Elevating Your Camp Cooking with Camp Yoshi’s Rashad Frazier

Guest Bio:

Rashad Frazier

A native of the Carolinas, Rashad Frazier’s favorite memories growing up were countless springs and summers spent outdoors between Charlotte and the Low Country. He discovered his passion for cooking in his twenties, and after successfully founding and running the Afro-Asian pop-up catering company Yoshi Jenkins for several years, the 2020 pandemic required him to pivot his career. Camp Yoshi was born as a way for him to continue sharing his passion for food while also merging it with his love of the great outdoors, with destinations as varied as Tanzania and the deserts of Eastern Oregon. Rashad’s work has been featured in outlets such as The New York Times, Condé Nast Traveler, Vogue, and in Bryant Terry’s collection of essays, Black Food.

Website | Instagram | YouTube | TikTok | Cook Out: Recipes and Tips for the Great Outdoors | Overland Journal OV Chef Profile

Ashley Giordano

Ashley Giordano’s first foray into overland travel involved a 48,800-kilometer journey from Canada to Argentina with her husband, Richard, in their well-loved but antiquated 1990 Toyota Pickup. Currently cruising along the iconic Silk Road in a 2008 Toyota Tundra, her full-time navigator duties are rewarded with bowls of plov and lagman noodles, hikes in the Tian Shan, and countless cups of fragrant Tashkent tea. As senior editor at Overland Journal, you can usually find Ashley buried in a pile of travel books, poring over maps, or writing about the unsung women of overlanding history, including her enduring inspiration, Barbara Toy. @desktoglory_ash

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Transcription:

Ashley Giordano: [00:00:00] Welcome to the Overland Journal Podcast. I’m your host, Ashley Giordano, and today I am joined by Camp Yoshi co-founder, camp chef, and author of the new cookbook, Cookout: Recipes and Tips for the Great Outdoors, Rashad Fraser. Thank you so much- Hey, what’s going on? … for joining me. Yay. I’m

Rashad Frazier: honored to be here, man I’m so happy to have you here.

I’m honored to be here, man. Really good to k- reconnect with you guys.

Ashley Giordano: So happy to have you on the podcast. Well, I’m also very stoked because in our Overland Journal issue, summer 2026, you were OB chef profile, and you have a recipe in there, and so this is perfect timing.

Rashad Frazier: Yes. Yes, yes, yes. Since then, a lot of things have happened, including this book launching, and so happy to dive into it all.

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Ashley Giordano: Excellent. Let’s start from the beginning. So for folks who aren’t familiar with Camp Yoshi, what is it and where did it come from?

Rashad Frazier: So Camp Yoshi is a six-year-old outdoor outfitter guide company. Um, my background’s a chef. I was a New York City chef for quite some time and, uh, once COVID kinda happened, uh, fell in love with the outdoors, man.

Pivoted to outdoors, started cooking for friends and family and, um, came up with this crazy idea around guiding and hosting clients for trips to places they didn’t know they needed to go to and camp out at and experience. And so the thought was, even if you’re not really an outdoorsy or a camping-type person, you do love to eat and you do love good views, so pairing those two together, we’ve done pretty well for ourselves over the past six years just hosting folks in amazing places and cooking amazing meals.

Ashley Giordano: It’s been such a journey watching the growth from 2020 till [00:03:00] now. Um, and just seeing more trips and different destinations, and of course, this new cookbook coming out. What a ride it’s been.

Rashad Frazier: Yeah. It’s been, it’s been amazing, man. I mean, honestly, I never thought it would evolve into what it is until today.

I mean, I guess the initial launch of Camp Yoshi was kind of just to buy time, ’cause I wanted to get back into the food business and just thinking that this thing called COVID would be temporary. But it actually led to being one of the best pivots ever in my life. And I have, I have zero regrets, man. But yeah, at this point, we do about 30 trips a year.

Uh, we’re permanently based here in Oregon. Um, so the Alvord Desert, Central Oregon, the Bend region, uh, around here in Portland. But then we also branch out to, you know, the, the La Sal Mountains in Utah or, uh, the San Juan Mountains in Colorado. We’re in Montana around Glacier National Park. Uh, we’re heavily in Moab.

Um, I don’t know. I feel like it’s a lot of city folks that wanna touch [00:04:00] grass, and we’ve been able to kind of position ourselves as a brand that we offer more outdoor hospitality softer landings for the newbie camper, if you will, and it works well

Ashley Giordano: I love that. You can, it’s providing, from what I’ve seen, I can’t wait to go on a trip one day, uh- Mm-hmm

when we’re in an area where you are. But- Yeah … providing an opportunity for people, like you said, who, um, need that soft space or that sense of security to being- Yeah … outside and being at the ord- outdoors when maybe they haven’t had that experience before or can do so in a, in a safe space.

Rashad Frazier: Yeah, absolutely.

They get to just show up and show out. I mean, all the gear, provisions, guides, vehicles. I mean, honestly, all you have to bring is your clothes. That’s how turnkey the productions are. And I think too, listen, there’s levels to obviously getting outside and guide companies. I think for us, the gap we feel is more so that softer landing around, um, if you just wanna show up, not think about [00:05:00] anything, that’s where we come in.

Ashley Giordano: What have you heard back from clients in terms of what’s been kind of the most impactful part of these trips?

Rashad Frazier: Ooh. There’s so much, man. I feel like the feedback from our trips is, is, is always powerful, man. I guess it gives us a lot more emotional drive and wanna keep doing what we’re doing. Uh, I would say the most common response is, “I never knew I needed it.

Like, I never knew I needed that experience. I never knew that this would be so impactful.” What else? “I never knew the meals, I never knew eating outside could be so glamorous and luxurious.” Not luxurious, but more so like so where they’re oftentimes questioning, do I eat better outside with Camp Yoshi or with, or when I’m at home in my, in my apartment, if you will.

I think the community aspect is a big part of what we do as well. People always hear it around, just the folks come on our trips. We have, we’ve been very lucky to attract just good people across the board, man. And I think even from not just the campers, even our guides and mentors, like there’ve been so many amazing folks who have kinda helped shape Camp Yoshi’s [00:06:00] ideology, kinda how we show up, uh, the places we explore, just kinda helping us figure out what’s the best spot to really kinda chase the vibe.

