8 Kitchen Gadgets Every Student Needs

You’ve bought them a set of pans, their own plates, cutlery, bedding, enough tinned soup and vegetables to see them through until the end of their first semester, and the retro lava lamp they absolutely insisted on – apparently it’ll look ‘amazeballs’ on Instagram?

You’ve also tried to convince them they can enjoy themselves without drinking a copious amount every night, and you’ve made sure they can reel off the ingredients for a bolognese by heart. So how else can you prepare your baby for the big wide world of uni?

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If you’re looking to treat them to something extra, we’re running a competition where you could win 1 x Tefal Essential Cooking Kit including ActiFry Health fryer, OptiGrill Health Grill, Toast n Bean, Ingenio 5-piece set, handheld Garment Steamer, Masterseal food storage set, One Egg Wonder Pan and a travel mug, which would be the perfect extra addition to their off-to-uni haul. Can you seriously remember buying them this much stuff since you first found out you were expecting all those years ago?!

Here are eight gadgets that could make them the coolest kid in halls:

Let’s face it, new students are unlikely to iron – they’ve got much better things to be doing with their time, and we can’t blame them really. There will be times when they need to look a little bit smarter though, such as interviews for weekend jobs and the like, and the just-rolled-out-of-bed look won’t cut it then.

But, sending them on their way with a Tefal Garment Steamer means they’ll be able to quickly de-crease (not shrink, just get the creases out) their clothes in minutes for those days when only smart will do. The steamer will come in extremely handy when they’re unpacking on their first day too.

Fretting that your teen will hospitalise themselves with food poisoning due to undercooking meat is a very real worry for many parents. Some will be too lazy to check it’s not still pink in the middle, or just too ravenous to care.

However, equipping them with a Tefal OptiGrill provides them with a great little gadget to grill their meat to perfection quickly and easily, so you can be assured they’re getting enough protein without risking food poisoning.

Their student budget might not stretch to steak, but it’s also great for chicken, sausages and even halloumi. You might like to point them in the direction of this grilled peri-peri chicken recipe from Mommy Musings that’s just like their favourite cheeky Nando’s and ideal for making in the OptiGrill.

What’s your kid’s favourite meal? Chips? Chinese? Fried chicken? Yeah, they can’t live off at that at uni, as we’re sure you’ve done your best to try to tell them. But when you said that, you meant they couldn’t eat out or order in every night, right? You didn’t mean they couldn’t make these dishes for themselves!

That’s exactly what a Tefal ActiFry allows them to do. They can use it to make healthy versions of their favourite takeaways, like this chicken satay fried rice from The Slimming Foodie, salt and pepper chips from Pinch of Nom, and parmesan-crusted chicken nuggets from Taming Twins.

And if they do end up having chips every night, that’s okay – as long as they’re ActiFry chips!

Uni days can be long, with lectures, seminars, study time in the library and attending societies too, so it’s important that students get a hearty and substantial breakfast to get their days off to a good start. And what could be better than beans on toast?

If you thought beans on toast was already easy to make, wait until you’re acquainted with the Tefal Toast’N’Bean. It’s designed to toast your bread while heating your beans up at the same time, meaning there’s minimal washing up, and they’ll get a filling protein and fibre-packed brekkie even when they’re in a rush.

A cup of tea after a night out can be just the thing for warding off a hangover, while a strong cup of coffee the following morning can be essential, so a Tefal Kettle has to be an item you send them off with.

And when they’re missing home (it will happen, no matter how cool they act, we promise!), putting the kettle on, making a cuppa and Skyping you will instantly make them feel better – they do still need you, don’t worry.

The runny yolk of a fried egg can be a spot-on hangover cure – especially when it’s teamed with plenty of bacon and fried bread to soak up all that booze.

The Tefal One Egg Wonder is the ideal vessel for cooking one fried egg, and the mini pan is really easy to clean too. Whether they’re going for a classic fry-up or the more millennial avocado and egg on toast, the One Egg Wonder will see them right.

Tefal Ingenio cookware is ideal for making just about every student favourite, like this Thai chicken curry recipe from Pinch of Yum, this lovely and warming chilli con carne from Charlotte’s Lively Kitchen, and this veggie and vegan-friendly lentil bolognese from The Endless Meal.

Don’t be too surprised if they end up eating straight out of the pan – that’s perfectly normal behaviour for students.

It’s hard to judge portion sizes, especially when you’re not used to cooking, so a set of Tefal Master Seal boxes would be perfect for storing leftovers until they’re ready to be eaten.

So what if they end up eating bolognese for breakfast, lunch and dinner for their first few weeks? At least they’ll be getting plenty of veg and protein, and they will get bored – eventually.

Full competition terms and conditions can be found here.