A good cook needs good tools. Buy the best you can afford and look after them - most will last for years.

Baking dish for roasting meat and vegetables. Buy one with a rack in the bottom so fat can drip down into the pan. It should be heavy enough to go on the stove top (while making gravy) without warping.

Bamboo steamer for steaming won tons, vegetables, sticky rice (in a wrapper of cloth or banana leaf) or fish (on a small plate).

Casserole dish for cooking stews and casseroles. Make sure it has a tight-fitting lid. A flameproof dish can go from oven to stove top. Ceramic dishes are for the oven only.

Colander for draining pasta, vegetables or anything else cooked in liquid; also for washing salad greens.

Cutting boards made of solid timber or thick plastic. Scrub well in hot soapy water after use and store them dry. Very organised kitchens have three separate boards: one for fruit and vegetables, one for meat and one for fish.

Egg lifter (egg slice) for flipping any food in a frying pan. Use plastic egg lifters with non-stick frying pans.

Electric beaters for preparing smooth batters and cake mixtures - they take the hard work out of beating by hand.

Food processor for making spice pastes and sauces or grinding nuts. Choose one with a good motor, a strong blade and a bowl large enough to cope with different capacities.

Frying pan for frying; a non-stick pan means you can use less oil in cooking. An ovenproof pan can go straight from stove top to oven or grill for browning.

Garlic press to prepare crushed garlic. Get the strongest you can afford.

Grater for grating vegetables and cheese.

Knives including two chef's knives, 15-30cm and 9-15cm, a serrated knife, carving knife and fork and a small paring knife. Quality stainless-steel or carbon steel knives are worth the expense.

Knife sharpener to keep your knives in good working order! Store knives upside-down in a knife block so edges stay sharp.

Ladle for spooning hot soups and stews out of a pan.

Large metal spoon for folding mixtures together without losing volume and for skimming froth from soups and stocks.

Measuring cups for accurately measuring ingredients such as flour and milk.

Mixing bowls for mixing cakes and batters, beating cream, soaking fruit. Good all-purpose, ceramic mixing bowls can double as pudding basins. Buy several sizes.

Peeler for peeling vegetables, shaving parmesan and picking 'eyes' out of potatoes.

Potato masher for mashing vegetables and breaking up lumps in soups.

Rolling pin for rolling pastry and pizza dough, crushing biscuits, flattening fillets of steak, veal or chicken.

Saucepans for cooking stock and pasta, use a large pan; for cooking vegetables, a medium pan; for making sauces or custard, a small pan. Stainless steel is best - even better with a heavy copper base.

Scales for weighing ingredients such as meat, nuts and vegetables.

Scissors for those countless little jobs including snipping herbs, cutting open bags and packets.

Scraper (rubber-ended spatula) for folding flour into cake mixtures, and for getting every bit of cake mix out of the bowl.

Sieve for sifting flour and straining soups.

Slotted spoon for lifting food out of boiling water or oil; also use for serving.

Tongs for turning food in a frying pan or under the griller.

Wire whisk for beating egg whites - nothing else gets them as light and airy.

Wok for stir-frying, making Asian-style omelettes and shallow frying; can be used with a bamboo steamer for steaming. Traditionally, woks are made of rolled steel.

To prepare the wok before use:
1. Place the wok on the stove top, fill it with water and 2 tablespoons of bicarbonate of soda.
2. Bring the water to the boil; boil rapidly for 15 minutes.
3. Drain; scrub off any varnish inside the wok with a plastic scourer. Repeat if needed to remove all the varnish.

To season the wok:
1. Pour some peanut or vegetable oil into a small bowl and scrunch a piece of paper towel into a wad.
2. Place wok over low heat. When it's hot, wipe it with the wadded paper dipped into the oil.
3. Repeat process with clean paper until the paper comes away clean and without any trace of colour.

Wooden spoon for mixing cakes and batters; also good for stirring food in non-stick pans - the handle won't get hot.