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Cooking in a vacation rental

hipcook 8 years ago

I just need to vent. I'm trying to cook in a beach vacation rental, and the kitchen has either been raided by previous renters or assembled by someone who doesn't cook. I have a sharpening steel, but no whisk! (And as near as I can tell, only serrated knives.) I have a gravy boat - who makes gravy at the beach? - but no mixing bowls! There's one dry cup measure, but nothing smaller - but at least we have napkin rings! There is a blender, but it seems someone lost the plug for the hole in the lid. And of course it's an electric range.

As long as I think of it as a fun challenge to my skills, I can deal, and hey, everyone's eating just fine. But it's a little crazy-making.

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friederike 8 years ago

I hear you! I always suspected that vacation home kitchens are equipped with stuff the owner either had no use for or happened to have twice.

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hipcook 8 years ago

Hah! I hadn't put that together, but it's a reasonable hypothesis!

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Queezle_Sister 8 years ago

I rented an AirBNB in Austin TX last year, with kitchen, and it had no pots and pans, no knives, no utensils of any kind, and no plates or glasses. But it did have a cork screw and wine glasses. Go figure!

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friederike 8 years ago

Oh wow! No pots and pans? No plates or glasses?! You'd think somebody would mention such a thing in a review! What's the point of staying in a BnB if you don't even have a (however basic) kitchen?

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bunyip 8 years ago

There's been a lot of discussion about this in The Guardian lately! Seems it's a problem all over the world. Tell me about it!

There is never a decent knife. There's usually a microwave but there may well be no microwaveable jugs or bowls. There'll be a frying pan, but it'll be small, lightweight and have a damaged non-stick surface.

My view is if you seriously want to cook, take your own kit. Otherwise, breakfast is OK if there's a toaster and a kettle, make your main meal lunch at a cafe and have an indoor picnic in the evening.

Yours situation is really dire. I'd be popping round to the landlord and kicking up a stink, possibly demanding they hand over some of their own pots and pans!

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