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Whether you're mid-renovation or waiting on an insurance repair, going without a kitchen is harder than most people expect. The fridge is unplugged, the hob's gone, and the kettle is living on a dusty worktop somewhere. If hiring a full temporary kitchen pod isn't the right fit for your situation, the good news is that a handful of well-chosen countertop appliances can cover almost everything a real kitchen does — you just need the right ones, set up sensibly.
Below is the kit we'd actually buy, split into the essentials that do the heavy lifting and the nice-to-haves that make life easier — followed by the bit most lists skip: how to run it all safely without tripping your electrics.
The essentials
Four appliances that, between them, replace the hob, oven and fridge. If you buy nothing else, buy these.
Twin / double portable induction hob
Your main cooking surface. Two zones let you boil and fry at the same time, and there's no gas to plumb in — it runs off a wall socket and heats fast.
Check price on AmazonLarge air fryer (ideally dual-basket)
Your stand-in oven. It roasts, bakes and reheats, and a dual-basket model cooks two things at once — enough to put a proper meal on the table without a real oven.
Check price on AmazonElectric kettle
Hot drinks, obviously — but also the fastest way to get hot water for cooking pasta, rice or anything you'd normally start on the hob.
Check price on AmazonMini / under-counter fridge
Cold storage for the weeks your main fridge is disconnected. Keeps milk, leftovers and a few days' food to hand so you're not living out of a cool box.
Check price on AmazonNice to have
Not strictly necessary, but each one takes real pressure off your single hob and makes the weeks ahead more bearable.
Microwave
Fast reheating and simple cooking — steaming veg, warming leftovers, or a quick jacket potato when you don't want to wait on the air fryer.
Check price on AmazonSlow cooker or multi-cooker
Set-and-forget meals. Load it in the morning and dinner cooks itself, which frees up your single hob for everything else.
Check price on AmazonCountertop (tank-fill) dishwasher
Washing up without plumbing. The tank-fill type just needs filling by hand, so you can keep on top of dishes even with the sink out of action.
Check price on AmazonToaster or sandwich maker
Quick breakfasts and lunches that don't tie up the hob — toast, paninis and toasties when you just need to feed people fast.
Check price on AmazonSetting it up safely
Power: don't overload one socket
This is the mistake that catches people out. An induction hob, a large air fryer and a kettle can each pull well over 2,000 watts. Run two or three of them from the same socket or a single extension lead and you can easily exceed what a 13A socket is rated for — which trips the breaker at best, and overheats the lead at worst. Spread your high-wattage appliances across separate wall sockets on different circuits where you can, and avoid daisy-chaining extension leads.
Water: set up near a source
If you have the choice, site your kit near a working water supply — a utility room or bathroom is ideal. Keep a couple of large containers on hand for filling pans and rinsing up, so you're not trekking back and forth for every task.
Where to put it
A sturdy table in a dining room, utility or garage works well — somewhere with a bit of space and, ideally, away from the building dust if work is ongoing. Cover the appliances when they're not in use so they don't get coated in debris.
Food and waste
Lean into simple one-pan and one-basket meals — they cut down on washing up and play to the strengths of this kind of setup. And plan for rubbish: with the kitchen out of action your usual bin routine goes out the window, so keep bags handy and clear waste often.
When a kitchen pod makes more sense
A countertop kit is a great fix for a few weeks. But if your kitchen is going to be out for longer, or you're dealing with an insurance claim, a full temporary kitchen pod — with a real oven, hob, sink and fridge-freezer — can be the more comfortable way through. The cost of a pod is often covered as part of a claim, so it's worth checking your policy before you rule it out.