Chef Glenn McAllister

Food Dehydrating Expert & Author of Recipes for Adventure Books

Welcome! Chef Glenn here.

I launched the Backpacking Chef website into cyberspace in 2008. With apologies to working chefs, I gave myself the trail name, "Chef Glenn." The idea was that anybody could become a backpacking chef if they included a little time in the kitchen as part of the adventure.

I imagined putting "Chef" in front of the first name of every person who transitioned from eating prepackaged food to creating their own homemade backpacking meals using healthy ingredients.

The website was born partly out of necessity. I was planning my first 30-day backpacking trip on the Appalachian Trail, and eating well was a top priority. As I learned how to dehydrate food and assemble it into home-style meals, I posted the step-by-step instructions to the website.

Photos of homemade, dehydrated backpacking meals.

In the fifteen years since I took the first ninety dehydrated meals for a 315-mile test hike on the Appalachian Trail, my interest in developing backpacking recipes using dehydrated food continues.

Free Newsletter

Every month, I send out a newsletter, Trail Bytes, which covers a new method or recipe for making dehydrated meals.

You get a free e-book when you subscribe: Home & Trail: An Introduction to Drying Food.

Subscribe to Trail Bytes

Reader comments:

Dear Chef Glenn,

"What an awesome gift. Receiving your downloadable book made my day. I will be able to begin my dehydrating experience. Making meals for day hikes and longer backpacking will be a great winter project. Thank you again." -Ginger

"THANK YOU so much for this. Passing on knowledge about stuff like this is invaluable!" -Tra

"This guide looks awesome, Glenn! Thanks so much. I also regularly share your newsletters with my hiking friends who do not yet know about you and encourage them to get your books and newsletter." -Abra

1001 Miles on the Appalachian Trail

While the website is about the food side of backpacking, the trail is where the adventure takes place, and where nature and hearty meals come together. I write about those experiences in my trail journal, and I invite you to explore the first thirty days on the Appalachian Trail with me:

Low Gap, TN, to Nantahala Outdoor Center, Wesser, NC, 315 miles, Southbound

Short Bio

I grew up in northern New Jersey, in a neighborhood built on a former dairy farm. There were plenty of woods with creeks to explore. Later, I attended the University of Georgia, and settled in North Georgia. When my daughters were growing up, family time included lot's of camping and playing in rivers and lakes.

That connection to nature lead me to volunteer with the Upper Etowah River Alliance, where I enjoyed leading hikes and canoe trips. From there, the path kept opening up for me to explore more, and to stay out longer. Thus began the adventures on the Appalachian Trail... and beyond.

Chef Glenn & Dominique

For the past thirteen years, I have lived in Switzerland with my wife and Lebenspartnerin, Dominique. We hike often and joyfully – usually with a hot thermos meal made with healthy, dehydrated ingredients.

Books by Chef Glenn McAllister

Available in print or e-book formats.

Explore Recipes for Adventure Books by Chef Glenn

Recipes for Adventure: The Ultimate Guide to Dehydrating Food for the Trail

Recipes for Adventure II: The Best of Trail Bytes

1001 Miles on the Appalachian Trail

The Menu Planning & Food Drying Workbook

The Action Guide: Dehydrating 31 Meals

Home & Trail: An Introduction to Drying Food

Sale: Buy 1 e-book and get $5 off each additional e-book.

Chef Glenn McAllister in the News

Associated Press

This article was published in the Washington Post and numerous regional newspapers.

Eating well on the trail: Hikers dehydrate home-cooked meals

Sea Kayak Assoc. of British Columbia Presentation

A 1-hour Zoom presentation of "Let's Get Started Dehydrating Food" recorded on YouTube.

Social Media

Follow Chef Glenn on Facebook for more backpacking food inspiration.

Facebook: Backpacking Chef

Questions or Comments?

Ask Chef Glenn

Please use the link below to send me questions, comments, or suggestions.

Contact Chef Glenn

Thank you for visiting Backpacking Chef.

I hope the time you spend exploring the site will help you put the “Chef” in front of your name, and that as you create homemade meals in your kitchen, you will imagine how wonderful they will taste out in nature on starry nights, and when you arrive at those destinations, you will be satisfied in every way.

Ready to get started?