Kitchen tools we like, a lot.

We had one of these when I was little and I adored it. My first and best ever ham, cheese n tomato toasties (and the goodies didn’t leak out the sides like our first Breville sandwich maker.) Great for making sweet pies too. It comes with the original recipe book.

Makes for a fabulous campfire supper, but also works on gas, electric, and glass-top stoves, in the fireplace, on a fire pit or BBQ grill.

Do you remember this? If so, it’s probably time to get one for the grandchildren!

The perfect combination to weigh your bean, or coffee grounds.

Time your pre-soak, measure the water quantity added, and time the final pour and wait.

All in one device for coffee connoisseurs to get it right every day… or to just play with precision when you get a new grind or coffee type.

Just like the ones they use in the roastery cafes !

The most forgiving coffee maker around. I got this for my birthday this year and love love love it – at home or on the go. It suits me because I love both espresso (strong, dark and creamy) and a great filtered coffee (where I can actually taste the notes in the coffee well), because it allows me to really explore the coffee grounds in every way. After espresso I´d say the moka pot comes next as the strongest coffee I can get, then this Aeropress.

For the espresso lovers that have to have it hot ( of course ! )

These are the most popular tulip shaped ones from de Longhi.

A set of 2 x 60ml double walled, tempered glasses.

Just pop them in the dishwasher for an easy clean.
Keep your hands comfortable and your drink hot.

By the way, they also keep cold drinks cold !

The most popular Professional coffee maker´s kettle,  with the necessary gooseneck spout for a nice even and pour – and at the exact temperature you want.  Quick fill, without removing the lid. Soft protective handle and cold spots all over so you can touch it !

Finally, a kettle that works on all stoves including induction. 

Very well priced, but if you want a budget one go for the ´Bean Envy´branded one, or just get a gooseneck jug for pour over.

We use this a lot ( except when we use sous vide as it does it for us). Comes in many colours, so useful to know if your meat joint, or jam, chocolate, toffee… or even your coffee !  The link will take you to another top rated Lavatools version in the US and Canada. 

I’ve decided, cooking is not so easy, or fun without this. So I bring it with me in my suitcase ! We use it for very finely grated lemon, lime, fluffy parmesan, minced garlic, nutmeg and ginger. Makes the parmesan so ‘fluffy’ and go so much further. Special !

We do love Oxo tools ! We’re always tempted by stainless steel and you can get steel basters, but we like to be able to see whats inside here, and the measurements are so useful. Also the little notch so you can set it down without it dribbling ! And of course the heat safe silicone bulb,  and the tip can be removed to wash them out easily.  

We use this so often every day ! Its a great length ( 29 x 6 x 2cm ), easy to use with the thumb hold and ridges at the top and the polyamide material make it feel strong, yet flexible. Super for turning and lifting things like bacon, sausage, herbs, pasta, fruit and veggies – probably not strong enough for big steaks etc. Dishwasher safe, and can withstand heats up to 260 ºc / 509°F.  Had forgotten how cheap they were too ! 

Simple, long lasting, essential as a first board.

A plating up tool for the foodie who likes a beautiful plate. These tweezers will be perfect for precise control to lift and delicately place food on the plate. 

Great for presenting sauces, holding home made condiments. So easy to paint on a plate. We use these all the time, as do restaurants. 

Tiny yet so useful for sieving or sprinkling on a plate.

Make pretty plate presentations with sauces and purées with this pen. It even has an ink well… a sauce well I mean!  The  small pen for drawing thin lines, and a bigger one for tick lines and dots. I’m torn between this cheaper ( and it’s so cheap !) plastic handled one because it should be more non-slip – and the beautiful stainless steel chef style version. 

We kept this too but it’s still in an attic waiting… So handy to just pop the knives on the strip. Put it on the wall so it doesn’t take up counter space. It doesn’t have to be this one for you… choose the right look and size for your knives and wall.

FIFO stands for ‘First in First out’ . Sit this organiser on your shelf to make sure you can see all those cans, and use the oldest ones first. Genius !

This really works ! Keeps bananas fresh for weeks in the fridge. We use it all the time, although now we’re in the Canaries, the  bananas are so delicious they get eaten fast anyway.

A must have ! Multi-functional, clean, easy, organic… cotton & linen. Use them for everything – even for shopping. Love it. There´s another set called ´clever bags´that have both reusable plastic and mesh bags in a set. Check thme out here too.

