This modular camping stove takes your van life kitchen to the next level: Van Cook by CADAC | Dometic put to the test

Looking for a compact camping stove that really delivers and doesn't need a hose or gas bottle? Then it's worth taking a look at the new CADAC | Dometic Van Cook PRO FFD Deluxe. I've been using it recently and have had several weeks to put it through its paces. In this article, you'll find out everything the Van Cook has to offer, how it performs day-to-day running on cartridges, and why it's exactly what I was hoping for after my test of the 1 Cook Turbo FFD last year.

Van Cook PRO FFD Deluxe – overview, what's included & features

The Van Cook is a compact gas stove and tabletop grill built specifically for van life and smaller campers. It comes with a generous range of accessories:

• Burner with 1.6 kW output

• Flame failure device (FFD) that automatically shuts off the gas if the flame goes out

• Automatic piezo ignition

• Magnetic connection for a bayonet gas cartridge, so no hose and no big bottle needed

• Plenty of accessories: BBQ grate with grease tray, griddle plate, pot stand, coffee pot stand, foldable all-round windshield, lid, and a sturdy carry bag with a "storage guide"

At 36 × 19 × 29 cm, it stays nice and compact. At 6.4 kg, though, it's no lightweight—more on that later. The design feels high-quality, and the materials come across as solid and well thought out. The grilling surfaces feature CADAC | Dometic's CeramiCoat coating, a ceramic finish that the manufacturer says ensures long durability and easy cleaning.

Disclaimer: CamperStyle typically charges manufacturers a flat fee for product tests, which covers only the costs of the editorial work involved (running the tests in various everyday situations, filling out a test protocol, taking photos, writing the text, etc.). Manufacturers have no influence over the content, the editorial approach, or the test results.

We also don't receive any share of sales—the discount mentioned above is purely a special offer for our community.

The experiences and assessments described in this test report always reflect the personal opinion of our testers. Promotional content is always clearly labeled as "Advertising" or "Ad."

First impressions: compact, solid, cleverly designed

When I unpacked it, I was honestly surprised how much fits into this one, fairly small bag.

The Van Cook is compact, but it feels solid and well-built. Not some flimsy discount-store stove, but a device where you can immediately tell it's sturdily made.

As it happens, the lid comes in my current favorite color ("sage," or whatever you want to call it). I actually painted the side panels of our rear doors that same color years ago. That wasn't a selection criterion for me, of course, but it's a nice little detail that just makes me happy.

What I particularly like: the bag has a printed guide on the inside showing exactly how to pack all the accessories. Sounds like a minor thing, but it's worth its weight in gold in everyday use. The first time you pack it up, you don't have to guess what goes where. The storage system is well thought out—everything has its fixed spot.

The Van Cook also scores points with its accessories right from the start: grill grate, griddle plate, pot stand, coffee pot stand, lid, foldable windshield, and a removable handle that attaches to both the plates and the lid. For a camping stove, this new device is incredibly versatile:

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Real-world test: how does the Van Cook hold up in everyday camping use?

Setup & handling

Insert the cartridge, attach it via the magnetic connection, done. This is exactly the step that makes a difference compared to the 1 Cook Turbo in everyday use, where I always had to fiddle with a bottle or cartridge and hose. With the Van Cook, I just pop in the cartridge and I'm ready to go.

The lid isn't just for looks. It holds in the heat, which saves gas, and it also works as a splash guard when I cook right next to the van. The foldable windshield is a real highlight for me because it wraps completely around the burner.

One thing I noticed: if I just want to quickly heat up water or something small, the Van Cook can be a bit of a hassle. There's a lot of accessories packed into the bag, and depending on how the stove was set up before, you have to dig around a bit before you can get going. That's no issue for relaxed cooking, but for a quick cup of tea in between, I sometimes found it a bit too much "Gegruschdl" (fiddling around), as we say in Bavaria.

Cooking in practice: our experience with the Van Cook PRO FFD Deluxe in detail

Boiling water with the coffee pot stand

Weather: 31 degrees, sunny, no wind
Accessory: coffee pot stand

For the first test, I just wanted to boil 0.5 liters of water for coffee. I had to get the coffee pot stand out of the bag and attach it first, since a different accessory had been mounted before. After that, it went quickly: after about two minutes the first bubbles appeared, and after just under four and a half minutes the water was at a rolling boil. Just like with the 1 Cook Turbo FFD, the flame is barely visible in bright sunlight. I only noticed it was burning because of the heat. With no wind at all, the flame stayed steady, and I didn't even need the windshield for this test.

Heating soup with Maultaschen on the pot stand

Weather: 28 degrees, slightly cloudy, light wind
Accessory: pot stand

Here I gave in to my cultural heritage and heated up about a liter of soup with Maultaschen (Swabian stuffed pasta) in a pot. The pot sat securely on the pot stand. After about 6-7 minutes, the broth started to simmer. After that, the Maultaschen, which I'd just taken out of the fridge shortly before, needed a few more minutes to heat through. For that, I turned the stove down to the lowest setting so the pasta dough wouldn't get mushy and the broth wouldn't boil over.

Frying vegetables on the flat plate

Weather: 33 degrees, sunny, no wind
Accessory: plancha

So simple, yet one of my favorite dishes: peppers and zucchini marinated in lemon-garlic oil and fried. For this, I let the flat plate preheat for a few minutes. Cut into slightly wider strips, the vegetables needed about eight to ten minutes until they were soft but still had a bit of bite, with light char marks.

The coating did a great job here: barely anything stuck, and in the end the plate wiped clean quickly with some warm water and a cloth. The heat spread evenly across the surface.

