The Surprising Cooking Essentials I Refuse to Travel Without

I love this cross between an Asian-style cleaver and a European-style chef’s knife. It’s incredibly sharp, and the wide blade can be used as a scraper to easily scoop and dump what you’ve chopped into a pot or skillet. It’s also very affordable, which is key because things get lost on vacation! I leave my more expensive Wusthof knives at home knowing that if I lose this chef’s knife it can be easily replaced. (Note: If you are packing a knife to fly, you’ll need to check your chef’s kit.)

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been in a rental kitchen to find they only stocked one large chef’s knife. Try peeling a potato with that! These paring knives come in a pack of four and are very affordable, so I’m not too upset if one gets lost or damaged.

Also called a fish spatula, this is a must-have for any kitchen. It’s thin and somewhat flexible, making it perfect for sliding under delicate fish fillets. It’s also extremely versatile: I use mine for everything from flipping fried eggs to making pancakes. Because it’s metal, it’s also great for the grill. Once you have a fish spatula in your life, all other spatulas will pale in comparison.

Tongs are a kitchen hero. I use them for quickly plucking a piece of pasta out of boiling water to test for doneness, reaching into a hot oven to flip roasting vegetables, or to help me transfer marinating meat from the bag to the skillet without getting my hands dirty. Even in rental houses with grills, you’re not guaranteed to have tongs, so I always toss a set into my chef’s kit.

One of my most-used kitchen tools, this spatula can be used for mixing batter, folding together a dip, stirring a soup, and more. Unlike a rubber spatula, the silicone is virtually heat-proof and can be used on a hot skillet or pan without having to worry about it melting. I like the Le Creuset spatulas for looks, and the head pops off easily for cleaning, but any silicone spatula will do.

Traveling for someone’s birthday and need to frost a cake? You’ll want an offset spatula. While sometimes called icing spatulas, they are so much more than that. The long, thin blade is perfect for popping hot muffins out of a tin, carefully lifting a perfect brownie square out of the pan, or spreading mashed avocado over bread for avocado toast. This set of one 8-inch and one 6-inch offset spatula gives you great versatility for an affordable price.

I can be a bit of a hurricane in the kitchen. Spills and splatters happen, and it’s nice to have a few extra kitchen towels to quickly wipe up messes. Most rental kitchens have maybe one or two decorative towels, but I prefer these terrycloth towels (also called bar mops) for their durability and utility. I always toss two or three into my chef’s kit. Pro tip: Your towel can serve double-duty when you wrap your knives to protect the blades.

I assume almost all rental kitchens will have salt, pepper, and cooking oil and build from there. Your spice kit might be different than mine, but I’ve always found it helpful to pack something for heat (cayenne, red pepper flakes), citrus notes (cumin, coriander), umami (MSG, mushroom powder), and warming spices for baking (cinnamon, nutmeg). I also always bring flaky Maldon sea salt for sprinkling over a dish, curry paste, and an all-purpose seasoning called Vegeta that I fell in love with in Croatia. Lastly, I use miniature jam jars from a Bonne Maman advent calendar for my traveling spice kit. They’re small and compact — perfect for a week’s worth of spices.