Ashley Giordano: Amazing. And obviously, as you’ve been mentioning, a big part of that is the food. Yeah. How have you gone from moving into this role that isn’t new for you anymore, but in 2020 coming into this and camping and cooking outdoors for other people?

Rashad Frazier: So I would say in 2020, my ego was like, “You gotta make all these amazing technical meals.”

And you get humbled very quickly that, you know, you can’t bring a lot of gear in these spaces. You don’t have a lot of time. Uh, there might be a fire ban. There might be something that disrupts the schedule. So I think at this point, fast-forwarding six years later, I’ve gotten more intentional with the meals.

I’ve gotten more– I’ve gotten smarter around making meals that really align for schedule and not beating down our crew or exhausting our staff. Also, too, I think the meals have, have now reflect [00:07:00] kind of the, the journey of the trip. So kinda going into the trip, we’re kinda giving you a little more experimental items, and then by like the last day, we’re serving up like an amazing smash burger.

You know, ’cause I feel like at that point your body’s just kinda yearning something familiar and just something very just, you know, you just wanna just dive into it. So we always joke that the itinerary and the meals are built around, like, the reward for your work. So during the day, quick, fast. We don’t do lunches.

It’s always like charcuterie, something very light. We just don’t have the dish– We don’t have the, uh, uh, the washing machine, dishwashing crew to keep all that stuff clean. So typically breakfast and dinner are the main event, and then lunch is always charcuterie, beverages, something kinda quick and light to kinda keep you going.

But it makes you really yearn for that big, amazing dinner at the end of the day.

Ashley Giordano: Are there any favorites, like recipes that you make time and time again that you just really enjoy or everyone compliments?

Rashad Frazier: This is gonna sound [00:08:00] so, like, not exciting, but breakfast tacos just tend to always smack. I mean, it just– One, the variations are always abundant.

It accommodates everyone’s diet. We have a, we have a lot of people who have different dietary restrictions. And I think in the morning, man, we just want something very just heavy but not, like, weigh you down. A good taco with a fried egg goes a long way.

Ashley Giordano: Excellent. I like that ’cause it’s so simple, but not.

Like, you can add other things, but you have.

Rashad Frazier: Yeah. It, it’s, it’s so simple. Also too, like, you know, where we’re camping at, where we’re exploring, there’s not a Whole Foods out there. You’re not getting a lot of variety of ingredients and whatnot, you know? So working with what you have, a lot of these local markets and stores tends to kinda dictate the menu oftentimes.

And so, you know, I th- I would love to do more, but I think it’s kinda been fun to use what’s available and make it the most creative item out of that.

Ashley Giordano: Yeah, I was wondering how much do you prep ahead of time for [00:09:00] these trips and stock up back at base camp or base before you head out?

Rashad Frazier: So I would say prepping food is probably 90% of our entire menu.

I would advise anyone getting into this business or cooking for friends and family for a camping trip, if it’s just you or maybe one other person, go out there and have some fun, get crazy. But cooking for a group, there’s just too many variables, man. So having things where you can just pull it out of the Dometic refrigerator and just go at it and cook it quickly and, like, rehydrate it, re- re- reheat it, it’s always a nice little play to kinda have.

I mean, even now as a chef in year six, I tend to have more, like, in the event of emergency, break glass, make this dish, you know? It could be a bolognese. It could be some type of soup or a stew. It’s been pre-made. All it just requires is it to be reheated up. I’ve definitely been the guy trying to make something from scratch out there, buying a whole [00:10:00] chicken, spatchcocking it, then trying to grill it.

It’s just… In your mind, you think it’s gonna go a certain type of way, but things just always come up. You know what I’m saying? A camper, you know, are hungry now, or a car breaks down, or there’s a fire ban, or, you know, the wind’s blowing so hard you can’t even get enough of a flame and heat to tap into the actual grill.

So I’m always– I will always try to flex on every meal we do, but I’m also very wise now that as much as you can prep at home, the better

Ashley Giordano: Nice. And do your meals for the clients also are sort of similar if you go out with your family, or do you have a different kind of menu? Are you more casual? Are you, uh, more on the fly-

Rashad Frazier: Mm-hmm

Ashley Giordano: on a trip with your friends or family?

Rashad Frazier: So I have kids, man. You know, they, they’re kids, so they want the basic things, man. PB&J, some chicken fingers. I’ll h- I’ll hook those up as far as from scratch, but I don’t get as creative as I do with [00:11:00] the clients with my kids. My kids are pretty much like, “Dad, I… That’s cool.

I know you got some duck confit in the refrigerator, but can I just have a taco? Like, seriously, man.” So it’s kind of humbling. It’s very humbling, but at the same time it’s like your family doesn’t really see you the same way as your clients might do sometimes.

Ashley Giordano: For sure. For sure. So I have a question for you.

So traveling around, you always find the ubiquitous onion, tomato, cucumber, pepper. I feel like I’ve been able to find those ingredients almost- Yeah … anywhere, and maybe throw some cabbage in there. Yeah. What are some ways to use those ingredients multiple ways, in multiple- Ooh … recipes? Yeah.

Rashad Frazier: Yeah. Well, I think off jump you could do some type of, like, stir-fry or just something super simple, a sandwich.

Ooh, that on, like, some, uh, really, really good, like, brioche bread or, like, a loaf that’s been grilled, it’d be a nice little, like, layering around that. You could do an omelet in the morning, some type of frittata. People have fun there. Or just char- [00:12:00] charcuterie meals. Those are all items that go really well for just little bites.

Not the onion, but more so the peppers and whatnot. But to your point, though, I, I love ingredients that have three, four, or five uses. Like, I think for getting the most bandwidth and runway out of cooking on trips is you wanna have multiple u- multiple uses out of one thing, per se. And so to your original question, yeah, man, stir-fries go a long way.

I love a good sandwich, man. Like, I’ll go out there with a loaf of bread, like a really good, dense loaf of bread that’s freshly made, and I’ll grill it off and butter it up, and then maybe sauté off the vegetables and do, like, a little topping around that. A kind of, kind of a open-faced kind of sandwich, if you will.

