Camping cooking with Campingaz Party Grill 600

A few weeks before Cornbury Festival, it dawned on me that although we’d been camping plenty of times, we hadn’t camped without electric hook-up for years – and certainly not while catering for the children. We needed something versatile enough to cook proper family meals without electricity, which is where the Campingaz Party Grill 600 came in.

We put it to the test over a weekend of family camping, using it for everything from pizza and dough balls to spaghetti bolognese, pancakes and a full cooked breakfast. Here’s how we got on with the Campingaz Party Grill 600, what we found easy (and not so easy), and whether it really worked as an all-in-one camping stove, grill and griddle for our family.

Editor’s Note: This review was originally published in August 2018 after we tested the Campingaz Party Grill 600 during a family camping trip to Cornbury Festival. It has been updated in August 2026 with clearer information about our experience, current product specifications and additional answers to common questions. Our opinions and experiences are based on our original hands-on use of the Party Grill 600.

Campingaz Party Grill 600: Our Verdict

The Campingaz Party Grill 600 worked really well for us as a family camping without electric hook-up. Its biggest advantage was versatility: rather than taking separate equipment for frying, grilling and cooking in pans, we could use one piece of kit for everything from breakfast and pancakes to pizza and spaghetti bolognese.

Best for: Families and groups who want one versatile cooking setup for camping trips.

What we loved: The different cooking options, quick setup and surprisingly easy clean-up.

Things to consider: At 10.72kg it’s not particularly lightweight, so it’s much better suited to car camping than trips where you’ll need to carry your equipment any distance.

Would we use it again? Absolutely. Being able to cook proper family meals without relying on an electric hook-up made it a really useful addition to our camping setup.

What is the Campingaz Party Grill 600?

The Campingaz Party Grill 600 is a large, freestanding camping cooker designed to give you several ways to cook from one piece of equipment. It can be used as a stove with pans, a grill, a griddle or a plancha, which is what made it particularly appealing to us for family camping.

It runs from a gas cylinder rather than electricity, so we could still cook proper meals when camping without an electric hook-up. The cooking components pack down into the unit for transport, and it comes with a carry bag, although at 10.72kg it’s better suited to car camping than carrying any significant distance.

First Impressions

When the box first arrived, I was slightly unnerved by just how big it was. With all the camping gear we already needed to fit in the car, I wondered whether we’d made a mistake choosing such a large cooker. Once we’d removed the packaging and packed the Party Grill into its carry bag, though, it felt much more manageable. It was easy enough to carry from the car to our pitch and packed away neatly with the rest of our camping equipment.

Before the trip, I went to our local GO Outdoors to buy a compatible gas cylinder. At the time of this review in 2018, we paid £34.99 for the gas refill plus a £30 deposit for the cylinder itself. Gas and cylinder prices have changed considerably since then, so I’d recommend checking current prices and availability before buying rather than using those figures as a guide.

If you’re planning a family camping trip and working out what else you need to take, I’ve put together our ultimate family camping checklist, covering everything from tents and sleeping gear to cooking equipment, clothing and the easy-to-forget essentials.

Setting Up the Campingaz Party Grill 600

We used the Party Grill 600 for the first time on the Friday evening at Cornbury Festival and found it surprisingly straightforward to put together. The legs simply slot into place, then you add water to the reservoir in the base up to the maximum fill level before fitting the cooking components.

Adding the water was probably the fiddliest part for us because our camping pitch wasn’t completely level, so getting it to sit at the correct level took a little adjustment. Once we’d sorted that, we added the hob and plancha, Simon connected the hose to the gas cylinder and we were ready to start cooking.

For something that initially looked quite substantial when it arrived, the actual setup was much simpler and quicker than I’d expected.

Over the years we’ve picked up plenty of little tricks that make family camping easier, from practising with new equipment before you leave home to packing for the unpredictable British weather. I’ve pulled them together in my UK camping tips and hacks guide if you’re planning your own trip.

Can You Cook Pizza on the Campingaz Party Grill 600?

The children all decided they wanted pizza and dough balls for our first evening, so this became our first proper test of the Campingaz Party Grill 600. You can buy a separate pizza stone for the Party Grill, but we didn’t have one with us, so we cooked the pizzas using the grill and plancha instead.

It actually worked surprisingly well. The pizzas developed a very crispy base, and although using the proper pizza stone would probably give you more even results, the children ate the lot. In our family, that’s a pretty good test – they won’t eat pizza if they think it isn’t right!

So yes, you can cook pizza on the Campingaz Party Grill 600 without a pizza stone. Based on our experience, I’d just keep an eye on the base while it’s cooking because the grill gets hot enough to crisp it quite quickly.

