Best thing Ds says he got was a pan with a draining lid, great for pasta. His is from Lakeland and has a deep lid with straining holes.
Ds found the best way to work out what he needed was to make a list for each room in our house to see what he used, ie kitchen, he opened the cupboards and worked out what he needed including a chopping board, Spongematic washing up sponge thing, plus the washing up liquid, tea towels, tin opener, not every can has a ringpull, he sacked off garlic press as it is easier at uni to have a tube of garlic paste rather than bulbs of garlic. Kitchen cleaning spray too.
Same with his bedroom, we don't have spare sets so he bought new ones, double duvet that can be washed and tumble dried, same pillow as home and a blanket throw in case of cold nights. His bedroom list included hair brush, deodorant etc.
The bathroom included his razor, shaving gel, nail clippers, toothbrush and toothpaste, towels, bath mat but he was in an en-suite room at uni and we knew his bed size too, a small double, an arse for a fitted sheet size.
As Ds could come home mid-term we needed him to have everything here rather than having to bring it back with him so he has a hairbrush here and one at uni.
We sent Ds with a box of spices/herbs, salt and pepper grinder. He loves food and cooking.
Ds also washed up immediately after cooking, dried everything and put it back in his locked cupboard because some of the other students he lived with were like pigs so he knew they would nick his clean stuff given half a chance. They had one base unit cupboard that was a 50cm wide one and one wall cupboard each in a purpose built accommodation block. The wall one was used for food, the base one for the one pan, one frying pan, plates, bowls, cutlery, tupperware (or lock and lock these days) he had 1 shelf in a 50cm wide fridge and one freezer drawer. He has done much better this year with a shelf and a half!