What else? You know, I would stay away from stews. I feel like stews take so much time to cook oftentimes. You want quick, fast, you know? You don’t want long, long drawn-out items. One, my personal philosophy is how do you have more time sitting down enjoying a beer? Like, that’s the goal of being out here.

It’s not to be slaving, cooking over a kitchen the entire time. Don’t get [00:13:00] me wrong, like- You get points for cooking, but you don’t get any extra bonus points for making boring d- cooking the hards- hard things. You know what I’m saying? Prepping ingredients, chopping up vegetables. Do that at home, man. But like you said, if you only have access to those items, definitely go stir-fry, omelets.

Love a good breakfast toast with just a open-faced sandwich, throw a fried egg on top. Keep it simple.

Ashley Giordano: I love those, and I like the, the way that you’re… You got so lit up when you were talking about that. That was so fun. I could see the creative wheels turning, and those were great tips because I’m like, “Oh, another salad that’s kind of-“

like a Greek salad, but a little different,” you know? So, um, yeah, I’ll definitely take those with me as I travel.

Rashad Frazier: Salads, salads don’t travel well for ca- for cooking, man. I feel like, well-

Ashley Giordano: Mm …

Rashad Frazier: a kale salad could, but I don’t know, man, you want hearty, you want hearty things that if the refrigerator or cooler breaks down or something goes left, they can kinda hold their [00:14:00] weight for the next day or half until you get ice or some type of chill environment.

So just a little tip there.

Ashley Giordano: Yeah, I love that. Mm-hmm. And to that point, do you have some favorite cooking gear, camp cooking gear?

Rashad Frazier: Oh, absolutely. Um, so lately, heh, I’ve been really big on my, uh, hand wash station with the kids- Ooh … even with campers. Uh, I can’t remember the name of the product, but it’s the Dometic dispenser.

You’ve seen them before. Um- Yep … the jug with the little tap, the little tap button or whatever at the top. I don’t… Th- there’s something psychologically powerful about having ability to wash your hands at camp, you know? And I think most of our clientele are women, 80%. It’s kinda cool to be able to have like…

Obviously, we have the camp restroom per se, but having a hand wash station, it just kinda reiterates like we’re not savages. Like here’s some nice little, little treats that make you feel more cozy and [00:15:00] comfortable, man. So that was some good soap. That’s been a really good play for us lately, especially with ha- having so many campers on our trips.

It gets a little weird having multiple hands dip into the charcuterie tray. So washing your hands before, it is kinda extensive signal that, “Oh, okay, we’re doing this together and, and I don’t feel nasty,” or I’m being that, you know, disrespectful camper just kinda just digging into all the food. Um, what else?

Um, I love my… Ooh, I gotta get another shout to Dometic, man. Uh, their coolers, my CFX 55. Uh, I run a 75 and a 95. Keeps the beer cold. We keep food ch- uh, uh, frozen for those multi-day trips. But yeah, my Dometic CFX is one of my go-tos. We typically run three of those in my, um, off-road truck. Uh, we have a truck called Jenkins.

It’s a built out van. Keeps everything kinda cool with the beer and the provisions. My Apron’s been a really big fan lately from the fan, friends over at Earth Studies. Uh, we got an Apron for the [00:16:00] whole crew, so it’s kinda cool to see us all in uniform when it comes to meal service. Um- Lastly, I’m gonna give an ode to, like, chef life.

I don’t really recommend plastic in any place in, in these spaces, but shout out to quart containers. Quart containers to s- to, to prep food, store it away, sauces, stews, um, you know, garlic confit, just all the things that makes my pantry really pop is the quart container system, man. Whether it be the full quart, half quart, I have those all day, every day when it comes to gear.

It’s not really a typical overlanding camping tool you would see in a store, but from the chef lens, it’d be a cool little hack to kinda inter- integrate into what you’re doing as far as hosting, camping, and cooking for yourself.

Ashley Giordano: Nice. I remember, so we s- we were speaking, this must’ve been a couple years ago, uh, when I was in Morocco and we were doing the OV chef profile, and you were talking- Yeah

about Crocs, and you were like, “These are [00:17:00] not glamorous, but the Crocs are amazing for being a camp chef.” Ah. You’re on your feet all day. Mm-hmm.

Rashad Frazier: No. Crocs are such a great little footwear flex. I mean, the reality is… And there was so many different slide options for just letting your dogs breathe. If folks don’t want your dogs, how about your feet?

But letting your feet breathe, man, like obviously you’re working, but you should be able to also feel, feel a little resort energy as well, you know? Like, you know, between you going from service to sitting down, enjoying the campfire, letting your feet kinda slide out, uh, it’s a nice little play, you know.

And also too, I mean, listen, getting in and out of a tent, you know, not bringing dirt into the tent, it’s a much easier play to kinda pull off some Crocs versus putting on some sneakers and tying them.

Ashley Giordano: I love that. That was a fun one. I remember, yeah, you were saying that. I’m like, “That’s great.”

Rashad Frazier: Yeah, I love my Crocs, man.

Yeah, that’s one of my– I got a Croc collaboration, uh, with a brand called, uh, actually it’s, it’s a designer named Salehe, Salehe [00:18:00] Bembury, but he has a collaboration with Crocs. They’ve been out for a while, but, uh, they’re like my go-to shoe. I got like a few colorways.

Ashley Giordano: Amazing. So do you have a, um, camp chef vehicle set up?

You were talking about the van. I feel like I saw… Did I see a Rivian?

Rashad Frazier: Yeah. So our, our main system is Jenkins. He is a Ford 2020, uh, all-wheel drive, uh, 250, uh, Transit van. Um, he’s has a white foundation, but we wrapped him in black, so he looks really tactical. We gave him like a three-inch lift kit. Uh, he’s mobbing around in, you know, KO2s.

Uh, it looks really aggressive, man, but we like it that way. We don’t have any logos. It’s like you don’t know if we’re the feds or we’re just like, you know, a production crew. You don’t know, you don’t know, you don’t know. But inside the van, we built it out to be able to really just have power to, um, keep all the refrigerators kinda going and, you know, get the karaoke machine popping when we need [00:19:00] to.

Beefed up the alternator to kinda give it more power to kinda top off the batteries. Got a solar panel on top. Very simple, but very intentional built around it getting dirty, it being abused, but also handling all the weight of the provisions.

