Don’t forget the teabags! What top chefs take on holiday

Challenge yourself with today’s puzzles.
Crossword
Polygon
Sudoku
It is a tale as old as rental accommodation. After a six-hour drive, you finally arrive at the holiday home you’ve been looking forward to since January only to find the cupboards bare but for two sugar sachets, half a packet of Schwartz Cajun seasoning, and a motley pile of tired utensils in the drawers. Which is a shame because, for the culinary inclined at least, there is nothing better than a morning spent finding great local produce and an afternoon spent cooking it.
Of course, there is some joy to be had from making do — using a wine bottle as a rolling pin before opening it with a coat hanger — but here, top chefs and food writers share the ingredients and utensils they pack for rental kitchens at home and abroad, so not every meal feels like an uphill battle.
The small things which I often fit in my suitcase are a Microplane, because it’s much more effective than a standard box grater; anchovies; and dried chilli, which adds a kick and depth of flavour. That said, you shouldn’t go on holiday wanting certain things a certain way; it’s good to support the local shops, and you can adapt. It’s not the end of the world to use table salt, if that’s all they have available. Angela Hartnett is chef-director at Murano and Café Murano
A good apron with good fabric makes me a better cook, and the ones at rental homes are usually flimsy or have some sort of joke on them. I’ll pack a load of aprons, and a wide peeler, because we’ll do mash at some point and they are fast, light and sharp. I take three knives: a heavyweight one, a lovely carving knife and a small paring knife, because there’s nothing worse than crappy knives. A 1.5-litre tin of quality olive oil is also a great friend. If I was holidaying in southern Europe I wouldn’t take it, of course, but we usually go to an island in Scotland and the local Co-op is a bit crap for olive oil. Margot Henderson is head chef at Rochelle Canteen and the Three Horseshoes
I am an egg fiend and tend to breakfast at home on holiday before heading out. I love eggs sprinkled with za’atar, a herb mixed with sesame seeds, sumac, salt and spices. I buy Zaytoun za’atar, which is Palestinian, Fairtrade and comes in a small pot so it’s easy to transport. It’s a veg pimper; anything you can think of is improved by it. Tomatoes, fruit, barbecued veg … za’atar it up, and you have next-level flavour. You could even put it on shop-bought hummus and pretend it’s homemade.Melissa Hemsley is a food writer and author of Real Healthy: How to Unprocess your Diet
• Hot dogs go haute! This summer’s must-have party food
For me it’s always the Cuisinart cordless blender. The last time I went on holiday I used it to make marinades for chicken, fresh pesto, hummus, frozen margaritas and fresh fruit smoothies and iced coffee. It’s priceless. I also never travel anywhere without Yorkshire Tea Gold teabags. Ever.Sabrina Ghayour is a chef and author of Flavour
I always take a really good quality Greek extra virgin olive oil to use for salad dressings. Where we live in Greece, in Kardamili, I harvest my own olives and take them along to a nearby mill to be pressed into oil and bottled. It has a wonderful spicy flavour. I also always take a small jar of flaky sea salt from home that is collected straight from the rocks on the beach, then sold in local shops. Those are the two absolute essentials.Sea Salt and Honey: Celebrating the Food of Kardamili in 100 Sun-Drenched Recipes, by Nicholas Tsakiris, Olivia Tsakiris and Chloe Tsakiris
I always travel with a penknife or two — a good Opinel knife can lend itself to most simple kitchen tasks and picnic ones too, while a trusty Victorinox Swiss Army Knife is great for opening bottles, tins and even oysters. In all honesty, a sharp knife is the only indispensable thing which I can’t cook without. Everything else I can readily improvise. It’s not good to get so precious about cooking that you need to take your whole kitchen with you. Jackson Boxer is chef-patron of Henri at Henrietta Experimental
I always take a good quality Dijon mustard. This can be used in many ways — for example, to create a French dressing for a fresh, simple salad — and it is a key ingredient in my favourite jambon baguette.Raymond Blanc is chef-patron at Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons
