How the Chuk Kitchen Box Came to Be: The Origin Story

Spoiler alert! Before the Chuk Kitchen Box, there was the PamperCamper.

I've been using camping boxes since I was a kid, but it wasn’t until a year ago that we decided to take a real shot at making one of our own. In this post, I’ll share a little bit about growing up camping with our families and how Evan, Louis, and I came together to create the Chuk Kitchen Box, an innovative camp kitchen solution.

The Backstory

Evan and I go way back. We grew up together and lived just down the street from each other for most of our childhood. Over the years we became adventure buddies - snowboarding, camping, and even living together. Camping was a staple for both of our families so we did a ton of cooking outdoors. Being an hour from some of the best campgrounds meant we were always packing up for the next trip. As a family of five, getting out the door and into nature came with its fair share of struggles: the endless packing and unpacking, the lack of table space, and the chaos of keeping everything organized. Enter the Chuck Kitchen box - the ultimate outdoor cooking companion.

What’s a Chuck Box?

A chuck box is a handmade wooden box designed to store cooking gear. The term “chuck” comes from cowboys, where a chuckwagon was the mobile kitchen for ranch hands. My dad built a chuck box decades ago, and he still uses it today. Evan's dad took it a step further—he designed a modular camping kitchen with stackable camping boxes that connected into a full camp cooking setup. He even had a name for them: PamperCamper. But life got busy, and the idea was shelved (literally) for over a decade.

The Lightbulb Moment

Fast forward to 2023. Evan was camping more with his girlfriend, and after a spontaneous trip to Birkenhead Lake, he found himself frustrated by the same old packing and unpacking routine. He remembered his dad’s PamperCamper boxes and thought, why hasn’t anyone created an outdoor cooking solution for campers?

A few weeks later, Evan and I met up to discuss some ideas we had as we were both interested in starting our own business. We got talking, reflected on some old camping trips, did some initial research, and realized that while great camping storage solutions existed, none combined storage, workspace, and ease of use the way we envisioned.

We started sketching, brainstorming features, and even piecing together cardboard models. We had a vision but needed the technical expertise to bring it to life. Enter Loui.

Enter Loui (Cue Cool Entrance Music)

If this were a movie, this would be the moment Loui walks in, looking effortlessly cool...

Loui and Evan go way back. Their dads built a business together, and they both worked there for several years. Loui is an industrial designer by trade but also a carpenter, Milan-trained designer, sustainable materials expert, and a Kickstarter veteran. Basically, the perfect guy for the job.

The Team Comes Together

Over beers in late 2023, we pitched Loui our idea. He loved it. He also suggested launching on Kickstarter. At first, we just wanted his advice, but after a friend pointed out we needed an industrial designer, Evan and I knew we wanted Loui as a partner. By January 2024, he was on board full-time, and just like that, we were three jobless guys ready to build something meaningful.

Loui jumped into prototyping while Evan and I tackled the crowdfunding strategy. And, well, you know how that turned out—$225k raised on Kickstarter and a growing community of campers excited to get their hands on the Chuk Kitchen Box, the ultimate modular camping kitchen.

Delivering The Best Portable Outdoor Kitchen Solution

Looking back, it’s crazy to think this all started with a cardboard model. What’s even cooler is how Chuk carries on the legacy of our families’ camping traditions. This is just the beginning of the journey and we couldn't be more appreciative of our Kickstarter backers and early adopters for helping us bring this from concept to reality. We can't wait to get the Chuk Kitchen Box into the wild and start seeing them at more and more campsites across the country! 

Follow our journey through the Chuk Outdoors youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@ChukOutdoors