Ashley Giordano: Nice. Yeah, I imagine cooking for that many people, you’ll need quite a bit of- Yeah

power obviously, and room for gear and things like that. Is this the first build-out that you’ve done for these trips, or have you had other vehicles in the past?

Rashad Frazier: This was the first build-out. We had a Land Cruiser 80 series that we were also integrating into the trips. I think the problem with that though was that we, we needed more reliability, and we didn’t really put the energy into that truck to make it the most sustainable, probably rigged to kinda keep that many trips going all the time.

So right now Jenkins is probably the main tool. And then also, um, I kinda started drinking the sauce, man. Rivian’s been a big, big, big, big favorite [00:20:00] for us in terms of just, I don’t know, for our trips, man, especially living out here in Oregon. In the beginning it was kinda hard to kinda we- weave in, uh, with Rivian into our trips, but with all the power banks, sorry, all the power stations to charge the EV, it’s been a much better play.

And also too, you just can’t, you can’t, you can’t get away from the fact that it’s basically a iPhone with a power, a power bank. Like, you can plug anything into that truck and everything just kinda works. And so it’s been kinda cool to have that as far as our little go-to truck for, um, you know, also keeping the beer cold, but also doing scouting for our trips around here in Oregon.

Um, hosting folks, uh… I mean, most folks who know anything about obviously car camping and overlanding spend a lot of time on the highway trying to get to the trailhead. It’s pretty cool to be able, to be able to be in a, in a car that quiet and that fast to just mob. I’m not, and I’m not suggesting you speed, but to be able to mob to the trailhead, get there comfortably with heated seats, and not feel like you just came out of a, a washing machine riding in a truck [00:21:00] for three, four, five hours.

I love my 80 Series, man, but it definitely comes with its, uh, vibrations.

Ashley Giordano: Yeah. It does. The vibrations. Good vibrations. Maybe not so much- Yeah. … all the time good vibrations.

Rashad Frazier: Yeah. But you know what, though? Oh. I ain’t gonna lie. I mean, I think the romance of adventure and the romance of suffering, the romance of just what we do, it’s a part of the, the beauty of it all, right?

Like, that’s what makes, uh, the more mechanical analog systems just really, really beautiful, you know?

Ashley Giordano: Agreed. Yep. Yeah. Agreed. What are some of the most memorable trips you’ve been on? And it could be with Camp Yoshi, it could be with family or friends, could be anything.

Rashad Frazier: We had a men’s trip in the backcountry of Utah with Sinewav Xavier, man, years ago.

And, uh, I think prior to that we were just mostly seen around Moab proper. But with Sinewav, we [00:22:00] really pushed it out to see his side of Canyon Country, getting pretty close to the Utah border, exploring areas like, you know, Valley of the Gods and a bunch of other gems. But that to me was spectacular, man.

It was two crews. It was with the campers and Sin Guide, and then we had another guy go ahead of us and kinda lock down, uh, just webs- uh, campsites, having everything kinda just ready to go, staged, tents were up. That was one of my probably most favorite experiences. Uh, I would say next would probably be our first trip ever with Camp BOSI is when we didn’t really know what we were doing.

We didn’t really have any plan around what it was. We were naive, but we were really curious, and our curiosity outweighed our fears. And we went out to Eastern Oregon, man, uh, to the Alvord Desert, and that was pretty magical. We drove from Portland. It was a long push, but I think to see the glee and the wonder and just the joy out of all those folks who joined that trip, it made us…

It gave us, uh, the confidence that this was something that we really could build upon. [00:23:00] And so, I mean, there’s so many trips, man. I feel like at this point in six years, we’ve easily have done over 500 trips between day experiences, multi-day, all the different campers, thousands of folks. Like, it’s been a really powerful thing.

We didn’t realize it’d be such, such a, such an important, valuable offering. But yeah, those are probably my favorite two of all time in terms of just, um, the, the space we were in mentally and also what it meant for our just progression.

Ashley Giordano: Hmm. What did you eat?

Rashad Frazier: Oh, easy. Uh, a lot of curries, a lot of stews, uh, for that first trip.

Um, one of the… That’s when the breakfast tacos got introduced. Um, what did we eat? We drank a lot of whiskey. I’d probably say we cons- we consumed a lot of our carbs via, via beverage. Um, but yeah, I would say breakfast tacos were obviously a big hit. A lot of curries. Uh, I did this really good short rib in this [00:24:00] caramel sauce with pickled red onions as a condiment over some heirloom grits.

That was a very impactful dish in terms of just the response around like, “How the hell did you make this?” Like, why are we, why are we eating braised short ribs that are as tender as you can imagine around a campfire with, uh, blue grits from, uh, South Carolina, and it’s the best meal ever. Those always slapped.

What else? Um, I feel like I’m lost. We cooked so much, man. I feel like… Oh, here’s a good one Some trout, trout burgers. And so obviously living in Oregon, fish around here in the, in the waterways tend to yield a lot of amazing fish options. I said trout, what I meant to say is, uh, king salmon. Got some amazing king salmon from this region, brought it with us on the trip, and, uh, the king salmon burgers just on a brioche bun with a little bit of aioli, uh, lettuce, tomato, some pickles.

Psh, come on, man. Come on. Come on. We [00:25:00] should do a food show. This is- We’re

Ashley Giordano: all gonna be so hungry.

Rashad Frazier: But that’s the power of the trip stuff. Like, uh, I guess the value proposition Camp Yoshi wants to deliver is, do I eat better out here in the middle of nowhere or at my house? And I think if we can make that lean more towards what we’re cooking for you, and that the memory you’re having at your cubicle weeks later thinking about the trip like, “Damn, that, that pan-seared chicken was so good,” our job is done.

We’ve done our job. I’ve delivered on what has been asked of us. Even though camping is our medium, I think at the end of the day, we’re just a really amazing restaurant that happens to have no brick and mortar.

Ashley Giordano: Tell me more about where this love for food and food preparation and serving others came from.

Was it something that was within you early on, or did you have some specific experiences growing up?

