When you think of university diets what are the foods that come to mind? Cold pizza, Pot Noodle, or a bowl of cereal at any time of day?
Forget a balanced diet, student mealtimes are all about managing a hangover, reducing the amount of washing up, and fighting for kitchen space with seven other adults all cooking at the same time.
Waitrose seems to have other ideas however if its new advert is anything to go by. The upmarket retailer believes that those about to fly the nest should be armed with Belazu Rose Harissa paste and organic Italian seasonings.
A photograph of the “starter kits for fledgling cooks” was shared by Andrew Stronach on Twitter, who was surprised at the items Waitrose deemed store cupboard staples for students.
The five must-have ingredients ahead of moving into halls were Marigold Swiss vegetable bouillon powder (£2), Aspall organic cyder vinegar (£1.70), Waitrose cooks’ ingredients organic Italian seasoning (£1.89), Belazu Rose Harissa paste (£4.35) and Clearspring organic Tamari soya sauce (£3.15).
The total amount of the staples is £13.09.
Claire Farrow said: “This is completely ridiculous. Some students may want to try their hand at creative cooking, but these are #NotEssentials. How about Sunflower oil, salt & pepper, garlic bulb and tomato puree?”
Gwenda said: “What happened to beans on toast.”
A Waitrose representative told HuffPost UK: “All these ingredients go a long way and can be the basis of many simple, tasty and great value home cooked meals.”
Then other parents shared the things that their children had actually packed to take.
And others shared what they survived on during their university days.