Cooking Spaghetti Bolognese on the Party Grill 600

After seeing my friend Ruth cook a prawn curry on her Party Grill, we decided to be a little more ambitious and try making spaghetti bolognese. It worked a treat and showed us that the Party Grill 600 could do much more than the usual sausages, burgers and camping breakfasts.

Our camping pans were particularly handy because we could remove the handles and put the lids on while everything was cooking, which helped the food heat through more quickly. Being able to use proper pans on the stove meant we could cook the sort of one-pot family meals we’d normally make at home rather than having to rely on traditional camping food.

For a family trip, that versatility was one of the things I liked most about the Party Grill. If you’re camping for more than a night or two, being able to cook meals such as bolognese, curry, chilli or other one-pot dishes gives you far more choice.

Can You Cook Pancakes on the Campingaz Party Grill 600?

One of the kids’ favourite things to eat when we go camping is pancakes. Apparently I make the best pancakes ever, so naturally they challenged me to see whether I could make them on the Party Grill too.

I was a little sceptical at first. My first pancake took ages because I hadn’t allowed enough time for the grill and pan to heat up properly. Once everything had reached a good cooking temperature, though, it was full steam ahead and the pancakes cooked really well.

The main lesson from our experience was simply to be patient and let the Party Grill and pan get properly hot before you start. After that, cooking pancakes wasn’t really any more difficult than making them at home.

There is always one awkward one, of course, and on this occasion it was Ollie. He hadn’t fallen for my pancake charms, so he opted for another pizza instead!

What We Thought After Cooking With the Party Grill 600

I’ll openly admit that I’m not a foodie and cooking isn’t something I particularly enjoy, so I generally leave the more adventurous campsite cooking to Simon. Even so, I found the Party Grill 600 straightforward to use, and over the weekend we managed far more than I initially expected.

As well as the pizza, spaghetti bolognese and pancakes, Simon cooked us a full breakfast on the Sunday morning. By that point, we’d used the Party Grill for several very different meals and it had proved much more versatile than simply taking a camping stove for boiling a pan or frying a few sausages.

What impressed us most

One of the biggest surprises was how easy it was to clean. The water reservoir underneath catches much of the grease and cooking juices rather than allowing everything to bake onto the bottom of the grill. Once we’d finished cooking, we could carefully dispose of the dirty water and wash everything with hot, soapy water.

The removable griddle and cooking components made cleaning at the campsite relatively straightforward. We obviously didn’t have a dishwasher at the tent, so ours were cleaned the old-fashioned way with a sponge and soapy water.

We also liked how quickly we could get the Party Grill assembled and ready to cook, and how neatly everything packed away afterwards. It is a substantial piece of camping equipment, but for us the trade-off was worthwhile because one cooker gave us so many different ways to prepare family meals.

Is the Campingaz Party Grill 600 worth it?

For our style of family camping, yes. We tend to camp by car and like being able to cook proper meals rather than living on very basic camping food, so the size and weight weren’t a major drawback for us.

If you travel very light or need to carry your camping equipment any distance, I’d choose something smaller. But for family car camping, festivals and longer stays where you want the flexibility to grill, fry and cook with pans from one setup, we found the Party Grill 600 extremely useful.

If you’re comparing different ways to cook for a family while camping, you might also like our Campingaz Camping Kitchen 2 Multicook review. We used that stove on two longer family camping trips and found its two burners and separate griddle particularly useful when cooking several parts of a meal at the same time.

Campingaz Party Grill 600 specifications

The specifications below are based on Campingaz’s product information. Some specifications have varied slightly between published versions over the years; for example, our original product information listed the weight as 10.72kg, while Campingaz’s current UK page lists it as 12kg.

• Cooking options: Stove top, grill, griddle and plancha
• Power: 4,000W
• Gas consumption: 290g/h
• Ignition: Piezo
• Fuel: Campingaz R904 or R907 cylinders
• Approximate runtime: 6 hours 15 minutes with R904; 9 hours 30 minutes with R907
• Dimensions when assembled: Ø 52 x 99cm
• Maximum pan size: 45cm
• Burners: 1
• Heat: Fully adjustable
• Carry bag: Included
• Water reservoir: Collects grease and cooking juices to make cleaning easier
• Published weight: Originally listed as 10.72kg; Campingaz UK currently lists 12kg

Campingaz currently says the R904/R907 hose and regulator kit is sold separately, so anyone buying the Party Grill should check exactly what is included with their model or retailer before heading off on a camping trip.

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