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Field Notes · Gaucho
Some people want the whole kitchen. Some people already have a bin they love, a cooler that works, and a system dialed in over a lot of trips. They don't want a new kitchen. They want the drawer.
That's the Gaucho. It's the kitchen drawer that rides on top of your bin: knives, utensils, four place settings and a bamboo board, in one case with one handle. Workspace's little brother, for the minimalist.
Still like your bin? Gaucho likes your bin too.
Every camp kitchen has a drawer problem. It's the corner of the bin where the knives, forks, spatula, lighter and corkscrew all end up together. Something sharp is always at the bottom, and the cutting board is always under the pans.
A camp kitchen drawer needs three things: every tool in its own place, a blade that can't wander, and a board you can pull out without unpacking anything else.
The Gaucho does those three things and nothing else. That's the point.
Try this at your next camp: time how long it takes to find a clean fork. With the Gaucho, it's the time it takes to unzip.
A removable bamboo cutting board with a juice groove fills one side, held in by four elastic corner straps. Pull it out to cut. Slide it back when you're done.
Rows of elastic loops on the other side hold a place setting in each row: long loops for knives and utensils, short loops beside them. Room for four place settings, knives and more.
A row of small split loops takes the stuff that always gets lost: a peeler, a lighter, a corkscrew, a pen for the trip log.
One across the top, one at the bottom. Napkins, salt and pepper, a sponge, matches. You can see what's in them without unpacking.
The first Gaucho design had its zipper and hinge right down the middle. Two equal halves. It looked tidy, and it didn't pack as well as it should have.
Version two moved the zipper and hinge off center. Now one side is shallow and one side is deeper. The board lies flat in the shallow side, and the tools that need a little more room ride in the deeper one. Same case, a lot less fighting it closed.
The first Gaucho prototypes went to Alaska. We took them sea kayaking in Haines. Small boats, no table, lunch on whatever is flat. If a camp kitchen drawer works there, it works off a tailgate.
Version two went fishing. All season it rode along salmon fishing, and it earned its spot on the boat:
The Gaucho works with the knives and flatware you already own. These are the ones we keep reaching for:
The Gaucho is small, but it's built from the same stuff as the Workspace:
Weatherproof, honestly: the zippers are water repellent and the case shrugs off weather. It isn't a dry bag, so don't drop it in the river.
Khaki Brown, Black and Sage Green. The Khaki Brown and Sage Green match the Workspace and the new Camp Collection colors, so if you ever do want the whole kitchen, it'll look like it belongs together.
Want the knife to stay sharp? The MOLLE Blade Sheath keeps a fixed blade covered. And if you ever outgrow the drawer, the Workspace Camp Bag is the whole kitchen, and it sets up off a tailgate in about a minute.
No, and it isn't meant to. It's the part of the kitchen your bin is bad at. Keep the bin for pans and fuel. Put the Gaucho on top.
A 6-inch folding fillet like the Messermeister Adventure Chef rides in the utensil panel. That's how we carry ours salmon fishing.
The zipper is water repellent and the case is weatherproof. Rain at camp and spray on the boat are fine. Submerging it isn't.
The board comes out and washes like any cutting board. The TPU lining wipes clean.
Unzip, cut, eat, zip it up. Next trip, the drawer is already packed.
Designed and prototyped in White Salmon, Washington. Tested in Haines, Alaska and on the water. Version two, because version one could be better.
One bag with a fold-out work surface. Set it down on a table, or hang it off the tailgate — coffee at six, dinner at dusk.
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