West Berkshire & North Hampshire

As much as we think that students survive only by eating takeaways and pizzas, this simply is not the case.
Despite the fact that times are tough, students preparing to go to university need to remember that they need things to go into the kitchen.

The kitchen is a wild world to most teenagers, where it seems only parents do the cooking, but rest assured it’s your turn in the real world.

I have compiled a list of things that students are going to need to get themselves for the kitchen.

For starters, students should know what kind of accommodation they are moving into. Whether it be shared accommodation where the kitchen and or bathroom is used by everyone in your flat, or whether you have your own little kitchenette and bathroom along with your bedroom, if you are self-catered, you are going to need these things. If you will be staying in catered accommodation… well, you’ve put off having to buy kitchen equipment for another year!

1. Cutlery
The amount of times I have been into student accommodation to find somebody eating their dinner with their fingers is beyond the mathematics that my brain can perform. It may seem like an obvious one, but having more than 1 knife, spoon and fork etc is actually very handy. Your flatmates won’t appreciate you using their cutlery every time you have friends over for dinner, especially if you don’t wash it up.

2. Plates, bowels, mugs and glasses
If you’re a big tea drinker or love your food, these are things for you. Again don’t just buy one of each, you will several of each as when your parents come all the down motorway with your stuff in the back of the car, they may not want to have to walk 10 minutes down the road to get a cup of tea.
These are bedrock of everything we do with food and drink. We cannot survive without them and all of them are for sale at all good supermarkets and retailers and at very reasonable prices.

3. Saucepans
Just putting the can of beans on the hob isn’t going to work. They need something to boil that won’t explode. That is where your trusty friend the saucepan comes in. Ready to fight all of your battles for when you require beans on toast, the king of student meals!

4. Baking trays
Another weapon in your arsenal for cooking food – it’s always good to have at least two baking trays to hand, one to contain meat and the other that will contain whatever else you are having with your main course. Space in the oven may be limited in a shared kitchen, but the extra baking tray is money well spent.

5. Kettle
Never has anything been so valuable to the British people, I don’t know where we would be without a cup of tea. Nothing too fancy, just one that can be relied upon to create the magical cup that we all love. Not to mention the steaming mug of super-strong coffee to calm your headache after a heavy night out!

6. A wooden spoon and a spatula
These two items I have grouped together because they are of equal importance. What else would we get our beans out of the tin with and slide chips on to a plate with? You can pick these up for about 50p each, so grab a couple in case you break or lose them.

7. Oven Gloves
Never make the mistake of buying a cheap pair of oven gloves, they don’t work. It’s well worth the extra money going to a specialist cook shop to get a pair that are able to take the same amount of heat as the nose cone of a space shuttle. Do not think you will be able to get by just using tea towels – ovens are dangerous, and you don’t want to get burnt.

8. Tea Towels
Always handy to have at least three, as undoubtedly one will be used by everyone else you are living, one for yourself to hide away in your bedroom never to be used and the other to be in your cupboard ready to dry up. Though students may neglect washing up, it’s one thing you’re going to have to get used to now you don’t live at home anymore.

9. A cookbook
It’s easy enough to just buy ready meals and takeaways all the time but your stomach isn’t going to like it (neither will your bank balance!) and the pounds will soon start piling on. Try a bit of variety in your diet as there are plenty of cookbooks aimed at students who may not be able to afford the best sirloin steak with peppercorn sauce every night.

10. A tin opener
Once again it’s a tin of baked beans’ best friend. Buying one of these is a life saver and you’re always going to need one if you don’t buy one. My advice, buy one!

There you have it, 10 things to buy for your kitchen before you start university. There will never be a time when you won’t want one of these essential items.