How to cook
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A new student’s guide on starting in the kitchen
Tuesday, 14 October, 2025Moving to a new city, living away from home, and now you’ve got to cook yourself dinner. But what to cook, where to start and how? Living at home can mean the stress of planning and cooking meals isn’t your sole responsibility, but moving to uni can change that altogether. We’ve put together a list of tips and tricks to breaking down where you can food shop in Bath, how to shop to create delicious meals and even provide a few of our own easy recipes to get you started.
Where to shop:
Lidl and Sainsburys are the main shops for BSU students, with the addition of an M&S if you’re feeling fancy. All sitting along the bus route on the Lower Bristol Road they are easily accessible from campus - Lidl especially is a two-minute walk from our Locksbrook campus just across the river. Alternatively, if you favour a particular supermarket, you could also use an online delivery service as pretty much all supermarkets will deliver up the Newton Park driveway and right to your door.
How to shop:
Now we’ve established where to shop, what should you actually buy? It can be easy to fall into the trap of pot noodles, and don’t get us wrong, we love them too but starting to add a few varied items into your shopping basket can open up a world of cooking opportunities.
The supermarket can seem daunting and also rack up in price if you don’t go in with a plan. Going with a list, or even a rough meal plan for the week will make the whole experience a lot easier. If in doubt, opting for dry goods that keep for longer in the cupboard always provides a good safety net. A few basic staples like rice, pasta, potatoes and some jars of sauce for a curry or making spaghetti bolognaise will never go a miss.
Getting started:
Talking of pasta and sauces, learning how to make a classic like spaghetti bolognaise is a great place to start. The basic sauce ingredients can be swapped around to make other recipes like chilli con carne by adding spice and kidney beans, having no mince and adding lots of vegetables for a meat free alternative, or put on top of tortilla chips for the best nachos. What’s even better, is that it freezes so easily. One evening of cooking is 4-5 portions done and sorted for the week. BBC Good Food is full of low-cost student friendly recipes, like their bolognaise.
Easy recipes:
Feeling inspired and want to try something new? We have a range of easy student recipes on our social media or in Unpacked magazine included in welcome packs and dotted around campus. Each recipe has a step-by step video tutorial and an in-depth ingredients list/ method in the caption. Why not try our Tuscan Chicken Pasta as seen above, perfect for any new cook!
If learning about food peaks your interest, why not also take a look at our Food with Nutrition course to get your culinary journey started.