You do not need to spend a fortune or clutter your countertops with high-end gadgets to cook brilliant food at home. While the world may be awash with muti-purpose air fryers that send notifications to your watch, in real life, the kitchen tools that busy cooks, like myself, rely on are often the most simple. Many have been designed exactly the same way for decades, while others use clever, streamlined engineering to deliver optimum performance without unnecessary bells and whistles. All of them cost pennies to maintain and are practically indestructible.
The good news is that none of the ten essential items on my list costs more than £25, yet every single one punches well above its price tag. Investing in your kitchen setup doesn’t have to mean sacrificing quality or durability for the sake of a tight budget. From my favourite timeless enamelware to a small cafetière that makes a perfect single cup, these ten buys are built to go the distance, day after day. Take care of them, and they’ll still be going strong in twenty years, long after the smart appliances have gone to landfill.
Victorinox paring knife
While plenty of jobs call for a large chef’s knife, a humble little paring knife from Victorinox is the one I use most frequently for everyday kitchen tasks. Starting at under £6, it is an absolute steal (and it comes in some terrific colours). It’s comfortable to hold, with a point sharp enough for hulling strawberries or scoring pastry. The serrated blade can easily saw through tough vegetable skins, soft tomatoes, and chewy breakfast bagels without squashing. I also love their clever picnic knife, £21 – it folds down safely, making it my absolute favourite companion to throw into a bag for camping trips and outdoor cooking.
