Forged Over Fire. Passed Through Generations.
From 4th and 5th generation cast iron cooks…
we don’t just teach it, we’ve lived it.
What you’ll learn here didn’t come from a cookbook…
it came from real fires, real work, and real life.
From Our Fire to Yours
There’s a difference between learning something… and growing up in it.
Cast iron cooking isn’t something we picked up along the way.
It’s something we were raised in.
Annette, known as Granny, is a 4th generation cast iron cook.
Her knowledge was passed down through hands that worked hard, cooked outside, and fed people without shortcuts.
I’m 5th generation.
This way of cooking… this way of living… it’s always been part of who I am.
We’ve spent years cooking over open fire, in the backcountry, at hunting camps, and in places where there are no second chances to get it right.
That kind of experience teaches you more than recipes.
It teaches you instinct. Timing. Awareness. Respect for fire.
What we do today is simple.
We pass it on.
Not in a complicated way.
Not in a way that makes it feel out of reach.
We teach it the way it was taught to us…
hands-on, real, and grounded in experience.
Because this kind of knowledge matters.
In a world that’s moving fast, automated, and disconnected…
there’s something powerful about slowing down, cooking over a fire, and knowing exactly what you’re doing.
This isn’t about becoming a chef. This is about becoming capable.
Feeding yourself. Feeding others.
Stepping into a skill that most people have lost… but still deeply crave.
Built on Fire, Not Trends
Skills That Stick for Life
Old Ways. Real Skills.
A True Pioneer Woman
of the Backcountry
Annette ~aka~ Granny
If you ask anyone in the hunting camps of Cody, Wyoming, they won’t know her as Annette ~ they know her as “Cajun”, to those who worked alongside her in the rugged backcountry.
Cajun was a trailblazer in every sense of the word, the first woman to cook in the remote hunting camps of Wyoming, where few dared to go. For decades, she rode over 20 miles into the wilderness on the back of a mule, cooking for hungry hunters, wranglers, camp jacks, and guides in some of the most unforgiving terrain in the West.
She worked for Mountain Creek Outfitters in Cody, Wyoming, Camp Monaco near Pahaska Teepee, and Hidden Creek Outfitters in the Thorofare, Diamond 4 in the Wind Rivers, and Grey's River mountain range in Wyoming, spending up to 66 days at a time living completely off-grid in primitive backcountry camps.
She spent many years in her 20s pushing cattle in the mountains of Colorado.
The trails she traveled were not for the faint of heart—steep, rugged, and often unpredictable. She faced grizzly bears, moose encounters, dangerous river crossings, and brutal high-elevation weather just to get into camp, yet she never once let fear stand in her way.
The mountains were her kitchen, the crackling fire and cast iron her tools, and the endless sky above her only ceiling.
Annette, better known to all who know her now as “Granny”, and her husband, Bobby - known as "Cookie" - were legends in the hunting world, working side by side in the wild, bringing warmth and comfort through food when the nights were cold and the days were long.
She is a true pioneer, proving that grit, resilience, and an unstoppable spirit could carve a place for a woman in a world traditionally ruled by men.
Today, at 88 years young, Granny is just as full of life, adventure, and humor as ever. She keeps the heartbeat of the stories alive, sharing tales of the trail, the hunters she’s fed, and the wild places she’s called home.
Whether she’s canning, preserving, or cooking over an open flame, she continues to inspire a new generation to embrace self-sufficiency, adventure, and the joy of a well-cooked meal in the great outdoors.
Granny isn’t just part of history.
She is history.
She is a true Legend.
Sheila
Founder/Instructor of Dutch Oven Outfitters
I am the Innkeeper/Owner of The Chicory House- Bed & Breakfast
in beautiful Paradise Valley, Montana. This will be our venue for all classes.
I come from generations of cast-iron cooks and grew up not knowing there was any other way to cook.
I started Dutch oven cooking for my friends in 1988 in my backyard, where I quickly turned it into a full-time job that I have
had as a backcountry wilderness camp cook since the early 90's.
Up until 5 years ago, when I retired from the wilderness camp,
where each fall in September,
I traveled by horseback 32 miles one way up and over a 10,800-foot
mountain pass to the most remote location in the lower
48 states called the Thorofare.
There, I cooked in a primitive, off-grid setting for guests for 7 weeks. There is no cell service, no internet, no running water, no electricity, located just below the southeast corner of Yellowstone National Park.
There is an art to Dutch oven cooking and techniques that you will need to learn if you are looking to turn this into a career.
I am offering to bring my skills from the mountain to the valley floor and share my experience with those wanting to learn this skill.
The backcountry is not for the faint of heart, but my goal is to host
a full-time, year-round school that offers private or group classes designed around your schedule.