Grilling sausages on the grate

Weather: 29 degrees, sunny, windy
Accessory: BBQ grate, drip tray, windshield

Now for the part that wasn't possible with the 1 Cook Turbo back then: real grilling. For this test, I used a few sausages from our trusted farm shop, which were left over from a family meal. But a nice juicy steak would surely turn out great on the BBQ grate too, since it spreads the heat really evenly. That said, for steak and the like, I'd definitely run the Van Cook on the highest flame the whole time.

After about 10 minutes of flipping a few times, first on high flame and then turned down a bit, the sausages had even char stripes and a crispy skin. The fat drained cleanly into the drip tray, so aside from a few drops, nothing burned onto the burner.

Cleaning

We haven't had any major problems getting our CADAC gear clean either. But since complaints about this topic keep popping up in forums and Facebook groups, I put together my best tips for cleaning CADAC grills in a guide a while back.

Still, the tip about seasoning the plates was worth its weight in gold. Even stubborn baked-on grime comes off pretty easily now. It's really just the grease tray where residue builds up over time and gets stuck. That's been the case with all our grills so far, and honestly, it doesn't bother us at all. If you're more of a stickler for cleanliness, though, soak the grease tray after every use and scrub it thoroughly.

Van Cook PRO FFD Deluxe: technical details at a glance

• Category: Compact gas tabletop grill / camping stove with cartridge operation

• Materials: sturdy housing, stainless steel, CeramiCoat ceramic coating on the grate and plancha

• Ignition: automatic (piezo igniter)

• Safety feature: flame failure device (FFD)

• Gas connection: magnetic connector for bayonet gas cartridge

• Included: BBQ grate, grease tray, plancha, pot stand, coffee pot stand, lid, foldable windshield, premium carrying bag

• Dimensions: 36 × 19 × 29 cm

• Weight: 6.4 kg

• Output: 1.6 kW

• Gas consumption per manufacturer: 160 g/h

• Power source: bayonet gas cartridge

• Price: €189 (PRO FFD Deluxe)

• Warranty: 2 years

Verdict: my Van Cook test in brief

With the Van Cook, I honestly struggle to find anything to complain about. It's compact, well-built, and comes with an incredible amount of accessories for a camping stove. Grill grate, plancha, pot and coffee pot stands, plus the lid, removable handle, and foldable windshield: this thing covers almost every cooking and grilling situation I can think of while on the road.

For me, the Van Cook is basically the answer to my biggest complaint about the 1 Cook Turbo. Back then, I wished the stove could run without a hose and gas bottle, especially for vanlife with a small outdoor kitchen. That's exactly what the Van Cook delivers now with its cartridge operation. Insert, connect, cook.

Still, there are two minor points of criticism:

1. The plastic cartridge compartment feels a bit "flimsy" compared to the other, very robust components. It worked fine during testing, but it clearly falls short in feel compared to the otherwise solid build quality.

2. If all you want is to quickly heat something up, the amount of accessories in the bag can actually get in the way. Depending on what you used before, you first have to "reconfigure" things. Admittedly, that's nitpicking at a high level, or the classic case of "finding a hair in the soup" — because that's simply the trade-off for the generous equipment you get with this stove.

Then there's the weight. At 6.4 kg, the Van Cook is relatively heavy for a camping stove. But again, this isn't some basic discount-store model — it's a versatile device with extensive accessories. For trekking, it's obviously way too heavy, but in a van, caravan, or car camping, those kilos barely matter. Plus, it might let you save weight elsewhere in your cooking gear.

My verdict: A clear recommendation for anyone traveling solo or as a couple who wants a versatile stove and grill for vanlife and appreciates the simplicity of cartridge operation. For me, the Van Cook is the perfect blend of the 1 Cook Turbo FFD and the Safari Chef 30 — cartridge operation instead of a gas bottle, a compact build, yet still enough accessories for all kinds of meals on the road. If you have to count every gram, though, or mostly just want to quickly make coffee and heat up canned meals in your daily routine, the weight and price are probably a bit overkill.

Don't forget to enter the discount code camperstyle-26-10 at checkout for 10% off!

FAQ – common questions about the Van Cook Pro FFD

What kind of gas does the Van Cook run on?

The Van Cook runs on a bayonet gas cartridge that you insert via a magnetic connector. You don't need a hose or pressure regulator like with the 1 Cook Turbo FFD.

Can I also grill with the Van Cook?

Yes. It comes with a BBQ grate and grease tray. So you can actually grill, not just fry in a pan. The plancha also gives you a flat surface for anything cut into small pieces.

Is the accessory dishwasher-safe?

According to CADAC | Dometic, most coated cooking surfaces and the grease tray are dishwasher-safe. The manufacturer still explicitly recommends hand-washing to guarantee a long lifespan. The best way to do that is with some hot water, dish soap, and a soft cloth, or one of the special cleaners you'll also find in the CADAC | Dometic online shop.

How heavy is the Van Cook and who is it worth it for?

At 6.4 kg, it's fairly heavy for a camping stove. That's totally manageable for trips by van, motorhome, or caravan. For trekking or bikepacking, where every gram counts, I'd go with a lighter model instead.

What's the difference between the Van Cook and the 1 Cook?

The biggest difference is how they run on gas: the Van Cook works without a hose and bottle, while the 1 Cook Turbo FFD needs both. The Van Cook also comes with more accessories, including a grill rack and a lid. On the flip side, it's noticeably heavier at 6.4 kg compared to the 1 Cook Turbo FFD's 3.4 kg, and it puts out a bit less burner power at 1.6 kW.