kitchen helpers or equipment

must haves:
sharp knives - whatever size & style you are comfortable with but they need to be kept sharp, so get a knife sharpener too  - knives will be blunted faster by a very hard chopping surface like marble, granite, glass etc
chopping board/surface - one you can lift with one hand, even when it's loaded with chopped stuff
good, heavy bottomed pans - these are a good investment - my mother still uses her 60 year old Le Creuset wedding presents, mine aren't that old but they are among my most precious possessions - i cook on gas so i don't know what the equivalent would be for induction or ceramic hobs
hand-held blender - try for one with a plastic 'head', the metal ones could scratch non-stick pans - excellent for turning leftovers into soups, lump-free sauces, mashing up stuff and plenty more - some come with a whisk and a chopping bowl attachment, also pretty useful for fancier stuff
grater - the flat ones are easiest to clean and store
sieve - metal ones are best as they don't melt if you use them for hot stuff, they also double as colanders or steamers


useful:
food processor - takes the slog out of lots of jobs but it's one more thing to wash up and you'll need storage space for it
coffee grinder - mine has never seen coffee but i use it all the time for spices, nuts, seeds, breadcrumbs.........
steamer pan - the sort with a pan and at least one or two steamer sections to stack on top - i steam most of my vegetables including potatoes, but they are also useful for keeping food warm and you can cook in the pan with or without the steamers on top as well as cooking two foods at the same time but separately ..... a really versatile piece of equipment - they often turn up in charity shops in exellent/new condition