I love to cook, probably as much as I love kitchen gadgets. Some are cool to look at, some a necessity. But, when you can mix the two together, you get the perfect combination of fun and functional – a must-have find for any foodie.

For me, in order for a gadget to join my kitchen arsenal it needs to check off the following boxes:

• It must be bright – I love cooking with colour, so I it makes sense to have colourful tools
• It must solve a problem – If it doesn’t serve a good purpose, or cut down prep time, it’s not coming into my kitchen to clutter up another junk drawer
• Will, and can my son also use it?

I was told to get him involved in preparing meals starting at a young age – a piece of advice I’m so happy I followed. You’d be surprised how much more kids are willing to try when it comes to new foods when they prepare the meal themselves.

So, here are some brilliantly simple must-haves, that are fun (some even stunning to look at) and useful, to help make the “heat” of the kitchen a bit more bearable. Maybe they’ll even get your little one excited about cooking.