Rashad Frazier: No, I wasn’t really a big food guy as a [00:26:00] kid, uh, nor in college. It wasn’t till I moved to New York City and was working a job where I was broke as hell. Uh, I was a banker, man. It was just, was struggling to kinda make ends meet.

Um, but was also trying to date and impress my lady who is now my wife. Um, I think going through the trials and errors of trying to obviously make her feel special led to me really falling in love with cooking. Um, you know, obviously living in New York City is very expensive, but there’s a lot of amazing diverse food options in that whole, that city, man.

So, you know, living in Harlem, living in Brooklyn, you just kinda immerse yourself in all different markets and butcheries and just food ways, man. And so it was cool to kinda discover that while also trying to impress her. Um, she’ll probably tell you in the beginning I burned a lot of meals. I could not bo- I couldn’t even boil water, man.

Like, I was that bad. But kinda stuck with it and, um, you know, just kinda fell deeper in love with it, man. But yeah, it was all passion and trying to impress a lady. [00:27:00] And obviously eventually now it kinda evolved into what it is. But yeah, my cooking prowess was YouTube videos, you know, Bon Appétit magazine, working in a few restaurants here and there to kinda get my feet wet and making mistakes, getting yelled at, all the above.

Ashley Giordano: And where does your food inspiration come from today? Has it changed? Yeah.

Rashad Frazier: Yeah. I would say my food inspiration comes from my background from North Carolina, so the South. Uh, Southern cooking is obviously about… It’s a big part of who I am. Uh, most people associate South with just frying food, but actually I would beg at the difference.

There’s a lot of fresh ingredients, a lot of vegetables, a lot of kitchen gardens. You know, a lot of folks have modest backgrounds, man. So, you know, you going to the grocery store, the meat market, or to a produce spot to get stuff is not always very common for a lot of folks. A lot of people grow their own produce, specifically my grandmother.

So that was a lot of, a lot of my training, kind of just, uh, introduction [00:28:00] to how I kinda see the world and food. But I would also say, like, a lot of just global flavors as well, man. Like, living in DC, going to school there, living in New York City, uh, it is a melting pot of the world, and so by default, West Indian cooking, uh, the African Dia- Diaspora, the Asian Diaspora, all these things kind of just become a part of your decision-making that comes to, like, shopping in a grocery store.

You know? You’re, you’re not just committing to one idol. You know, you’re getting the best version of what you wanna make that day, and your curiosity kind of just dictates how I cook. So I would say I’m a non-genre based chef. I cook more based on feel. Living in Portland, Oregon, has definitely opened up my palate a lot more to just more Asian options, man.

Like, the food out here is so good. Like, and not just, like, at the top of the tier. Like, the spirit gets really detailed as far as regional cooking and nuanced cooking when it comes to certain areas and certain, um, countries. So I, I, I feel like that, that allows for a lot more, um, inspiration and, uh, just [00:29:00] context to kind of really dive deeper into the rabbit hole around cooking.

Ashley Giordano: Amazing. I’m wondering, when you’re scouting these trips or, or attending them, leading them, what kind of food surprises have you encountered along the way?

Rashad Frazier: Ooh. Um, I would say the price of food in some of these places, it can get really expensive, um, which is why I’m always… Which, which is why I’m always a big, like, advocate for, like, prepping as much as you can at home.

Um, I would say

Certain regions obviously have their own food ways. Um, I’ve kind of, I’ve, I’ve kind of become a bit of a snob when it comes to like honey. It’s kind of cool to different, go different places and kind of find like their honey options for that area. Like we were up in Kalispell a while ago for a project and I was like, “Man, there’s so many honey options up here.”

Obviously it’s summertime, you know, the bees are beeing and, uh, a lot of fresh honey is becoming, kind of becoming a part of the, uh, the food ways there. [00:30:00] Um, obviously living in Oregon, um, the food ways here are amazing. The fishing is just so strong and abundant. I kept saying trout earlier, but trout, salmon, uh, you can’t really go, go wrong with that.

Um, where else, man? Uh, let’s talk about Baja and ceviche. Whoo. I think the best ceviche I ever had was in Baja. Um, we were on a beach camp and a guy brought by a yellowfin tuna and just started on the spot breaking it down for us. And I was like, “Okay, what are we about to do with this? Make a taco?” He’s like, “Nah, man.

A little lime juice, you know, some, uh, red onion, some cilantro. You know, let’s have some fun with it.” So I- I think it’s cool to kinda go to different spots and just listen to locals and kinda see what their recommendations are. I think oftentimes we think about scouting and these trips based on getting intel on the best campsites, where to kinda go for excursions or for hikes.

Oftentimes I find myself trying to find out [00:31:00] who are the makers and suppliers of some of the best food in the area and seeing if we can kinda get that tapped into the trip, you know. Whether it be baking bread, whether it be like, uh, you know, tacos or t- tortillas. Um, if our indigenous brothers and sisters have access to certain things and whatnot, like how do you kinda tap into that to kinda add more literally flavor to the experience, and also have stories to kinda share with the campers.

Hankook Tire: Not a week goes by that someone doesn’t reach out to ask how, uh, they can help support the podcast. Uh, we are, uh, supported entirely by, uh, Overland Journal, the magazine. So when you become a subscriber to the Overland Journal print magazine, you get this beautiful book, uh, that comes in five times a year.

It also gives you access to our digital archive. Uh, and it’s well over 100 pages of, of gorgeous images and detailed testing and adventures from around the globe. So if you go to overlandjournal.com and you subscribe to the magazine, use the code [00:32:00] OVERLANDPODCAST, and that’ll get you 20% off. It’s only available to our podcast listeners.

We don’t advertise it anywhere else. Um, and then you help us to maintain that independent employee-owned journalism, um, that we have been famous for. So it allows us to conduct those tests without any advertorial. Another way you can help out too, I produced a book, uh, last year with Simon & Schuster called Overlanding 101.

You can find it on Amazon or Barnes & Noble or even your local bookstore. And that encompasses my decades of travel around the world, all of my mistakes and failures and, and the lessons that I’ve learned in traveling around the globe. Um, many of those, um, that you hear on the podcast have been distilled down into print form with great lists and beautiful imagery.

Uh, so you can find that, uh, at your local bookstore. Overlanding 101. And thank you all for listening and for supporting us so much throughout these years.

