Pack It in Your Suitcase
Going on holiday means making lists. Of books that have to come along. Essential items of clothing. And kitchen tools. From a little milk frother to a good knife, the FavorFlav editorial team can’t do without them, even when travelling. Or can they?
Food editor at large Marjan
He is more loyal than a dog or cat, my completely battered Italian moka pot. Every time, I want to buy a new one. But then I look at his melted knob and dented belly, and I can’t bring myself to do it. He has seen so many countries with me and provided me with coffee so often during picnics high in the mountains or deep in a valley (where there isn’t a coffee bar to be found). So I know for sure: he’ll be coming along on this holiday too.
Intern Dana
There’s no kitchen tool in my suitcase. Maybe because I often visit friends abroad, and I’m guaranteed to get a good plate of food in front of me. Or maybe because when I’m on holiday, I prefer eating out. After all, you’re only in a city or country for a limited time, so you might as well visit all the good restaurants. In another country, I mainly want to enjoy the food there, and for a week I can easily say goodbye to my cheese slicer and block of Old Amsterdam. So my holiday tool is nothing more than my debit card.
There’s nothing worse than arriving in a kitchen with only small or blunt knives
Editor Emma
A compact but razor-sharp knife. There’s nothing worse than arriving in a kitchen with only small or blunt knives. For taking on holiday, I think the best is a stainless-steel version by Pallarès Solsona. Small enough to take anywhere, but just large enough to use as an all-rounder. Perfect for cutting fruit at breakfast. But an elaborate evening meal is no problem with this knife either. Slicing dried sausages on the beach, fresh tomatoes for bread with a smear of mayonnaise, and so on.
Editor in chief Marcus
I always take my milk frother with a strainer for manually frothing the milk for my morning coffee. One of the greatest pleasures of being on holiday, I think, is being able to start the day peacefully with coffee. And in my case, that requires frothed milk with exactly the right amount of foam. This lovely little frother (6.95 euros at better kitchenware shops) is indispensable for that. I once forgot to put it in my bag and missed it every morning.
Wine editor Romy
Without a doubt, a good corkscrew. So that I never have to struggle with some blunt, impossible contraption when I want to open a holiday bottle. Preferably a waiter’s corkscrew of good quality; Laguiole or Screwpull, for example. With a good blade for opening the capsule, a sharp, open spiral and a two-step lever system that fits the bottle seamlessly.
Managing editor Marieke
Um, I’m not really a camper, and you won’t find me in a holiday cottage very often either. But when I do venture into nature (read: walk ten metres to the water by my house), the classic two-step sommelier’s knife comes along. You open the casing (capsule) around the neck of the bottle with the blade, and then use the lever system to pull the cork out of the bottle. The dream? A Laguiole, of course, but sadly I’m not there yet.
Editor Sophie
I never take kitchen tools with me when travelling. I celebrate my holiday by discovering all the good restaurants in a city in a few days, or by travelling with a backpack through countries such as Thailand, Peru or Bolivia for a month. In the first case, good kitchenware is unnecessary—I eat in a restaurant in the morning, afternoon and evening. In the second case, it’s merely a burden. When your backpack can hold only ten kilos, you become selective. I prefer shampoo and T-shirts to pans and ladles.
Intern Sophia
One thing that definitely comes along in my suitcase is a small non-stick frying pan. I often go on holiday to Italy, and these pans are either difficult to find there or quite expensive. Since I like to fry my egg stress-free in the morning, I always bring my own little pan.
Image: Marjan Ippel et al.
