In reply to Tom F Harding:
The market in Bishkek is certainly amazing, worth a visit even if you don't need food. If you have time I'd recommend going one day, buying a few things you think you need, take them back to your hotel and test cooking and eating them, then going back the next day and buying what you now know you want. This helps avoid the Giant Bag of Inedible Gloop situation that Robert described, though probably not the blue sh*ts.
It's also good strategy for packaged foods, like tinned fish etc because pretty much everything is in Russian and many things don't even look familiar - unlike in South American countries, for example. While the market has lots of dried goods and the restaurants and cafes of Bishkek are quite good, the packaged foods suitable for expeditions we found a bit of a challenge. There were some western goods available, but not a lot, and a lot of the local grocery items were a bit of a mystery. You didn't know if you were buying a block of chocolate or a block of lard, and you can only open so many packets in the supermarket before someone comes and shouts at you in Russian.
So I'd definitely bring stuff from home, not just gels and freeze drieds. Lots of people doing their first expeditions, where they are self supporting and doing their own cooking etc, think they'll cook more than they do, so buy bulk pasta, rice, veges, fruit, etc and much of it never gets eaten. Altitude and all the other challenges make cooking a hassle, so the simpler and quicker you can make the process the better. eg. Couscous is quicker than pasta, which is quicker than rice.
You may also not all be in BC or other camps at one time so making huge group dinners is not practical. You end up eating a lot of biscuits, drinking tea and living on snacks. It's only three weeks and your mum's not watching.
Keep in mind that low altitudes in Kyrgyzstan, particularly Bishkek, can get bloody hot in summer - we had 38C for several days - so chocolate will melt in your duffels and veges and fruit might wilt or go off. Forget fresh meat.
Don't pack bulk foods in huge bags - divide it up - in case your 40 year old Russian van/donkey breaks down 20km short of BC and you have to carry everything the last bit yourself.
Personally I wouldn't give a way pens or similar, as Robert suggested, even though it's a nice thought. It caused havoc in Nepal that we are still facing today. Damn kids, with their learning and their reading and writing! Something that might be good if you can afford it is a modern version of a Polaroid camera. Kids love seeing themselves on the screen of your digital camera - then you have to drag it away from them. Take a group shot of their family, as they may never have another one.
Post edited at 22:44