Woks for £3 . . .

I've been nosing round Woolworths and IKEA recently to see what kind of deals they have on saucepans and various other bits of kitchen kit. There are certainly some amazing bargains which raises the issue of how long they're going to stand up to the kind of treatment that will be dealt out to them in the average student kitchen. At least with companies this big you can always take them back if they fall apart after a couple of days so worth the risk, I'd say.

Woolworths
Have a budget Worthit! range that includes saucepans and frying pans as well as electrical items like kettles, toasters and stick blenders - all for an amazingly cheap £5. A small 18 cm non-stick pan costs £3.42 at the time of writing, a 24cm non-stick frying pan £2 and a wok £3.

You can also buy a 26 piece stainless steel cutlery set for £2.97 and a 12 piece white porcelain dinner set for £4.97 which should set you up for mealtimes.

IKEA
IKEA has if anything even better bargains, if you can stand the checkout queues. I'd ignore the rather expensive 'Startboxes' that seem more geared to wealthy young professionals and go for the individual deals and offers which  include a Pyra wok for £2.99, a 3 piece saucepan set for £5.99 and a Steka 24cm frying pan for £1.29

There are also some great deals on kitchen gadgets such as an Akut 3 piece kitchen utensil set (0.29p) colourful Charm vegetable peelers (0.79p), Charm garlic press (£1.59) and Charm lemon squeezer (0.79p)