Ashley Giordano: Yeah, I love that. How do you usually do that? Do you, I guess in [00:33:00] terms of let’s say Baja as an example, you would find that man who’s selling you the fish, and he’s an expert on that, and ask him where he’s sourcing his ingredients from?

Rashad Frazier: Yeah. I w- I would say just, I think the best part of Camp Yoshi and our team is that we’re all extroverts and gregarious. We never met a stranger. You know, we just ask questions, man. I mean, I think, I think most folks generally just wanna break bread with good people. And oftentimes if you’re in a place that feels kinda foreign or remote, you oftentimes have more in common with the person around that area than you do different.

And so just striking up conversations, asking those types of questions. Uh, I think folks are always usually happy to share intel like that. And any way we can kinda support the area, too. I mean, it’s kinda cool to kinda put money into the artisans and the makers and the, the hunters and the, you know, just the folks who are kinda just finding these food ways and pres- and, and, and supplying them.

If we’re lucky sometimes, it’s good to kinda get to certain spots where certain things are in season around produce and certain proteins. But yeah, I [00:34:00] think the same way any of us would wanna do your due diligence to plan for a trip, ask questions. I mean, in year one, too, it was always about calling out the, calling the BLM managers to kinda find out what’s going on out there, any fire bans, anything you should be worried about, any concerns.

And I think befriending those folks led to us meeting other good people who just kinda shared more intel. And so now oftentimes, you know, we’ll pick up some moonshine. I won’t, I won’t say the location and the place ’cause of the legal but, like, we’ll pick up just little, I don’t know, bonus points and bonus supply items that were not really on the menu for camp, but now they are because folks just wanna support the brand.

And to me, that philosophy and approach can show up in… Where are you at? In Kazakhstan? You’re in Ka- where you, where are you right now? Kyrgyzstan? Kyrgyzstan. Kyrgyzstan?

Ashley Giordano: Yeah. Stan. Kyrgyzstan. In, yeah, in

Rashad Frazier: Kyrgyzstan. So whether you’re in Kyrgyzstan or Baja or, I don’t know, Eastern Oregon, I think the philosophy and just the principle around just- [00:35:00] Being a good human tends to open up some doors and some favors around where you might, you know, get some good moonshine or intel on some good fish, you know?

So I don’t think our plan or strategy changes where we go. I think we just kinda use the same energy, and luckily for us, uh, it turns into goodwill and good favors.

Ashley Giordano: I really love that motto. It’s like, “Be a good human, it’ll lead to, to moonshine.”

Rashad Frazier: Oh, for sure, man. I mean, listen, I think- That’d be a great bumper sticker.

Be a good human to the moon. But yeah, I mean, even if moonshine’s not your thing, I think there’s something always out there as far as pot of gold. So but yeah, we… I mean, listen, man, we– I love what I do. I love what we do. It’s been amazing to be able to kinda do what we do with Camp Yoshi. I had no idea this world existed in terms of just, um, the access to spaces, the locations.

I feel like even though we’re six years in, from where I come from, it feels like I’ve seen everything, but the reality is we’re just scratching the [00:36:00] surface, man. So, uh, my hope is always that the next six, 10, 60 years, you know, we can kinda really open this thing up and get to more spots and work with folks like yourself and other just folks who just always support us to, I don’t know, tap into spots we didn’t know existed or we didn’t know we needed to see.

Ashley Giordano: I love that. Yeah. I’m super excited for you to see where the next six years- Right … and you said and beyond, will take you.

Rashad Frazier: Yeah.

Ashley Giordano: I have a rapid fire section that I’d- Okay … love to take you through, if that’s okay.

Rashad Frazier: Let’s do it.

Ashley Giordano: Okay. So this could apply to Camp Yoshi trips. This could apply to anywhere you’ve gone in the world.

Best food. This is gonna be hard probably.

Rashad Frazier: Best food would be, rapid fire, Spain.

Ashley Giordano: Oh. What in Spain?

Rashad Frazier: Yeah. Uh, Mallo- Mallorca, Mallorca, Mallorca, Mallorca. Wow. Just the seafood, uh, the [00:37:00] freshness, uh, the wine, the wine, the wine. Um, yeah, Mall- Mallorca, Spain. The pork, very good. Very good.

Ashley Giordano: I love that. Uh- Yeah … worst illness.

Rashad Frazier: Oh, uh, worst illness would be, I wouldn’t say worst, I know this is an illness, dehydration. We over- Yeah … communicate water consumption on our trips, man. Like a dehydrated camper is a terrible camper. And so folks coming in from the East Coast, maybe they were at happy hour on Sunday, they get to us on Monday, elevation gain has occurred.

Next thing you know, they’re throwing back more whiskey. Like, I need you hydrated, ’cause if you’re hydrated, you can really lock in and be as present as possible. If you’re not hydrated, it just leads to all sorts of other problems and ruins the trip for everyone else.

Ashley Giordano: Yeah. The desert, it like hits you hard, and you don’t expect it- Yeah

if you haven’t spent time there. Yes. So that’s wise.

Rashad Frazier: Yeah.

Ashley Giordano: Most ingenious repair

Rashad Frazier: Ooh, most ingenious repair. Um, ooh, [00:38:00] ooh, that’s a hard one. Um, ooh, ooh, ooh. Um I don’t know. That’s a hard one. Uh, most ingenious repair. I haven’t really had to have any problems around that luckily. Knock, you know what, knock on wood, we haven’t really had any problems around repairing anything.

Everything’s going pretty smooth around crazy catastrophic moments.

Ashley Giordano: That’s great. We will knock on wood over here as well. Highest high?

Rashad Frazier: Highest high. Being in Vogue. No, no, no, no. Um, yeah, being in Vogue. Being in Vogue. Being in Vogue recognized as being one of the top premier camp adult camping, adult camping brands.

When we were in there last year, man, we were one of several brands they acknowledged and sh- and celebrated. But being in there, kinda just being called out for, yeah, taking adults outside and having a good time.

Ashley Giordano: Amazing. Congratulations.

Rashad Frazier: Thank you. I appreciate that.

Ashley Giordano: Next is bus- best budget tip.

Rashad Frazier: Ooh, best [00:39:00] budget tip.