When I go on holiday, I always make sure to pack a few essentials that ensure I can still enjoy my favourite flavours and properly relax, even if the Airbnb lacks the right things. I always bring Pimentón de la Vera from my local region of Extremadura. Handpicked and dried slowly over oak wood for up to 15 days, it has a more distinctive and aromatic flavour compared with other paprikas. Whether I’m cooking a quick sauté, seasoning meat or seafood, or adding a sprinkle to eggs, this spice brings a touch of home. I also never leave without a few fine Cubano cigars — perfect for unwinding after a day of exploring.José Pizarro is chef-founder of Pizarro and Lolo
I always like to have Microplane graters for zesting citrus. It gives everything a lift, from a pasta, salad dressing or pudding. I’m also generally lost without a sharp serrated knife — these are so multipurpose. Ravinder Bhogal is a food writer and founder of Jikoni restaurant
We’re doing a lot of road trips to France at the moment, and I always take a jar of Maldon Salt because I like the texture and it’s hard to find the same flaky consistency in salt abroad. I take our Thermos cool bag too, because I want to transport delicious dairy products, fish and shellfish from the market to the holiday home, so a cool bag is essential. We always keep a corkscrew in the car now, because it’s something we always forget, and if we forget to take Yorkshire Tea bags, we hate ourselves. With two little ones, good coffee and tea are essential. Rosie Birkett is a food writer and author of The Joyful Home Cook and the Substack, A Lot on Her Plate
After finding myself on a number of occasions knocking on the door of a local pub asking to borrow a big pot when cooking for a crowd in a holiday home, I have started taking my own. There are never enough, and they are never big enough. Ditto chopping boards and bowls. I think it’s because so many people steal from holiday homes — which has my jaw on the floor — so the owners become dispirited, and buy basic versions of everything. If I’m holidaying on a Hebridean island, I always stop by Ian Mellis — the Neal’s Yard Dairy of Scotland — and get the sort of lovely things that good cheesemongers often have. I think it’s nice to stock up on better versions of things like jams, cheese, butter, vinegars and good bread, for a romantic start to a holiday. A fridge with a full breakfast regalia with great bread, butter, jams, eggs and bacon is a fast track to eternal love.Jeremy Lee is head chef at Quo Vadis in Soho, London, and the author of Cooking: Simply and Well, for One and Many
I always take dried chillies with me. A small, ziplock bag with a handful of ancho chillies, a clutch of guajillos, some smoky chipotles and a few chile de arbol. It means I can add lovely depth of flavour to any dish I might have to rustle up. This particular selection gives me sweetness, warmth, smoke and pepper to choose between.Thomasina Miers is the co-founder of the Wahaca chain
You have to nail breakfast on that first day, when you’ve come in late the night before and not had time to go to the shops. So when I’m renting somewhere I take Marmite, porridge oats in a little bag, and a packet of Whitworths nuts and seeds mix to stir in — and tea bags! They’re essential. The cafetiere’s always crap, so you need a cup of tea to start the day, then you can go find a coffee in town.
Drawing upon recent experience at the crab festival in Salcombe, I’d take a big boiling pot if I’m going somewhere near the coast. It’s so frustrating coming across amazing crabs, lobsters or mussels and not being able to cook them because none of the pots are big enough. So much of the stuff in Airbnbs is flimsy and crap, bought from TK Maxx a few years ago. But with a pot and a decent chopping board and a knife, you’re on your way to a great meal.Matt Tebbutt is a chef, presenter of Saturday Kitchen, and author of Pub Food
I travel with my sourdough starter — I’ve taken it as far as America! — and my proving basket so I can always make sourdough bread. I take an AeroPress and a packet of coffee, otherwise I’m a grumpy mama in the morning. That said, I quite like making do. Once we rented somewhere with no chopping boards at all, so we broke down some boxes and used those. It’s part of the fun of being on holiday.Olia Hercules is a chef, food writer, campaigner and author of Home Food: Recipes to Comfort and Connect
It’s not a busman’s holiday for me, cooking on holiday. If anything, just being able to switch off and actually cook, not against the clock or for service, is amazing. I pack a chopping board, a good knife and a big, round, deep sauté pan from Hexclad, with sides and two handles. If I had to have one pan for the rest of my life, it would be that pan. You can cook something as simple as scrambled eggs and sausages, but you can also do a whole casserole or stew in the evening.
