Everyone who know us well, knows that we love cooking and are self-confessed foodies. We’ve stayed away in many self-catering cottages over the years and were determined to make sure that the Long Barn had everything and more. We were the people who packed our own knives, a corkscrew and decent sized wine glasses when we went away.
We’ve kept adding to the Long Barn’s list of kitchen kit, and read with interest India Knight’s “ultimate cook’s packing list for a self-catering cottage” earlier this year in the Sunday Times.
We agree with her that relying on a “mimsy, ungenerous kit” is a “recipe for frustration and not a good start to the holiday”. Of her 20 points listed we think we have pretty much everything covered.
1. Proper corkscrew – we have at least two.
2. Tea Bag – always a full cannister.
3. Kitchen tongs and fish slice – of course, we have several.
4. Big pan. We don’t agree with her “rule of holiday lets” that if a cottage sleeps 8, the biggest pan fits pasta for 4. We supply a number of huge pans big enough to cook for an army.
5. Big colander – it’s huge along with several large sieves.
6. Weighty chopping board – along with large plastic ones, we have a massive wooden one with the reassuring “heft” she is looking for.
7. One good knife – we have several Sabatier knives which are regularly sharpened.
8. Shallow sauté tin – yes, and it’s bigger than the 30cm India is looking for.
9. Can opener that is easy to use – test driven by Jackie, if she can work it, anyone can.
10. Mini chopper – we supply a Magimix food processor and a stick blender.
11 .Robust roasting tray – we have a choice of several and have test driven them all with a roast dinner.
12. Vegetable peeler – we have two so more than one person can help with peeling the spuds.
13. Big salad bowl – we have lots of large bowls for mixing and serving.
14. Pepper mill – we have two and refill them every stay.
15. Zester – of course.
16. Foil, bin bags, dishwasher tabs… – we hate the measly two dishwasher tab + one J-Cloth. You’ll find all you need under the sink and above the fridge.
17. Herbs and spices – we disagree with India about supplying these. We hate the dubious and dusty out of date ones we’ve found in many holiday cottages. You’ll find fresh herbs when in season in the garden (sage, mint, thyme, fennel etc) And we will be happy to help you out with anything that you’ve forgotten.
18. Kitchen scales – yes we have the digital ones.
19. Cookery Books – there is a little library of our favourites, including one for cocktails.
20. The makings of one simple meal for when you arrive. We don’t think this is feasible for a group of 14. But you’ll find milk for a cuppa with our home-made lemon drizzle cake. And we can recommend some great local caterers who can have a meal ready for you to pop in the oven when you arrive.
For a further list of what’s in the kitchen, we blogged about it here and you can also see an up-to-date list of what you’ll find in our welcome guide.
And if you think we’ve missed anything, please let us know.
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