Black Friday is fast approaching, and the excitement is building. If you’re looking for some inspiration of what to add to your kitchen this year, here are the Food24 team’s top picks!
A blender
Food24’s social media manager, Ishani Chetty, has her sights firmly set on a new blender, and if you’re a smoothie fan, you’ll understand why. Ishani says: “I had the worst incident over the weekend – my blender cracked so now I’ll be eyeing one this Black Friday.”
A handheld blender
Food24’s editor, Lauren Goldman, says she’ll also be looking for a new blender – in her case, a handheld one – because “mine did overtime with baby food and now keeps giving in!” 
Smoothie glasses
If you also love a healthy smoothie on a summer’s morning, then treat yourself to a special smoothie glass. Food24’s content producer and self-proclaimed smoothie lover, Bianca Jones, says: “I love collecting cool glasses for my mini prop pantry and I really want to get a boujee smoothie glass with a lid and glass straw – I’ve spotted a few good contenders already.”
An air-fryer
With load shedding a daily struggle once again, an air-fryer must be on your Black Friday list if you don’t already have one! Lauren Goldman says: “I’d recommend an air-fryer for speedy cooking around load shedding or reheating fries or nachos.”
ALSO READ: Should you buy an air-fryer?
Spice grinders
Lauren also believes you need at least three spice grinders in your kitchen – one for grinding grains, one for spices and one for coffee. “I have one for baby food such as grains, and one that used to be my spice grinder but is now used for coffee, so I’d really like a third one especially for spices.
A kitchen scale
Another thing that’s on Bianca’s wish list this year is a new kitchen scale. “I have an old scale in my kitchen,” she shares. “It’s served me well, but I think it’s time to retire the old gal because other than draining the life out of batteries at a rapid rate, it drifts when measuring quantities (i.e. gradually increases or decreases weight on its own), so it’s super unreliable and equals a major disaster if you’re a baker! The most recent victim – a batch of my favourite choc-chip cookies – did not turn out as they should have, so now to avoid any festive baking mishaps, I have my eyes on a new digital scale for my Black Friday shopping.”
ALSO READ: 10 tips for successfully halving baking recipes
A matching kettle and toaster
A kitchen just looks complete when you have a matching kettle and toaster – or so says Lauren, and it’s something her current kitchen setup is lacking. “My toaster gave in a few months ago, so I bought a new one, but now it doesn’t match my kettle!”
A dutch oven
As for future wish-list items, Bianca dreams of owning a Dutch oven from Le Creuset. “In a dream world, my Black Friday splurge would definitely involve a Dutch oven from Le Creuset – but I’m saving up for that so maybe next year’s Black Friday sale will include some Le Creuset for me!”
A Nutribullet
Bianca is also adding a Nutribullet to her future wish list. “I have one of those big glass blenders, which is great, but it’s a bit of a fuss to clean, so I really want to get a Nutribullet.”
An ice-cream maker
For a little indulgence, Lauren recommends an ice-cream maker. “It’s a summer must-have!” she says. “I love using fresh seasonal produce to make different ice creams or sorbets.”
As the countdown to Black Friday begins, we hope these insights into the Food24 team’s wish list offer some inspiration for the rest of you. Stay tuned for more Black Friday inspiration and let us know which items are on your wish list in the comments below!