12 Extravagant Pieces Of Kitchen Kit You Need In Your Life

Looking to invest in some game-changing kitchenware? In need of a few items that will instantly add gravitas to a granite worktop?

From the high-tech to the decidedly old-school, here are the 10 bits of kit that will not only impress your guests but all going well also take your cooking skills up a notch.

DROP KITCHEN SCALE

Designed to work with an iPad, this piece of tech measures ingredients with astonishing accuracy. It can also run you through a range of one-bowl recipes via the app, even suggesting alternatives should you not have one of the ingredients. Basically the Skynet version of Delia Smith.

£79.95; Store.apple.com

BLOK CHEF’S KNIFE

No faff, just quite simply the most sought after chef’s knife in the land. Used by any A-list British chef worth their table salt, you’ll have to sign up to a two year long waiting list to possess one of the blades hand-made by Ben Edmonds inside his Derbyshire workshops (or hope you’re the first in line on a Friday) - but then as an Irish marketing man once said, good things come to those who wait.

£288. Blok-knives.co.uk

Tom Dixon Stone Pestle & Mortar

No sniggering at the back - this isn’t some ancient sex toy, it's actually the best Pestle & Mortar on the market. Easily the flashiest too.

£149; Johnlewis.com

MEAT TENDERISER

A vicious meat-pounder sure to get steaks extra juicy and also looks a bit like one of the vehicles from Mad Max? Yes please.

£28.50; Divertimenti.co.uk

Caveman factory strainer

Still hovering over the sink like an amateur when straining that unwanted pan water away? With one of these marvellous pieces of kitchenware, which can be plonked on the edge of your worktop and have the funnel run all the way to the sink, you’ll wonder how you ever got by without it.

£20 Cavemanfactory.com

De’Longhi ECOV310 Vintage Icona Espresso Coffee Machine

Clean, vintage, capable of firing out works of caffeine-fuelled art via espresso pods – it’s the sort of coffee machine we imagine George Clooney owns. But for contractual reasons he’s probably not allowed.

£189.99; Johnlewis.com

Le Creuset Square Cast Iron Grillit

One for the luddites, Le Creuset's cast iron skillet is as basic (and wonderful) as cooking gets. Sturdy, round, dependable – one of these will last you longer than the battery of a Nokia 3310. So about 70 years.

£79; Johnlewis.com

Master class blow torch

Let’s face it, this is the only reason for making a crème brûlée.

£34.50; Selfridges.com

PURIFYING KNIFE HOLDER SYSTEM

This germ-free knife holder cleans your kitchen blades by blasting them with light waves to exterminate any DNA and cell membranes. Talk about cutting edge technology...

£92; Amazon.co.uk

EVAK ingredient storage container

Being economical needn’t mean being uncool. Composed of high class borosilicate glass with a stainless steel double valve lid, any small ingredients and herbs will be kept extra fresh with these hermetically sealed devices. A few of these and your spice rack will be like Fort Knox.

£8.75 Prepara.com

Kenwood electric meat grinder

Without getting all Hannibal on you, there’s no limit to what meat this bad boy can process - terrines, sausages, stuffing, burgers. Top chefs swear by them. Top chefs, people, top chefs. For under a ton, it’s a bargain.

£99.95; Johnlewis.com

MIITO INDUCTION HEATER

Regularly overfilled for brews, kettles have to be one of the most impractical devices used in the kitchen. But the good news is that this device heats water directly from your cup: simply place said cup of H20 onto a coaster-cum-induction plate, enter an immersive magnetic rod and sit back and marvel as it hots up in no time. Well, when it’s released next year anyway.

£139; http://www.miito.com/