Jamie Oliver may have a kitchen full of pans, knives, funky crockery, whisks, spatulas, mandolins and blowtorches but students don’t & you don’t need them!

You can get by with a heavy frying pan, a saucepan, a stirring spoon, a spatula, a chopping board, a sharp knife, a bread knife, 2 big plates, 2 sets of cutlery, 2 large mug (large enough for serious cups of coffee or for a whole can of soup), 2 large wine glasses, 2 pint glasses, a salt grinder and a pepper grinder. This shouldn’t cost much, well within your student budget

Basics: Having these things in you cupboard all the time will mean you can always make a meal in a hurry!

Flavourings: Sugar, salt (preferably sea-salt), pepper (as in peppercorns), garlic, chilli powder, coriander, mixed herbs and stock cubes (selection). Consumables: Rice, pasta (shapes and spaghetti), bread, potatoes, onions, tinned tomatoes, tinned beans, tinned spaghetti, tinned soup, tinned tuna, tinned anchovies and tinned meat.

Fresh stuff: Carrots, cabbages, mushrooms, tomatoes, lettuce and courgettes.

Fridge stuff: Cheese, margarine, Philadelphia, orange juice, beer, wine, vodka

Freezer stuff: Pizza, pies, chicken and frozen veg.

Cooking

Buy a good cookbook! Jamie Oliver’s “Happy days” book is full of simple, comforting and quick dishes that are ideal for students, But unless you are Jamie Oliver or Delia Smith, start off with simple dishes and gradually learn what works and what doesn’t.

Some flavours naturally go with some meats, chicken and lemon for instance but some combinations really don’t work beef and lemon is a good example of a revolting combo!

Pasta is a freshers and students staple and goes with almost anything and is cheap and quick, but you will end up Over dosing on it! If it doesn’t go with pasta then it will go with rice! Meat is expensive, so use lots of veg, which is also good for you, to bulk out your meals.