How to Cook Food in a Hotel Room (with Examples)

Lots of travelers, particularly those on business, find themselves stuck in hotels for weeks or months on end. The novelty of eating every meal at a restaurant or room service soon wears off, and the traveler craves nothing more than the taste of a home-cooked meal. However, in-room resources at many hotels appear to be incapable of facilitating cooking. This can be resolved through several innovative ways.
STEPS
COOKING HELP



Hotel Appliance Cooking List


Sample Recipe for Hotel Meal
METHOD 1 OF 2: BREAKFAST

1

MAKE OATMEAL in the coffee maker. Put two packets of instant oatmeal into the carafe. Add an individual packet of honey, an individual packet of fruit jam, and a pinch of salt. Put an herbal tea bag (e.g. orange flavored) into the filter basket. Pour 8-

1

0 ounces of water into the coffee maker, turn on the machine, and the oatmeal will be ready in about 5 minutes.[

1

]
Even old-fashioned (non-instant) oatmeal can be cooked either with hot water or in a microwave.
No honey? Try cut-up fresh or dried fruit. Raisins, apples, strawberries, and many other choices all add enough sweetness and they tend to be widely available in shops.

2

COOK BACON with the iron. Cut bacon strips in half and place them between two foil sheets. Crimp the edges of the foil sheets together to prevent grease from spilling out. Iron the bacon, opening the packet carefully with a fork every few minutes to check to see if the bacon is done and to let out the steam. It'll take about 10 minutes to get slightly crisp bacon.[

2

]

3

USE THE IRON AS A HOTPLATE FOR EGGS. Prop the iron so that the ironing surface is horizontal. Make a little foil pan and grease it with bacon fat or butter. Crack one or two eggs into it, wait 7-10 minutes (until the eggs hold together), then flip them over to cook on the other side.[2]

4

PREPARE SOFT-BOILED EGGS IN THE COFFEE MAKER. Place the eggs carefully into the carafe and let the hot water drip over them. Then let the eggs sit in the water for a few minutes.[3]
METHOD 2 OF 2: LUNCH/DINNER

1

PREPARE RAMEN NOODLES in the coffee maker. Put the noodles in the carafe. Add enough water to submerge the noodles and turn the coffee maker on. After the water runs through the coffee maker, let the noodles soak in it for about three minutes, or however long it takes for the noodles to soften. Then drain carefully and add the seasoning.[4]

2

MAKE A GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICH USING THE IRON. You can also use the same method to make a quesadilla.[5] There is also the dessert version of grilled cheese, using peanut butter and chocolate chips.

3

USE THE IRON AS A SKILLET/GRILL. Wrap chicken, fish, vegetables, etc. in foil, place the foil-wrapped food on the ironing board, and put the iron, on the highest setting, over the top. Just make sure the foil is sealed so that juices don't come out and ruin the iron or the surface you're cooking on. The more cooking that the food requires, the less room there is for error, so try to stick with food that only needs searing, such as scallops.

4

USE THE COFFEE MAKER AS A VEGETABLE STEAMER. Place carrots, broccoli, etc. in the filter basket of the coffee maker. Run water through the coffee maker several time to achieve desired tenderness.

5

MAKE INSTANT RICE IN THE COFFEE MAKER. Run the appropriate amount of water, per the instructions on the rice package, through the coffee maker and then add the rice to the coffee pot. Leave the burner on until the rice has thoroughly cooked and absorbed most of the water.

6

MAKE SAUCE IN THE COFFEE MAKER. Sauces and fondues can be made by running water through the coffee maker and adding the heated water to a sauce mix. You should not run anything other than water through the coffee maker. These machines are made to heat water only, and the water comes into direct contact with the heating element. Sauces will burn onto the heating element, ruining the coffee maker.

7

MAKE "LEMON PEPPER CHICKEN" IN THE COFFEE MAKER. Place chicken breast in coffee maker. Add enough water to cover about 1/4 of chicken. Sprinkle with lemon pepper seasoning. Turn on maker and cook about 15 min per side. Add milk and butter to remaining liquid, allow to heat for about a minute, and add potato flakes for a quick side of mashed potatoes.

8

KEEP UNCOOKED OPTIONS IN MIND. You can make a salad easily, by washing the ingredients in the bathroom sink, and you can make your own sandwiches from supermarket ingredients or, in many cases, buy ready-made.
VIDEO
{{{1}}}
TIPS
After you're finished with the coffee maker, clean it thoroughly.
These tactics may also prove helpful to a college student living in a dorm with strict regulations.
Plates, cups, utensils, and condiments can often be obtained if your hotel has a breakfast buffet.
For lighter fare when traveling, or to reduce your budget, aim for one larger restaurant meal per day. Lunch is ideal, because it is often lighter and less costly to order in a restaurant than dinner, and it is when you are most likely to be away from your hotel. For your restaurant meal, choose foods you cannot prepare as easily for yourself. Then, prepare simple, lighter meals for morning and night. Eggs, bread, and hot or cold cereal are relatively easy breakfasts to prepare on the go, and sandwiches, canned soups, and prepared foods can combine to make simple dinners.
Use the ice bucket as a salad bowl, but clean and disinfect thoroughly first. Ice buckets can harbor plenty of bacteria.
You should first practice at home.
If you want to cook for yourself, plan ahead a little. See if you can find a hotel, hostel, or extended stay place that has some cooking facilities. Many hotels do offer microwaves, toaster ovens, and even mini-fridges in the rooms. Many hostels offer communal kitchens. Long-term stay places have studio apartments with kitchenettes. Any of these options expands considerably the range of cooking options you will have available.
WARNINGS
KEEP IN MIND THAT COOKING IN HOTEL ROOMS USUALLY VIOLATES MOST HEALTH CODES. If you get caught cooking in a hotel room, you may have to pay fines, replace appliances, and/or be evicted from the hotel. You are far better off booking a hotel room that has a kitchenette (microwave, fridge, stove/oven, etc.) than attempting anything outlined in this article.
If you ruin something that the hotel owns, the hotel will charge a LOT to replace the broken item. So be careful!=
While cooking, do not leave electric devices unattended even for a short time.
Be aware that the hot iron does present a fire hazard. Make sure to use extra caution and never let children cook alone.
Clean out the coffee pot and filter before attempting to cook with it. You don't want your steamed cauliflower to taste like three week old coffee!
If the coffee pot has a dark, reddish-orange stain, it might've been used to brew methamphetamine, and the resulting coffee could be hazardous to your health. If there's a chemical smell in the room, that's another red flag.
You're really supposed to ask the hotel permission if you can do this (to which they'll probably say no).
Do not allow any uncleaned surface or appliance to contact food which you intend to eat.
After use, thoroughly clean anything -- especially the coffee maker and iron -- which has contacted raw poultry or meat, as failure to do this may result in salmonella.