Your Last Meal | What’s for dinner at Burning Man

How 70,000 people feed themselves at the sweltering Nevada desert festival without electricity or running water and (almost) nothing for sale.

The man in front of a sunset at Burning Man

(AP Photo/Ron Lewis)

Every Labor Day weekend since 1990, tens of thousands of people descend upon a Nevada desert to build an elaborate, eccentric, temporary town called Black Rock City. This is the famed Burning Man festival, and once you’re inside the gate, nothing (but ice) is for sale and bartering and trading are forbidden.  

Burning Man runs on a gifting economy, and food is a major currency. On this Very Special Episode of Your Last Meal, we’ll explore Burning Man’s culinary camps, where festival attendees set up makeshift restaurants and feed thousands of Burners for free.

You’ll meet the creator of Cheese & Advice Palace, who says waiting in line for a grilled cheese sandwich is part of the experience, and the chef behind Domakase, a desert sushi bar.


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About the Hosts

Rachel Belle

Rachel Belle

Rachel Belle is the host of The Nosh and the host and creator of Your Last Meal, a James Beard Award finalist for Best Podcast. She is also an editor-at-large at Cascade PBS.