that our small family connects and I want to make it easier for other families to create memories in nature too.