Whatever you budget for, add 20%.

Ashley Giordano: Yeah. Oh, man. Yeah. That’s so true. That’s so true.

Rashad Frazier: As, as a, as a person that literally just hops in, hopping off this interview and doing three decks going out for pitches, you gotta, you gotta fluff it, man. You just never know when things are gonna happen. Even in your mind, you think you have everything tight.

Add 20%, you know. And if they push back and say they can’t do it, make your adjustments and still put 20% in there somehow.

Ashley Giordano: Love it. Current favorite piece of gear. I feel like you kinda already touched on this, but…

Rashad Frazier: Yeah. Current favorite piece of gear. Um, I don’t even really have one right now. I feel like we have so many toys.

I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know. We have so many toys. Thank you for everyone who sends us stuff.

Ashley Giordano: I like that. That’s the conclusion of the rapid fire question. Thank you very much for that. That was fun.

Rashad Frazier: Let’s go. That was aw- that was awesome. That was a nice little throw me off.

Ashley Giordano: I [00:40:00] wonder also, could you give me an idea of, like, some staples, like your absolute favorite staples in your overland pantry that you would never leave home without?

Rashad Frazier: Coffee, coffee, coffee, coffee. I can’t, I can’t re- reiterate that enough. Tea, you know what? Tea as well. Like some good premium tea. Like we have a lot more tea drinkers than ever on our trips, man. Maple syrup, please.

Ashley Giordano: Aw.

Rashad Frazier: Don’t-

Ashley Giordano: Yeah …

Rashad Frazier: do yourself a favor. Bring some good quality maple syrup on your trips. What else?

Spend the money on a good loaf of bread. You’d be amazed at how easy that can be converted into some type of like little quick snack, a breakfast item, a dinner component. It’s amazing how… It, it’s wild how much your body, how hard your body’s working in these spaces to compensate for just the wind, the heat, the steps you’re taking.

Like you’re just hungry. And so having some good carbs, the good bread that can be added with like some butter or you could throw some like garlic confit [00:41:00] on there or something or some jam just goes a long way. What are other staples? A power bank for your phone. I’m the king of my battery dying. Uh, just having that available goes a long way.

Um, oh, you asked about food though. Sorry, that was kind of a deviation. My son threw me off with that question. Um-

Ashley Giordano: It’s all good. No, you need a power bank. That’s one of my favorite things too.

Rashad Frazier: Back here. Uh, what else?

What el– rice. Rice, rice, rice, rice, rice. I am the king of buying pre-made rice from, like, Chinese food spots, Asian food spots, putting it into the cooler, letting it dry out. It is one of those things where making rice, whether you’re at home or camping, it can always go left. It just never goes perfect.

Obviously, if you have a rice cooker, great. But something like rice that goes well with everything, just have it in your back pocket, man. It cooks quickly when you rehydrate it. Um, but this is pre-made rice from an Asian food spot. Go buy you, like, three, [00:42:00] four boxes, have it in your cooler. You never know when you might wanna break it out for a quick little meal or an add-on.

Ashley Giordano: Hmm. Yeah.

Rashad Frazier: Hmm. What else? Um, condiments, man. Like, if you’re trying to buy condiments in some of these remote locations, you will get hit in the head as far as pricing. Buy it in a city, buy it somewhere where it’s, uh… you can get it in bulk, you can save some money. Uh, and then lastly, hot sauce. Hot sauce goes- Yeah

a long way. Yeah, you, you can’t… Cholula, Tabasco, whatever you’re into. I don’t know what church you go to as far as hot sauces, but just have it out there for yourself.

Hankook Tire: And a special thanks to Hankook Tire for supporting this week’s podcast. With summer underway, head over to expeditionportal.com for Jeep Beach vibe inspiration.

Our team spent the weekend with Hankook Dynapro Tire at this year’s 2026 Jeep Beach Week in Daytona, Florida, and took a look at their Wrangler 392. [00:43:00] Look for Jeep Beach 2026 when you go to expeditionportal.com.

Ashley Giordano: I love that. So let’s talk about your new cookbook called Cookout. How much fun was that to put together?

Rashad Frazier: Cookbook was an incredible project. It’s been, uh, one of the hardest things I’ve ever done before. What they don’t tell you about publishing a book or writing a cookbook is so much of what we do is instinctual and experience-based, and so you’re not really thinking about measuring and, like, documenting it.

You’re just thinking about more so feel, instincts. And so writing those recipes down was very difficult to kind of figure out how they show up on the camping experiences for folks reading the book and the audience. But one thing I will say is that it made me really understand the importance of prepping at home.

There are certain dishes you want to obviously have out in these spaces, but do the prep at home, man, if you can. If you can’t, it’s all good, but the reality is to save yourself some time. I think I– [00:44:00] the book helped me really understand how important it is for me to get out to these spots, but also enjoy myself and sit down and not be working the entire time

Ashley Giordano: Yeah.

Good point. Yeah. Good point.

Rashad Frazier: Yeah.

Ashley Giordano: What are some of the recipes you’re most excited about in the cookbook?

Rashad Frazier: Oh, great question. The recipes I’m most excited about in the cookbook would probably be the grilled steak with the, uh, cherry tomato confit and the, and the, uh, salsa verde. Really beautiful dish. Cool thing about the dish as well is it doesn’t have to just be steak.

It can, it can be chicken, it can be tofu, it could be eggplant, it could be cauliflower. The same logic kinda applies. Not to mention having the cherry confit tomatoes and the salsa verde. They’re just great pantry items that just make your refrigerator on your camp trips just more special. Um, as far as the sweet option goes, the tofu donuts.

I know, sounds crazy. Donuts, camping, but also tofu donuts. Don’t knock it until you [00:45:00] try it. That with some pear compote, it slaps every single time. It’s unexpected. It’s a sleeper. It’ll make you question, “Why didn’t I have this dish before?” I mean, I g- I, I get it. Marshmallows and, um, s’mores are great, but this is definitely the elevated camp food you never knew, you never knew you needed.

What else? We have some, we have some beverage options in, in there as well. You know what’s crazy is, is all the camping we do in the desert, I’ve always dreamed about having a really fresh iced, like, just beverage, cold beverage, like a lemonade. And coming from the South, like lemonade stands, lemonade with like an Arnold Palmer or something like that, or like just something just very sweet and tangy and refreshing.

