Getting Started

To get started on your merit badge,

Discuss your interest with your unit leader and merit badge counselor.
Review the Requirements of the merit badge and begin research to complete Forms for worksheet requirements 1 (safety), 2 (nutrition), 3 (cooking basics) and 7 (food related careers). Review your worksheets with your merit badge counselor.
Discuss with your parent(s) and merit badge counselor your plans to complete requirement 4 (home cooking).
Prior to completing your cooking for requirements 5 (camp cooking) and 6 (trail and backpacking meals), our recommendation is to first complete your cooking for second class and first class rank advancement. The rank advancement requirements will help prepare you for the cooking merit badge requirements. The meals prepared for Cooking merit badge requirements 4, 5, and 6 will count only toward fulfilling those requirements and will not count toward rank advancement or other merit badges. Meals prepared for rank advancement or other merit badges may not count toward the Cooking merit badge.
Discuss with your merit badge counselor your plans to complete requirements 5 and 6.

The Merit Badge Process

The BSA's Guide to Advancement (2021), at page 47, summarizes the recommended merit badge process in 13 steps shown here.

Keep in mind:

A youth member must not meet one-on-one with an adult. Sessions with counselors must take place in accordance with the Guide to Safe Scouting.
Notwithstanding the minimum leader requirements, age- and program-appropriate supervision must always be provided.
Youth should be encouraged to bring a buddy, such as a friend, parent, guardian, brother, sister, other relative—or, better yet, another Scout working on the same badge.
If merit badge counseling includes any web-based interaction, it must be conducted in accordance with BSA’s social media guidelines.
Always copy one or more authorized adults on email messages between counselors and Scouts.
When meeting with the counselor, the Scout should bring any required projects. If these cannot be transported, the Scout should present evidence, such as photographs or adult verification. The unit leader, for example, might state that a satisfactory bridge or tower has been built for the Pioneering merit badge or that meals were prepared for Cooking. If there are questions that requirements were met, a counselor may confirm with adults involved.
Completing similar requirements for other awards or ranks will not always be counted for Camping Merit badge. Click here for details.
Once satisfied, the counselor signs the blue card or otherwise documents completion using the date upon which the Scout completed the requirements, or in the case of partials, records the individual requirements passed.