This is so useful, and popular with gadget lovers. So much so that the one we take you through to is out of stock. But if that´s the case for you, just look for the one in the picture – it´s even better with a cutting edge too !

A bit of fun, and a great stocking filler. Holds 100ml, so I guess okay for travelling by plane and hands free too.  Carries water too ! P.S. We don’t have one of these … yet.

Every day pans from cook to chef ! We loved this set, and added the casserole  / wok style one to it. The little milk pan is so useful with it’s little lip.

We used both Circulon & Anolon as they are from the same manufacturer. The Circulon sets are a little cheaper and meant to be more a cooks pan, and the Anolon a chefs pan. We´ve had both and love them so check them out.

Perhaps the first and only pan you need ( see our inspired student cook interview. ). 

What a lovely way to finish off your home made biscuits. Great for presentation at home, or when giving as a gift. 

Makes them much more tempting to eat  – they’re better for you when they’re home-made, right !

These are also so useful, and the shape makes your work look more professional !  Use them for mini cakes, muffins, bread, mousse, jelly, chocolate or even soap making ! Use your imagination. We use them also for storing making little blocks of leftovers in the freezer too. We’ll take you to a different supplier in America.
For healthy donut making, check out this amazing silicone donut tray for oven baked donut shaped buns with a hole in the middle !

We have lots of knives but we couldn’t live without this one. It’s our favourite for chopping everything, also using the side to smash garlic, and the heel for chopping small stuff. If we only had two knives it would be a big chef knife like this, and a next serrated one. We can’t live without them and even took them in our suitcase to Mallorca and back again.

Wusthof is a top brand, from the famous knife-making part of Germany. Everyone needs a great serrated knife, and we don’t just use it for bread ! Pop over to our ‘How to spatchcock a chicken‘ post and see Paul using it there. 

Our favourite professional level hand blender. We use it every day. It’s just BRILLIANT ! It lasts forever – people say 40 years and is so simple and strong. You can blend in a crystal glass or in a pan of boiling jam. The chopping bowl also grinds and pulverizes so you can get so creative. I use it ever day. The SliceSy accessory is on my own wishlist ;).

Smart cooking simplified. Use this for the perfect steak, eggs, pickles… almost anything ! Easy, scientific cooking, restaurant style. It just makes it better. We bought it, use it , love it !

If you love fine wine, you’ll need one of these. We had the luxury of seeing how this works when we were treated to a vintage port tasting by a friend in Oporto, Portugal last year… very impressive !  Without that we wouldn’t have had such an amazing treat.

It leaves the cork in whilst a needle very finely extracts the wine, or port or whatever fine corked vintage you want to preserve. So you don’t need an excuse any more to open that bottle of wine !

Oooh I so want one of these, but whilst we’re renting it’s not possible. Maybe when we settle a bit more and know exactly where we’ll be living for a while. Finnish brand Ooni make the best outdoor pizza ovens – if you’re interested – read our in depth review too.

Apart from being gorgeous, we love these for the colours ,the smooth quality, and the fact that we could blend our soups or smoothies straight into the jar ! This is on our wish list !

These are so useful. You can use them to blend your smoothies, make cocktails etc. Drink straight from the cup – very ’50s. We found these when we discovered it was one of the most popular things people buy when they get a Bamix hand blender – the base is nice and wide to fit a blender end into. (3.8 ” base, 30 oz capacity). The button below takes you through to one cup, but if you want more, for better value, choose this set of six instead. 

the best starter hand blender to get, for blending soups mostly. Such a bargain price too – how can they even make it for that  !

So cheap and couldn´t be simpler to get a good wholesome meal cooked once a day.

What I love about this gadget is that the cooking vessel is also the storage container – all in one ! I like to cook my pasta in advance (Paul doesn´t, of course. ) I cook, then let it go cold, then reheat with the sauce. That way , it´s better for me ( less carbs). So I can leave my pasta in the fridge to cool and also use it for any leftover dinner.

No more burning the rice, and the pan ! Perfect for cooking fluffy rice or grains, and even for pasta and veggies. It works like a steamer in the microwave. One user even report cooking their fish with vegetables in it ! 

Perfect for cooking fluffy rice or grains. Users even report cooking pasta and lots more in it ! Well designed. Prepare, cook and serve in one stylish dish.

Comes in different colourways, we got the 9 piece multicolour set as a gift from family and love it. So useful, it has a 4.5 Litre mixing bowl, 3 Litre colander, 1.65 Litre sieve, 0.5 Litre mixing bowl, and five measuring cups. Also a handy non slip base and carry handles.