The only other thing I will take is barbecue fuel: good kiln dried logs and some quality charcoal. It makes such a difference; it burns for longer, it doesn’t go out, and improves the taste. Last year we went away with Tom and Beth Kerridge and the kids, and he loved it. There we were hunched over the barbecue, in mizzle, hoods up — and loving every second.Paul Ainsworth is chef-director of the Paul Ainsworth Collection, and author of For the Love of Food
• Six simple no-cook summer puddings
This might sound really lame, but I like to take a cocktail shaker with me. We went to a house with my mates the other week; I wanted to make margaritas, and there was no shaker, which was disappointing. I’d also take Maldon garlic salt — obviously not to be used in the margaritas! It’s easier to transport than garlic, and it’s brilliant for barbecues.Sally Abe is chef-consultant at the Pem and author of A Woman’s Place is in the Kitchen
I’m very into my Asian cuisine, and I love raw fish, so when I travel I like to take soy sauce and sushi rice with me, and seek out the best fresh produce. I only use Sempio soy sauce — it’s the best in the world — and Arirang, which is the best sticky rice for sushi. I take a frying pan because often they are sticky or cheap in rental places, and I take an all-purpose Kyoto knife — oh, and walking boots, just in case I can sneak off and do some foraging.Jordan Webb is head chef at Kinloch Lodge on the Isle of Skye
I’d focus on stuff from my home and garden that you can’t find in the supermarkets — or that you can, but in soggy tasteless packets. I’ll pack a little bag of herbs — coriander, lemon verbena, purslane, chervil and pennywort — as well as some salad leaves. Some decent wines and a bottle of Black Cow vodka to splash on ceviche, if I’m somewhere near the coast — and to make vodka tonics.Mark Hix is the chef at the Oyster and Fish House and author of Hooked: Adventures in Angling and Eating
My wife and I love steak, and when we’re away, cooking some nice tomahawk on the barbecue and serving it with homemade hollandaise sauce is such a nice thing to do. I take a chiller box of meat, because it’s disappointing when you can’t find something really good. Even when I’ve gone away with the lads or on golf trips, we pack a load of steak, the barbecue and good wine. I’m a tight Yorkshireman and I hate paying for bad quality anything.Tommy Banks is the chef-director at the Black Swan Oldstead
I have vinegar, Maldon salt, Dijon mustard and a teaspoon in the car at all times so I can always make a dressing. We always take chilli flakes and tahini in a little jar and, before we leave, we look at the cupboards and take any spices or condiments which need using up. It’s quite fun figuring out our meals around them, coming up with strange combinations we only have on holiday. I also pack the spoon I’ve had since I was 18, and which I use for basting, stirring — everything really, it’s so versatile. I dread the day I inevitably leave it in an Airbnb. Joe Woodhouse is a chef and author of Your Daily Veg and More Daily Veg
I am never happier than going abroad, getting whatever produce is available, and cooking it over fire. I don’t want to be stuck in the kitchen; I want to be outside, beer in hand, taking my time. Cooking over fire brings out the best in everything. I always take salt, pepper, cumin, garlic, paprika and a couple of lemons — and a literal barbecue, my portable Weber called Smokey Joe. It’s small, contained, and it locks so I can stash firelighters and a bit of wood in there. Disposable barbecues are the work of the devil; they can’t be recycled and they don’t cook food well at all. They’re a false economy, too; for the price of a few disposable barbecues you could buy a small travel barbecue that will last a decade.Melissa Thompson is the author of Motherland: A Jamaican Cookbook