Depending on your ambitions as a chef, you will need a certain amount of equipment in the kitchen to be able to prepare many recipes. If you are starting from scratch, bringing your kitchen up to speed can get fairly expensive.

My kitchen grew steadily over the years, and today I don't feel like I'm missing anything. Then again, household stores always manage to carry some utensil or appliance that I don't yet have and that would probably make my life easier in some small way.

Here is a brief list of the most important cooking items:

• Knives: straight and serrated; ceramic knives are sharp and durable, but also very expensive
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Mixing utensils: electric whisk, hand mixer
• Spatulas: straight, angled and slotted
• Sieves and colanders: steel or plastic, in various sizes
• Pots and pans: saucepans, frying pans, roasting pans, casseroles etc.
• Mixing bowls: metal, ceramic or plastic, in various sizes
• Tea set: not strictly speaking a cooking item, but a nice porcelain set is great to bring out for special visitors!