Powell River chapter of the Vintage Car Club of Canada's vice-president, Paul Lavigne, heard about what he called an urban legend within the car community.
"A few years ago, I heard of this trend, and I think it was in England [in the 1950s and 1960s], where people in their vintage cars, as part of a tour, to make it a little more exciting, would actually prepare a meal that they would then eat at the end of the journey," said Lavigne. "They would put it on the manifold, which is the hottest part of your engine and in an older vehicle, it's pretty straightforward."
Lavigne said back in the day, food would be put into a cast iron pot and sealed, and by the time the trip ended, a full meal would be cooked and ready to be eaten.
On August 15, the day before the Blackberry Festival, the car club planned a cruise down the Sunshine Coast to Coopers Green Park, which is near Redrooffs Road in Halfmoon Bay. Unbeknownst to the 14 other car club members heading down the coast in their shiny vintage vehicles, Lavigne was conducting an experiment.
"I've always wanted to try it [cooking food in the car engine], but with vintage cars, you never take that long of a run, usually, and I never had that opportunity," said Lavigne. "So when this chance came up, I thought, hey, this is perfect timing."
The group motored from the qathet region to Francis Peninsula in Madeira Park, and then onto Redrooffs Road, which is about 100 kilometres, the perfect amount of time to cook a roast in a car engine, according to Lavigne.
"I had a two-pound venison roast in the freezer from my son who is a hunter," he said. "To prepare this, it has to be completely sealed and I put it in five layers of aluminum foil."
Compared to modern vehicles, most vintage cars have plenty of room to fit a pot roast snuggly in the car's manifold.
"I seasoned the roast with a seasoning called Wild that I've only been able to find in Germany, and it's only for game," said Lavigne. "I also put small potatoes, shallots and mushrooms in the tinfoil package with the roast."
In the morning the group was leaving to head down the coast, he placed the package of venison and vegetables on what he thought would be the hottest spot on engine, and proceeded with the vehicles down Highway 101.
"I'm using my Chrysler 1952 Windsor Deluxe and, of course, this is the first time I've done this, so I'm not sure if our mileage will be enough to cook everything," said Lavigne. "I later discovered that there was an American cookbook that came out called Manifold Destiny, and they had recipes for different things, and the instruction [in the book] was to drive 100 to 300 miles, depending on the density of what you were cooking."
Lavigne said he was a bit nervous and hadn't told anyone what he was up to. But, when they arrived at Coopers Green Park, he opened up the package and the food was perfectly cooked.
"Long story short, it was perfect, amazing," said Lavigne. "But, because of my uncertainty, I actually packed a sandwich along with me, just in case."
Vintage car club members had a pleasant surprise that day, and instead of sandwiches, the group of 14 people were able to enjoy a more elegant meal of venison, potatoes, vegetables and mushrooms, cooked to perfection, on a Chrysler 1952 Windsor Deluxe spitfire engine.
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