I think it’s kind of a nice flex for our trips, man, so there’s a really dope lemonade, uh, recipe in there as well for the ridiculousness of camping outside and giving something to someone that’s like, they didn’t know they need it. What else? Um- The sloppy joes slap. You can pre-make those at home and they can be reheated at camp.

Those go really well for a quick meal on the fly [00:46:00] on a brioche bun or just some regular bread and some pickled red onions and some salad and some, uh, shredded lettuce. Really good dish. Um, yeah, there’s a lot of options in there, man. The look, the cookbook is based on three different categories. It is obviously morning breakfast options, right?

Simple things based on you gotta get up quickly to get to a trailhead or meet or go on an excursion, or you have more time at camp, slow morning, easy, you wanna do some pancakes or some French toast, you know, things like that, where you can kinda sit around and really enjoy the ridiculousness of that dish.

Um, and then in terms of lunch, those are based on meals on the fly. Historically, at Camp Yoshi, we really don’t make lunch. It just kinda throws a damper into the day as far as flow. So charcuterie’s a typically a big play for us, but have some charcuterie item, items in there as far as kinda helping you guys seize, seize the day that way.

Um, but also the, the sloppy joes just kinda really slap, as well as the tacos. And then for, um, the reward for your work, these are epic feasts. The steak I mentioned. There’s a [00:47:00] grilled coffee rub fish in there. Uh, there’s a bunch of curries. There’s a pan-seared chicken with a olive salsa verde that I feel like, to me, is a sleeper in the book of probably my favorite recipes.

So honestly, there’s levels to everything in the book in terms of how you wanna show up on these trips, whether you wanna be more entry-level or get more ridiculous, but there’s something in there for everyone.

Ashley Giordano: That was amazing. I can’t wait. I am hungry. I love all of this. Um-

Rashad Frazier: I know. Well, listen, I feel like, I mean, I…

You can, you can attest to this. For as far as we travel sometimes for a moment, a view, a hidden location, a campsite, you- You shouldn’t just go there and squander it. You sh- I think you should also pair it with a really good meal. We pair, we pair wine with good meals. We pair, you know, desserts with good meals.

Why not pair a campsite with an amazing view with a great meal? And so that’s what the book’s kinda based on. It’s entry level. It’s supposed to help folks who are new to the space also find their [00:48:00] way, but I think for a lot of outdoor OGs, you can find something in there as well to kinda help your trips be even more magical.

Ashley Giordano: Fantastic. Yay. I love it. I can’t wait to read it. I’m excited. Yeah, those are great tips. So thank you for that. So yeah. Yeah, man, I

Rashad Frazier: appreciate it.

Ashley Giordano: What is coming up for you this summer? I’m sure you’ve got some trips that you’re doing. What’s new? What’s coming up for you?

Rashad Frazier: So this year we have backpacking experiences newly added to the Camp Yoshi menu.

They’ll be mostly around Oregon. We do have one in two weeks in, uh, Hawaii, in Maui specifically, of an introduction to backpacking. This is ultralight, so it’s not your, it’s not your dad’s backpacking trip, man. The gear is smarter, lighter, more efficient, and so anyone who’s ever had any curiosity around backpacking, teenagers, kids, adults, this is your introduction to that.

And, uh, we have some amazing guides. The mileage [00:49:00] and the distance covered is very accessible. All the gear is included. You just literally just gotta show up. So that’s a new thing we’re offering. This year, a lot more brand partnerships. We’ll be doing some really cool base camp build-outs for some ultramarathons.

I won’t say which ones. Oh, wow. Very cool. We’re supporting some footwear b- a footwear brand to kinda help make sure they’re, they’re, um, having soft landings for the runners, the media, and some of the influencers attending. Uh, we just had our first one a few weeks back. It was amazing. Um, we’re basically building out habitats.

You know, it includes food, the sleep kits, uh, a listening room, a sauna. Like it’s very ridiculous, but kind of our dream campsite situation. So a lot more of those this summer. Uh, we’ll be in New York for a project bringing Camp Yoshi’s vibes to the city around a three to five part series there kicking off in the summertime.

And honestly too, beyond that, just book tour stuff, man. I gotta… It kicks off May 16th in Atlanta. Uh, oh, so this is my shameless plug for the book. So basically for the cookbook, [00:50:00] “Cookout,” which is out now, please go pick it up. We have a book tour kicking off. This is the phase one book tour. It’ll be kicking off in Atlanta May 16th.

I’ll be at the Rivian location at Ponce City Market on May 16th from 11 to 2 PM. I’ll be signing books, serving up some dishes. I’ll be out there kinda just serving up this, the vibe of camp and the, the book. And then from there I’ll push up to Charlotte for Memorial Day weekend, and then I’ll cap it off in New York City.

But all these dates and schedules will be available on our website as well as campyoshi.com and my personal Instagram page. So yeah, a lotta, lotta movement, man.

Ashley Giordano: Very exciting. And, um, yeah, a great follow-up question if people want to find you, you’ve alluded to it already, where can they buy your book and where can they find you online?

Rashad Frazier: So if you wanna find Rashad Frazier, visit campyoshi.com. Uh, also on Instagram, we’re heavily, heavily, heavily on IG, uh, @camp.yoshi. Um, as far as my book, Cookout, it’s available [00:51:00] everywhere. When I say everywhere, literally Walmart, Target, Barnes & Noble, um, Amazon, amazon.com. Uh, you, it, it’s really … But it’s everywhere.

So please support it, buy it, use the recipes, tag us, tag me, and spread the gospel.

Ashley Giordano: Fantastic stuff. Well, thank you, Rashad, for taking time out of your super busy schedule to chat with me on the podcast. It’s been wonderful. So many meal inspirations, and I’m gonna have to make some tacos tomorrow morning in your honor.

Rashad Frazier: Make the tacos, tag me, and, uh, yeah, let’s, let’s spread the word.

Ashley Giordano: Love it. Thank you so much again, and thank you so much to the Overland Journal podcast listeners for tuning in to today’s episode. We will catch you next time.

Hankook Tire: Appreciate y’all. Bye.

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