Back to basics: essential kit for a small kitchen

A wooden spoon, a slotted spatula, a pair of tongs and a mesh spider are useful bits of kit to have to hand. Photograph: SutidaS/Getty Images/iStockphoto

I’m moving to a home with a small kitchen and limited storage. What’s the most essential kit?
Ellie, Nottingham

“Most things are frills – few are essentials,” wrote Laurie Colwin in her essay The Low-Tech Person’s Batterie de Cuisine. But even “essentials” require thought. Colwin continues: “Pans are like sweaters: you may have lots of them, but you find yourself using two or three over and over again.”